The Fool's Run (Kidd) [Paperback]

John Sandford (Author)

Book Description

Series: Kidd | Publication Date: June 1, 2004

Corporate con games from the #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author.

On the cutting edge of high-tech corporate warfare, two state-of-the-art con artists find the noose tightening--when their ultimate con turns against them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A gripping ultramodern novel...fast-paced and suspenseful. -- Chicago Tribune

About the Author

John Sandford is the pseudonym of Pulitzer prize-winning journalist John Camp. He is the author of seventeen PREY novels, four KIDD novels and the stand-alone thriller, DEAD WATCH. He lives in Minnesota. Visit www.johnsandford.org --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Berkley; 1st Printing edition (June 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425155722
• ISBN-13: 978-0425155721
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue

More About the Author

John Sandford was born John Camp on February 23, 1944, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He attended the public schools in Cedar Rapids, graduating from Washington High School in 1962. He then spent four years at the University of Iowa, graduating with a bachelor's degree in American Studies in 1966. In 1966, he married Susan Lee Jones of Cedar Rapids, a fellow student at the University of Iowa. He was in the U.S. Army from 1966-68, worked as a reporter for the Cape Girardeau Southeast Missourian from 1968-1970, and went back to the University of Iowa from 1970-1971, where he received a master's degree in journalism. He was a reporter for The Miami Herald from 1971-78, and then a reporter for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press from 1978-1990; in 1980, he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, and he won the Pulitzer in 1986 for a series of stories about a midwestern farm crisis. From 1990 to the present he has written thriller novels. He's also the author of two non-fiction books, one on plastic surgery and one on art. He is the principal financial backer of a major archaeological project in the Jordan Valley of Israel, with a website at www.rehov.org. In addition to archaeology, he is deeply interested in art (painting) and photography. He both hunts and fishes. He has two children, Roswell and Emily, and one grandson, Benjamin. His wife, Susan, died of metastasized breast cancer in May, 2007, and is greatly missed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good but Empress File was better, February 20, 2003

By 

K. M. Chance "average consumer" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fool's Run (Kidd) (Paperback)

Don't be confused, but this the 1st book in the series although it appears to have been published after the "Empress File" (at least under the name John Sandford, it was originally published under the author's real name, John Camp). Also, the book jacket I read made it sound like this was the return of the main characters (Kidd and LuEllen) but it is not. This is the book where they first work together. With all that said, this book is good but not as good as some other Sandford novels I have enjoyed. I am a computer nerd of sorts myself, so I found the books plot (computer hacking/industrial warfare) interesting. The scenes centered around LuEllen's skills at B & E are good too. The story includes some clever elements and plot twists that always make for a fun read. Overall, I liked the book and would recommend it as a precursor to reading the better novel, "Empress File."

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Standford, July 31, 2000

By 

Todd P. Last "rubatoguy" (Portland, OR, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Fool's Run (Kidd) (Paperback)

While not up to the excellence of his later novels, "Fools Run" is still an great book and entertaining read.

Fast-paced, fun, and full of suspense.

You have to suspend belief somewhat as it is easy for the reader to guess what is going to happen to the characters in the book early on - but in a way this adds to the suspense of the book as you keep wanting the characters to wake up and catch on to what seems obvious to the reader.

This book has a bit of a nostalgic touch to it, as many of the compter terms and equipment talked about in the book are out of date.

If you like this, you should see his book "Empress File"

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Integrates Several Plots in an Enjoyable Manner, December 13, 2002

By 

Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Fool's Run (Kidd) (Paperback)

I do not share the disappointment expressed by some of the earlier reviewers, perhaps because I do not read many novels and this was my first exposure to John Sandford. In any event, I found this "airplane book" so interesting that I made time to finish it once I got home.

The integration of several sub-plots, the detailed portrait painted of the primary character, the ins and outs of planning the destruction of a corporation, and the final surprise ending, very much an "out of the box" solution for an impossible situation, gave me great satisfaction, to the point that this author joins Robin Cook, Dick Francis, and Michael Creichton as a trusted provider of light entertainment.