Customer Reviews

Never Enough

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4 star:		(4)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I read quite a bit, and really like books about Wall Street and the insiders game there. I can't remember ever starting a novel and just not being able to finish it. This book is boring. The characters are flat, and the sexual; references are just not exiciting. The plot: completely predictable. I've never written a review here but I felt compelled to save a few people some money. To borrow from an old Monty Python joke:

This is not a novel for reading ... this is a novel for lying down and avoiding.

The book, I think was a great read, however, it was heavily flawed. The first obvious flaw was that the summary that appeared on the back cover was not a reflection of the story. The piercing and rings were grossly exaggerated and a little too much to handle at times. The main character, David Shea was allowed to be able to get his way with cheating and scheming at all times and that begins to be unrealistic.

I was not a fan of the main character Dave Shea but I really fell in love with the Cole Jennings character. He was the good guy in this story. I enjoyed reading about the maturity of his family. I completely disagree with the editorial reviewer that wrote: "Lines like Jenna was probably the only girl in the dorm wearing rings in her nipples, and the least sexually experienced on her dorm floor should have (most) readers dropping the book in disgust ..."

Lines like that kept me reading the book! For once a Robbins novel portrays a beautiful woman, (in this case a child really) who knows she is beautiful and does not allow herself to be sexually exploited. I would love to see a sequel to this book that continues the story of Jenna's rise to fame and power and/or a legalistic show down between Giuliani and the fictional character Cole Jennings over the fate of Dave Shea. So Mr. ghost writer get going ... I can't wait for this sequel!

I kept reading this book, thinking that there was going to be some point to it, but most of the characters and the story was left hanging. I was very dissapointed. I kept thinking I must have missed a page and lost the character there. Unless there is a sequil to this book, I wouldn't waiste my time reading it.

I bought this book thinking it would be good. Was I ever sorry. I wish there was a no star or half star rating This had to be the worst piece of fluff ever published. The writing was stilted and childish. The story of David Shea, a totally self absorbed power hungry user would have been better if the writer could write. I can't believe as the preview said that a "carefully selected" writer was responsible for this meandering loose story. If you want to read the crisp, tight, really juicy Harold Robbins books, go for his classics. You won't be disappointed.

Harold Robbins was a master storyteller. He conquered the reading public with The Carpetbaggers and for many years spun yarn after yarn of intrigue and sex and manipulation and
sex and so on. Toward his latter years, the quality of the story line declined somewhat, but the books were still good. That is not the case in this posthumous effort by Robbins' editors and estate. This novel may be based on Robbins' ideas, but he did not leave enough information for whoever wrote this novel to do the idea justice. The substitute writer does an excellent job of copying Robbins' style, but the story line is very weak.
The essential components are there. David Shea is a high school football hero and a football scholarship is the only way he can go to college. When he and some friends beat a bully to death, one of his friends takes the rap so David's scholarship will not be endangered. An injury ends his football career, but he finds his niche as a stockbroker. He uses people-strangers, friends, it doesn't matter. In short, he has the all the characteristics of a Robbins "hero". But just as the story builds up to a critical point-the third wife who is his moral and intellectual equal has just left him and has vowed revenge-the book ends. Apparently Robbins did not leave behind a conclusion and the estate, editors, and ghost writer couldn't, or didn't bother to, think of one. Up to the lack of an ending (or last quarter or so of the story), the ghost writer does reproduce Robbins' prose very well.

In 1974 Bergen City, New Jersey, four high school seniors get into an incident with a drunken bully. One of the students David Shea hits the drunk one time too many and kills him. His friend Cole Jennings takes the rap, an involuntary manslaughter charge that costs none of them anything. Dave goes on to a life of hustling women and international insider trading of stock. He crosses the line of ethics and legality over the next twenty-five years while making millions, hurting many people along the way, and going through three wives and an assortment of other females.

Though written by his estate based on Harold Robbin's notes, most readers will not be able to tell the difference as sleaze and sex fills the pages of the story. The "story line" follows twenty-five years in the amoral life of Dave with some looks at his three high school buddies especially Cole. Most readers will find the tale lacks a plot and Dave has no motives for his behavior except some obscure need to escape his lower middle class New Jersey upbringing. Still, Mr. Robbins' fans will keep reading because the novel is easy to follow and the audience will want Dave to get his comeuppance.

Harriet Klausner

The ghostwriter is wise in avoiding identification. I bought this book on impulse at an airport bookstore, thinking it would provide me entertainment on a long flight. It is quite possibly the worst book that I've ever read. The storyline is predictable, the editing is horrible, the characters are unbelievable, and much of the story is left unresolved. The description on the back of the book does not even acccurately describe the premise! I cannot believe that I wasted my money and my time on this book. Ghostwriter, please stop writing as the late Harold Robbins - identify yourself so that we can avoid unwittingly purchasing one of your books. Readers, beware of this book. Do not pay money for it, don't check it out of the library, don't borrow it from your friends. I put mine into the recycle bin, hoping that it will at least have a decent future in another form.

This is one of the new generation of books written by authors other than the author, based on the notes or outlines left by the author. The new authors never quite catch the originals but in this case, it is a very creditable job to the point that if someone hadnt actually read ALL of Harold Robbins, this author would be excellent. Encapsulizing - it still isnt Robbins but it may be the next best thing.

After reading the other reviews I was left thinking that the other readers, knowing full well that Harold Robbins was deceased, purchased the book and attempted to compare it to others actually written by him.....That's not fair. I thought the book was good, and so did a lot of my friends at work. Maybe it's because we work in the Financial Industry. At any rate I loved the book and am waiting for the sequel. Now fire up tht PC and get to writing!!!

Harold Robbins novels once seemed so deliciously erotic; now they just seem lame and smutty. This book was a BIG disappointment. I read about half the book and lost interest with the rest. I think I will stick with reading literature with more substance and less trash.