OVERLOAD [Hardcover]

Arthur Hailey (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Doubleday (1974)
• ASIN: B001IOO63E
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, February 15, 2003

By 

Hutchinson Persons (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Overload

I'd like to give it 5 stars but it wasn't quite there. So few books are-- even the ones I see given 5 stars.

In this case my reason was the first half of the book. It had trouble picking up steam. The first couple pages were slow. And then it took off! From there, the story varied--up and down in excitement, in energy level, until, in the second half Hailey maintained his emotional intensity through to the end.

The book was predictive of things that had not yet happened and seemed unlikely but since publication have happened--like rolling blackouts. And things that probably will, like issuance of a gold-backed "New Dollar."

The hotel scene was very exciting. I found the parapalegic thing interesting and different. The main character far outdoes James Bond in the women department--without really trying.

The book's greatest drawback is this: Hailey does not always "deliver" as well as I would like. By "delivery" I mean the technical writing aspect of having something really blow up--showing it from three camera angles; having the villain get his or her just rewards in a way that is emotionally satisfying--after asking the reader to work through a long build up. It's the payoff for all the suspense. And though Overload delivers here in places, they aren't sustained as long as I would like. I want more emotional satisfaction. I want the AHHHHHHH!

Morally overall, Overload is very good, though it contains an unfortunate smidge of altruism and mysticism. I'm guessing Hailey is Jewish. Leaving those aspects out would have improved the book.

In total Overload was excellent. It should still be in print. There are so few of its kind: books about business with strong technical aspects--though here too he could have used a bit more extension and detail--though not all the way to say, Clancy.

I liked it. I would read another Hailey.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars still relevant, January 29, 2001

By 

"sneezdee" - See all my reviews

This review is from: OVERLOAD (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is now 20 years old. For anyone living in California, it seems ironic that this book can touch on so many of the problems facing California now. It almost seems as if it were written yesterday. I find it strange that the author could have gotten this much information at a time when none of us gave a thought to where our power was coming from. Does this mean that the power shortages, gas shortages, etc. were know then but never brought to the attention fo the public? This a work of fiction and is still a good read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Overload: Exciting to read!, March 5, 2002

By 

Thomas Köster (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: OVERLOAD (Mass Market Paperback)

I think "Overload" by Arthur Hailey shows the main difficulties in providing a big state reliable with electricity.
The story which not only reports the technical aspects of this awkward topic plays in California.
The responsible persons who have to organize the running off in the power station are not only stressed of their demanding job.Familiar problems make their work more difficult than ever before.
The storys about citizens who are suffering from their fate, not getting the needed energy to survive, complete the dramatical tellings of Arthur Hailey.
The only point I want to criticize is the often conspicuous constructed action in the story which remembers in some ways on cheap novels you get in supermarkets.