Customer Reviews

Heat

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

William Goldman's Heat is one of the best books I've read. I can't exactly say that it takes you from the first page, but wait for ten pages or so, and you won't be able to leave it (I tried). The twists and slides of the book are Marathon Man style and even though I say that, you'll never guess what's going to happen next. I don't want to spill any of the contents of the book, for fear of spoiling it, and a word of advice, don't even read the back to know what the stories about. Certainly a rarety where it'll leave you both exhilirated and shining.

Goldman knows how to write a fun book to read and his only fault is that he doesn't write more novels (or hasn't since '86's "Brothers" the sequel to "The Marathon Man").

Heat is far from being a perfect book, but comes very close to being very good. I enjoyed it the first time I read it almost 20 years ago and although I've changed and the world changed Heat hasn't suffered much or has become outdated as so many "better" books like "Rising Sun" have. It takes place firmly in the 1980's but doesn't like a book written during that period rather more of a book that takes place in that year not from that year. Basically, it's not tied down with past ideologies and mores from those years that most of us have outgrown or simply forgotten. It's a great book that keeps you reading and this is something rare in most books. It's a stripped down novel that with another writer telling this story probably would have been three times longer. It takes a great story teller to strip a story down to just it's bone without loosing the book's presence and scope.
Probably because of Goldman's screenplay experience he's able make every word, thought and description count and probably is why his books haven't done well as movies because you can't strip his stories down any further. The only way to properly do a Goldman book is to rewrite it for the screen.
Heat is worth discovering if you haven't had the chance. It's fun and worth a mention or two even after all these years.

I received this book as a Christmas gift having never read a William Goldman novel. Let's just say that I'm not too keen on reading another.

I would give a quick plot synopsis of this book, but that is one of the main problems...it just seems to wander from plot point to plot point with little coherence. Each "chapter" seems like its own contained little story with much too little overall context.

Also, the main character--Nick Escalante--is supposed to be an interesting character portrait of a Las Vegas lifer, but instead he is just a guy who sort of goes from one job to the next...nothing too interesting.

Once I finished reading Heat, I had absolutely no emotional connection to either the plot or the main characters whatsoever...it was pretty much a waste of the time I spent reading it. Unless you are a hard-core fan of gangster films/books, I can pretty much guarantee that you won't find this book compelling whatsoever.

I received this book as a Christmas gift having never read a William Goldman novel. Let's just say that I'm not too keen on reading another.

I would give a quick plot synopsis of this book, but that is one of the main problems...it just seems to wander from plot point to plot point with little coherence. Each "chapter" seems like its own contained little story with much too little overall context.

Also, the main character--Nick Escalante--is supposed to be an interesting character portrait of a Las Vegas lifer, but instead he is just a guy who sort of goes from one job to the next...nothing too interesting.

Once I finished reading Heat, I had absolutely no emotional connection to either the plot or the main characters whatsoever...it was pretty much a waste of the time I spent reading it. Unless you are a hard-core fan of gangster films/books, I can pretty much guarantee that you won't find this book compelling whatsoever.

The writing style of the book was fast with the main character, Nick Escalante, an interesting complex character that wasn't all that likable. However, the timeframe of everything happening over a few days forced the appearances of other characters to be short and sweet, and the characters were far from "fleshed out". I found there were a few too many "coincidences" that were hard to accept. "Red Herrings" weren't really explained well and the ending was more of a comic book ending than I expected. Also, if you don't want to know what's coming then don't read the dust jacket summary!

I received this book as a Christmas gift having never read a William Goldman novel. Let's just say that I'm not too keen on reading another.

I would give a quick plot synopsis of this book, but that is one of the main problems...it just seems to wander from plot point to plot point with little coherence. Each "chapter" seems like its own contained little story with much too little overall context.

Also, the main character--Nick Escalante--is supposed to be an interesting character portrait of a Las Vegas lifer, but instead he is just a guy who sort of goes from one job to the next...nothing too interesting.

Once I finished reading Heat, I had absolutely no emotional connection to either the plot or the main characters whatsoever...it was pretty much a waste of the time I spent reading it. Unless you are a hard-core fan of gangster films/books, I can pretty much guarantee that you won't find this book compelling whatsoever.

I received this book as a Christmas gift having never read a William Goldman novel. Let's just say that I'm not too keen on reading another.

I would give a quick plot synopsis of this book, but that is one of the main problems...it just seems to wander from plot point to plot point with little coherence. Each "chapter" seems like its own contained little story with much too little overall context.

Also, the main character--Nick Escalante--is supposed to be an interesting character portrait of a Las Vegas lifer, but instead he is just a guy who sort of goes from one job to the next...nothing too interesting.

Once I finished reading Heat, I had absolutely no emotional connection to either the plot or the main characters whatsoever...it was pretty much a waste of the time I spent reading it. Unless you are a hard-core fan of gangster films/books, I can pretty much guarantee that you won't find this book compelling whatsoever.