Customer Reviews

The Orchid Eater

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I'm an avid reader, but lately I had lost interest in many books. Everything I was reading began to run together, and no book left an impression on me. Then one afternoon, I went into my classic game collection and pulled out Half-Life, booted it up, and took a walk down memory lane. BUT, upon playing this classic game again, I discovered a small hidden room I had missed the first time through, and inside were a few books on a shelf, one of which was titled "The Orchid Eater". Out of sheer curiousity, I checked it out on Amazon, and sure enough, it was a real book. THEN, I found out that the writer of Half-Life's storyline was also the writer of this book, and I decided that I had to get "The Orchid Eater".

This book was everything I needed - something completely different to break myself away from the monotony of current writers. I just wish I'd found it a little earlier, since it was written a few years back...

Anyway, the book is very exciting, one of those stories that is truly hard to put down. Laidlaw has a fantastic way of adding great detail, but never dwells on those details long enough to get tiring. Instead, he continues very strongly with the storyline and the characters at hand. His writing style is very modern and quite refreshing, and this book is a great example of that. There's a new twist every chapter, and in a story revolving around the activities of two seperate gangs, twists prove to be very exciting. At the beginning of the story, the tales of the two main characters couldn't seem more different, but they soon begin to grow together, until the two stories converge into a brilliant sequence.

I'd rather not give an entire description of the story, becuase it would take forever and it would ruin it for other readers, but I will end with: Buy this book if you like modern writing full of exciting twists... a LOT of twists. Highly recommended.

I have been wondering what the Orchid Eater was ever since I discovered the titles hidden in the game of half-life. I looked it up on here for about a month or so and saw that no one had read it. That gave me the idea to tell everyone how good it is. It is awesome, and brilliant. However, if you do not prefer to read crude language, then for heaven sakes DON'T READ IT! But, if you want a really good read, written by a guy that has also written the stories for several famous PC games (like Half-Life), then read it, trust me, you will like it.

I am not a reader type. I am the kind of person who only reads when needed to for school - and even then it's first chapter, last chapter and any online reviews/summaries.

I decided to read this book since it was written by the author to the storyline of my favorite game. Much to my surprise I actually enjoyed reading it. If you really want to, you can put yourself in with the main character and his friends. It is written that well that you can believe you're actually there, witnessing the events. Laidlaw is REALLY good at writing the suspense and conveying the necessary emotions. If something shocking happens, you feel shocked - you don't just feel like ... oh, that was interesting.

I may even go and read it again next year, or maybe sooner. Definitely worth a try.