Customer Reviews

Nathan's Run

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Nathan's Run is a very good thriller about a 12-year old boy who escapes from a youth detention center after killing a guard in self-defense. (Or was it self-defense???) In an ordinary thriller, the author would follow a formula that the reader would probably be able to easily figure out. That doesn't happen here. Gilstrap gives us just enough information to keep us turning the pages to find out what happens to Nathan next. All is not as it seems in Nathan's life. Anxious to tell someone his story, Nathan telephones a national radio talk show. Improbable? Maybe. Maybe not. But it is suspenseful and riveting.

Nathan's Run may not be for everyone. There's lots of violence and profanity, but there's also quite a lot that Gilstrap has to say about our society and where we're headed. Also Nathan is one of the most unforgettable characters in adult fiction. A good read, but not a great ending, thus earning four stars instead of five.

Gilstrap happens to be one of my favorite authors, and Nathan's Run was a great story. The plot of a young 12 year old boy who murders a Juvinille Detention Supervisor and becomes a fugitive of the law is gripping and thrilling. Gilstarp does a have a problem getting off a subject though. If you want a great book in the same genre, by the same author try At All Costs (Read my review on it). Overall this was a great book, if you have the time to read it.

An excellent book from a first time writer. The blurb on the back compared the writer to John Grisham which is a bit unfair as I found Nathan's Run more enjoyable than the other JG's efforts.

The book is fast paced and you can relate to the characters. The story is well thought out and structured. The writing style is undemanding as it should be for a book of this type.

Definately one of the best action books I have read. It would actually translate into an excellent movie.

It's not great literature, the story requires a bit of a suspension of reality (but most thrillers do), and Nathan is a bit too precious. BUT...the breathless action is virtually non-stop and the suspense is wonderful. This is an excellent thriller!

Reading Nathan's Run is a little like watching episodes in those old-time serials, where each ended with the hero in some absolutely inescapable predicament. Impatiently we awaited next week's chapter. If this novel were a weekly serial, we would see Nathan's head in the cross hairs of the sniper's gun sight, then see a closeup of the gunman's finger squeezing off a shot as the scene and the chapter end . How could he possibly get out of this one? So it is in this novel, where Nathan runs from one perilous predicament to another.

The superintendent (read warden) of the Juvenile Detention Center (read prison) learns that Nathan has killed a child care supervisor (read guard). Nathan killed in self-defense, but during his run to safety several other people are murdered, and all clues point to Nathan as the killer. We know better, of course, but the cops chasing Nathan do not, and the book becomes one long chase scene. Adding to the suspense is a third killer, a hit man with a contract on Nathan. Who put out the contract, and why someone wants Nathan dead, we are not told until Page331 of this 338 page novel, though sophisticated mystery fans will guess correctly ong before that.

Beneath the exciting storyline author John Gilstrap makes some telling points about our system of justice, about barbaric and sadistic prison guards,about brutality and man's inhumanity to man. He also attempts to tweak the conscience of our mass media, especially talk radio, who coldly and deliberately manipulate public opinion to serve their own materialistic ends. (" Rick, I want the calls about three to one approving our point of view.")

Nathan wins our hearts from the beginning. We are almost glad when one of the pursuing cops is shot by another pursuing pseudo-cop. We look forward to the next Gilstrap work.

12 year old Nathan Bailey, subject of a nationwide manhunt,
is on the run from the police and a hit man. He has no one
to turn to but an outspoken radio talk show host.

This novel is a chronology of Nathans run. Subcharacters and
sub plots are developed, but the main character remains
Nathan Bailey, whose moral character and strength eventually
lead to a successful conclusion.

Rate it PG-13 for a bit of strong language and some violence,
I would recommend this book for teenagers and adults looking
for a pleasant thriller. I look forward to Mr. Gilstraps
future efforts.

I truly enjoyed this book. I loved the character Nathan. The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 is because I would have liked an epilogue at the end of the story telling what ultimately happens to Nathan. Other than that I highly recommend this book.

Nathan Bailey had the life we wish nobody had to endure. Orphaned, raised by an uncle plagued by personal demons, committed to a kiddie jail (primarily on the testimony of said uncle), and became a fugitive from the law all before reaching his teens. It's easy to sympathize with Nathan as Mr. Gilstrap included many small details so unique to adolescence. The way Nathan is portrayed to think and act are very much in character for a young man, albeit a VERY contientious one. Most of the other characters were not given the same descriptive attention, unfortunately. They're servicible and believable, but somewhat flat.

While reading Nathan's Run, I couldn't help but think policemen were given a bad rap in this book. I doubt that Mr. Gilstrap has a vendetta against cops, but they are (with two exceptions) made to look incompetent, manipulative, career-driven, and cruel. There is one particularly tense scene in which Nathan, smaller than normal for his pre-teen age, is brutalized by three policemen at once. I understand that some may be necessary to advance a plot following a fugitive, but this stereotyping felt like the stuff of 100 Bad Cop movies.

Since this is a suspenseful tale with a young man at its center, I also believe Mr. Gilstrap alienated what might have been a massive audience, young adults, with generous portions of gratuitous profanity. It was, in my opinion, largely unneccessary to have nearly every character have an extensive 4-letter vocabulary.

Still, Nathan's story is absorbing and tense to the last page. Emotions crescendoed to such a peak in the final scene that if I weren't riding a city bus with my goatee'd "big-guy" image to uphold, I might have cried. Honestly.

My recommendation would be this: it's good, but not destined to be one of the "greats". Pick it up if you're in the mood for a fast-paced thriller.

First off I want to say that John Gilstrap has some of the best characterization I have read in awhile. Nathan's Run takes place over a two-day span of time. Mr. Gilstrap does not waste any of this time on fluff. The author uses his pages wisely to develop realist characters and plot. The villains are especially nasty and the heroes are flawed but very likable, good solid heroes. Mr. Gilstrap does a great job in weaving these characters into a very believable and real plot. There are only two things that I'm sad about, one that I didn't read this book sooner and that it ended. I really wanted it to continue for a few more chapters, but the book is called "Nathan's Run". So if you are looking for a good chase book with good characterization and plot, you won't go wrong with "Nathan's Run". This is a wonderful book; I look forward to reading more of John Gilstrap.

They can't catch him; he's Nathan Bailey: car thief, juvenile delinquent, twelve-year-old boy. Accused of murdering a supervisor, now young Nathan is a desperate fugitive on the run. As an orphan, he is alone in the world and must depend alone on his wits, honesty, and desire to never return to the misery of the Detention Center. By breaking into houses and stealing cars, Nathan constantly puts the reader in suspense, as the police frantically search for him. He desperately calls up a nation-wide radio station to get the truth out, and is eventually nicknamed "The World's Favorite Criminal," due to his manners and habit to do laundry in the homes he breaks into. In this thriller, Nathan must continue his run, and that half the nation, along with the reader can't help but root for him all the way. The mystery of the murder combined with the nonstop pace provides a complex, yet exciting plot, and a challenge to put down the book. The real-life dialogue makes this a fun read, and characters that are easy to relate to. As loveable Nathan runs from the police, angry citizens, and a hit man, the reader tries to piece together the puzzle of the crime. Although not a conventional fugitive story, any lover of suspense and thrillers would enjoy this book. However, because of the adult language and gory, violent details, it is recommended for more mature readers. Confusing at times with the constant change in point of view, Nathan's Run is a roller coaster, as it is impossible to predict what will happen next. Nathan wins our hearts from the beginning, and we cheer him on, as he runs and runs from society, while we run with him.