Killing Time [Import] [Unbound]

Caleb Carr (Author)

Product Details

• Unbound
• Publisher: TIME WARNER PAPERBAC (September 6, 2001)
• ISBN-10: 0375506489
• ISBN-13: 978-0375506482
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (250 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Despite a strong beginning, this book ultimately fails, December 9, 2000

By 

Debbie Lee Wesselmann (the Lehigh Valley, PA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Killing Time (Hardcover)

"The world wants to be deceived": this is the premise of Caleb Carr's new novel, set in the near future, 2024. By this time, the United States not only has had its first female president, but she has been assasinated. Much of the world has suffered through a global economic collapse and a plague, and the seas are filled with sewage and no life. A band of educated idealists takes it upon themselves (arrogantly, I might add) to better the world through their deceptions, which are made easy by the "modern" internet and the high level of technology. Of course, control is a slippery thing to contain.

After I survived the first short chapter that sounded annoyingly like the Myst/Riven series of computer games, I found myself reading furiously. Then, strangely, Carr lost my interest. His characters began pontificating and debating and justifying their actions so much that I could no longer stand it. Characterizations? Barely there. Vivid scenes? Sorry. This book is not filled with bad writing, as another reviewer states, but rather bad fiction. Carr seems to have forgotten how to show, not tell, and the result is heavy-handed and hardly believable fantasy fiction.

If you read numerous books during the year, this is an okay addition to your list, but don't bother if you read only occasionally. You'll find far more rewarding books out there.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Well, the idea was interesting, November 19, 2000

By 

Benjamin L Lewin (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killing Time (Hardcover)

Well, I'll start by saying that I do think that Caleb Carr is a very talented writer, HOWEVER, this book is an amateur effort, at best. Every chapter ends with heavy handed foreshadowing, and a cliff hanger which seems to be thrown in to keep you from putting the book down in disgust. The characters are very one-dimensional, especially the main character, and the book almost feels like a Luddite rant. Up until the end, technology is described as a purely destructive force, but then it is used to solve all the worlds ills in a Deus ex machina-like resolution, which to me felt like Star Trek's universal translator. To sum things up, while I do think that Caleb Carr writes very good historical thrillers, science fiction fables are not his forte. I would suggest picking up any James Morrow book instead of reading this.

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars new genre but same quality writing, November 8, 2000

By 

"cacophony7" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Killing Time (Hardcover)

Being a big fan of THE ALIENIST and ANGEL OF DARKNESS (which I actually liked better), I quickly devoured this latest novel by Caleb Carr. If you're familiar with Mr. Carr's work you'll know he usually writes period thrillers which introduce real-life people and events into a fictional tale. While I knew (from advance reviews) that this book wasn't historical (actually, it's set in the near future), I found the writing style and unique tone to be very smiliar to Mr. Carr's other novels. The book gets off to an exciting start with the main character of Dr. Gideon Wolff running from pursuing enemies in Africa - from page one I was sucked in and wanted to learn more. The story itself and it's central subject matter are fascinating - I don't want to give away any of the plot secrets, but overall the book is about how "truth" is easily manufactured by the public's willingness to believe whatever information the media and internet feed us. Even though this book is a new genre for Mr. Carr, I think you will find it an engrossing and timely read.