Customer Reviews

The Lost Gold of San Francisco

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

 

 

I'm a fan of historical fiction. But as the former editor of San Francisco's city magazine, I'm picky when it comes to stories set in SF. The romance, the history, the twists and turns and exotic corners of the city invite mystery writers, but a story can't just be 'set' in San Francisco, it has to be saturated with the feel, the sounds, the air. Michael Castleman delivers it all with a well-crafted plot that draws on the minted gold wealth upon which the city was founded...and the shaky fault-ridden ground that gave way in the catastrophes of 1906 and 1989. A tough-minded reporter of the breed that once made the city famous (Mark Twain penned much of his work a short walk from the famous San Francisco Mint which is at the center of Castleman's novel), pursues the story of the mysterious lost gold and in the course of his investigation almost...ok, no spoilers. San Francisco has delivered some of the greatest mystery writers, and Castleman seems ready to join their ranks. (An added bonus: those who know the city well will love matching up some of the books most colorful characters with their famous and notorious real life counterparts.)

I read this book because I heard the author speak and I'd liked his nonfiction -- I don't usually read mysteries. But I ended up staying up late until I finished it. The San Francisco details are vivid and evocative, and the mystery has so many twists and turns. Loved it!

A friend gave me a signed 1st edition of this book. I live in the East Bay, and she knew I wouldn't be able to resist a true story set so close to home, San Francisco. The story spans two eras. The first is April, 1906, San Francisco's golden era in every sense of the word; a fortune in gold coins was set loose - and then came the earthquake.
The book then jumps forward to 1989, and history turns to mystery and murder.
Much more than it seems at first glance, The Lost Gold of San Francisco is a poem of grace to a city both past and present that the author obviously holds dear.

If you grew up in San Francisco, this is a must read. It takes you through the history of San Francisco and the diverse neighborhoods that make up this wonderful city. Strung along with fictional events, this book rounds out the wonderful story the author has written.

Michael Castleman's expert prose makes the past as appealing as the present--and his characters compelling and authentic. The Lost Gold is a love story to the author's city of San Francisco, and a terrific contribution to the genre of historical fiction. Even if you don't like mysteries, this book's for you!

This whole book - and its cover - is one big cheesy con-job. After the initial pages, it really has almost nothing to do with any supposed "lost gold". It is instead a well-below-average murder mystery written by someone who literally has never written a single novel before in his life.

The phony title and the phony cover leads one to believe that it is a period story about the 1906 earthquake. For the first three chapters, yes, it is that. Immediately, however, we leave that period entirely and we are suddenly in the modern era, dealing with a reporter involved in a ridiculous murder mystery. After those 3 initial chapters, one hears almost nothing more about any supposed lost gold, you can pretty much forget about it and quake-era San Francisco.

Even the murder mystery part is largely an annoying bore. Just a bunch of dialogue describing an extremely improbable series of events, and characters so shallowly developed that you really don't care about any of them.

It was torture to finish this junk, once it became clear that the story thread of any lost gold of 1906-era San Francisco was being abandoned, never to be revisited. When I finally did finish it, what a refreshing relief it was to read the next fictional work on my shelf, by a best-selling author who had talent in creating rich atmospherics in his work, decent character development, and a believable story line. I guess that's why he's a best-selling author of fiction, which this author Castleman is in no danger of ever becoming.