Fallen Idols [Hardcover]

J. F. Freedman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Freedman, J. F. | Publication Date: June 3, 2003

Prominent archaeologists Walt and Jocelyn Gaines had just completed the latest phase of excavation of a fabulous Mayan ruin when they were waylaid by bandits. In the skirmish, Jocelyn was fatally wounded. The couple's three sons, Clancy, Tom, and Will, are devastated, but the loss is compounded when their father suddenly cuts off all contact without explanation. Together, the trio attempt to reconstruct what happened, and discover their father living a life of surprising affluence with a mysterious young girlfriend. The brothers explore every corner of their parents' lives and eventually end up in Central America to confront their mother's killer. But just when they know enough to suspect the worst, they discover that the truth is actually much more complex than they could have imagined.
- There are more than 3.2 million copies of J.F. Freedman's bestselling novels in print. Bird's-Eye View (Warner, 2001), his most recent, has more than 50,000 copies in print and was a Main Selection of The Literary Guild(R). The mass market edition was released in 8/02 with a first printing of 350,000 copies.
- Fallen Idols contains many of the same elements that made Jim Harrison's Legends of the Fall (Bantam, 1980) a bestseller: a strong, larger than life patriarch; handsome sons; intense sibling relationships; and a bewitching female who sparks rivalries--all written in the evocative prose that has become Freedman's trademark.
- In addition to writing novels, J. F. Freedman has also directed feature-length films and television programs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Beyond lust, beyond vengeance, beyond murder lie the dark truths of retirement planning, all of them revealed in this flabby suspense novel by Freedman (Bird's-Eye View, etc.). When famed archeologist Walt Gaines ends up with unexplained wealth and a girlfriend half his age a year after his wife was killed on a Central American dig, his sons grow suspicious. Stolid yuppies that they are, they investigate by delving into Walt's asset portfolio, which they wheedle out of a succession of real estate agents, brokers and pension administrators in scenes that carry all the electricity of an appointment with a financial professional. The trail leads them to an illicit market for Mayan relics and the lair of a guerrilla chieftain, with nonviolent and inconsequential results, before the final revelation that readers will have seen coming a mile off. Freedman fills out the slack narrative with random, banal details ("he paid with his mileage-plus Visa card and put the Dodge Neon Hertz rental car on the same card"), a few solemn sex scenes and many lengthy exchanges of pop-psychology truisms ("We can't live in our grief forever, or it'll pull us under") with which Walt and his sons hash out their tepid sibling and Oedipal rivalries. Something might have been made of the Indiana Jonesish archeological noir premise, but Freedman's impoverished prose ("this [jaguar] was so unique a sighting that it had to have an incredible meaning to match its specialness") flattens the most exotic settings.-- was so unique a sighting that it had to have an incredible meaning to match its specialness") flattens the most exotic settings.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"FALLEN IDOLS is a compelling story, taut, moving, and wonderfully told." -- Robert Parker

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Warner Books (June 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446531898
• ISBN-13: 978-0446531894
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,427,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Where Did He Dig This Up?, September 20, 2004

By 

Gary Turner (Powder Springs, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fallen Idols (Mass Market Paperback)

This is my fourth Freedman novel, having read "Above the Law", "The Disappearance" and "Bird's Eye View" prior to "Fallen Idols". What I have always loved about this author's work is his ability to captivate me with a mystery from the start, then keep me guessing until the end. This book did neither.

The book centers around a renowned archaeologist, Walt Gaines, and his wife, Jocelyn. When Jocelyn is killed at the end of a dig, Walt and his three adult sons are devastated. After the funeral, Walt quits his job at the University of Wisconsin, moves to California and severs practically all contact with his family.

The sons investigate, and find a lifestyle that is inconsistent with Walt's means. As they investigate, they find that there may be more to their mother's death than they had been led to believe. This, coupled with Walt's mysterious new life spurs them on to discover all they can find out about the past.

While a fascinating character study, I found the book to be slow in places and missing the aforementioned formula that makes this author a favorite.

This one is far from being a priceless relic.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An editor, an editor! My kingdom for an editor!, November 22, 2004

By 

Oliver Towne (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fallen Idols (Hardcover)

What you have here is about 60 pages of material stretched out to 498 pages. I can't believe I actually read the first 350 or so. It's as if Freedman and his publisher colluded to create a massive waste of time. The story is set up early and then goes nowhere for an eternity. Finally, when you can't stand the pointless descriptions and stagnant plot, you might be tempted to skip to the end. Unfortunately, at this point, it becomes clear that the author never intended for you to figure anything out until you had read about 400 pages. The ending is not only clumsy, but of a very "deus-ex-machina" nature; that is, there was never any reason to suspect the true culprit except that there was never any reason to suspect the true culprit. (Yes, I know that sounds redundant, but then the whole novel is an exercise in repetition. My sympathy if you paid for the hardcover version.)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Search for the Truth, February 2, 2004

By 

A. Christie "bibliofiend508" (Plano, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fallen Idols (Hardcover)

Walter Gaines is an archaeology professor at the University of Wisconsin. He and his wife are on an important dig in Central America. Looting is a big problem at the site. Walter and Jocelyn are ambushed on their way back to go home. When the attack is over, artifacts are taken and Jocelyn is dead. After the funeral Walter leaves Wisconsin for LA and is virtually cut-off from his three grown sons. The sons find their father's behavior very strange and work together to try to uncover the truth of what happened in Central America. The deeper they delve in to the strange financial transactions they uncover, the more confused they become.

I have enjoyed J.F. Freedman books in the past, but found too many contrived plot points in this book. Once the sons started unraveling the mystery, things just fell into place much too easily. Everyone they talked to was very forthcoming with information with barely any questions asked. It was as unrealistic as it was unconvincing. The ending had a twist, but again suffered in its predictability. I found myself flipping pages just to move the story forward. I wanted to like the book, but at the end it was not really worth the time it took to read it.