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24 Reviews

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

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4.4 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Indiana Jones meets HBO's Oz...., December 22, 2003

By

JunkyardMessiah "jonkadane" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Star Rover (Literary Classics) (Paperback)

Jack London's Star Rover surprised me on every page. It's a riveting, action-packed adventure tale filled with gritty heroes and villains, and fascinating settings, both grim and glorious. The protagonist is a fabulous anti hero, a cross between Indiana Jones and a character straight out of HBO's prison drama Oz.

The characters are so well defined, from the sadistic warden to prisoners Ed and Jack, whom we never really see, and only know through intricate, faceless conversations. The lead character, Darrell Standing, is wily, handsome, intrincsically good, but hardened and made cruel by the warden's treatment. Charming and dangerous, he's just the sort of bad-boy we love to root for. Ed and Jack, his two fellow prisoners, are perfect foils, one believing and encouranging, the other skeptical but reluctanly fascinated nonetheless. The warden makes a formidable, multi-faceted villain, at turns weak and cruel, and inventive in his tortures. What a wonderful read!

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars London's beliefs about dreaming, freedom and redemption, July 2, 1998

By

Fernando Beir�o (Santos, SP - BRAZIL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Star Rover (Paperback)

It makes me very sad that only a few people knows about this book. It tells the story of a man who finds himself in prison. He is trapped in a madman's shirt, in order to confess facts he knew nothing about. Obliged to pass days and nights without being able to move a single muscle, living in complete darkness inside special punishment cells, he manages to avoid getting nuts and yet bravely resists his tortures' will. Developing a way of traveling with his mind, he escapes from all human suffering and still has the chance to watch his actions of past lives, finally understanding how most of his present beliefs and flaws had been built.This is a tale about FREEDOM and REDEMPTION! It makes you firmly believe that free spirits are unbeatable and that we can dream no matter how life is. For anybody who is familiar with London's deep feelings about life and dreaming and freedom, I must say that this is his best book ever. A glimpse of the deepest beliefs of a great writer who left us so soon. A MUST!!!

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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Star Rover, February 26, 2000

By

Ondrej Simecek (Prague, Czech Republic (Europe)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Star Rover (Paperback)

An Excellent, yet not very well known book by Jack London. It's inspired by a real story of an innocently sentenced man, Ed Morrell, whom we find to participate in the book.The main character is Darrel Standing, university profesor sentenced for his life to San Quentin jail and is then sentenced to death for hitting a warden in nose. London describes the suffering and solitude of a criminal who finds his freedom in a world of dreams and memories of recent lives his soul went through. London shows the strength of a man's soul, which cannot be broken even by the worst tortures. An extraordinary book, really a must-read.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Tribute to the Resilience of Human Spirit
Prison life has never been easy, and prisoners have always had to endure physical and mental hardship that goes well beyond the suffering of the loss of freedom. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Dr. Bojan Tunguz

5.0 out of 5 stars Steers you into a whole other direction
This one will launch you into a whole other direction of perception of reality. You may find yourself digging to learn more on the phenomena of Remote viewing, astral projection... Read more

Published on August 1, 2008 by Simon Cleveland

5.0 out of 5 stars DARRELL STANDLING & CONAN
First time I read Jack London and thoroughly enjoyed Star Rover. Found the 1914 book in a used book store for only $10 and in good condition being nearly 100 years old. Read more

Published on May 5, 2008 by The Barbarian

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent
this is the best book illustrating how reincarnation works in our everyday life. i've been recommending this book to people ever since it was re-printed years ago. Read more

Published on March 13, 2008 by Karen Thorne

4.0 out of 5 stars "The Spirit Is the Reality That Endures": Jack London's Most Ambitious Work
In 1915, just one year before his untimely death, Jack London's most ambitious work was published. It is "The Star Rover" (aka "The Jacket"), story about Darrell Standing, former... Read more

Published on February 15, 2008 by Tsuyoshi

5.0 out of 5 stars Any place but here
I read this wonderful book in high school, more than 40 years ago. Some parts of it are still fresh in my mind... clinging to the rock in the middle of the sea... Read more

Published on November 5, 2007 by Baslim the Beggar

4.0 out of 5 stars Good content, poor binding
Although barely known, this novel is one of the greatest works of Jack London; the reader will certainly feel trapped by the deep voice of a narrator who reveals the mysteries of... Read more

Published on March 26, 2007 by Mrs. Pledger

5.0 out of 5 stars Astral Projection/Blessed Retribution
The very best of Jack London. Read beginning of the book, then the end. Go back, and, read, all the way through.

Published on February 22, 2007 by A. Alexander

5.0 out of 5 stars Star Rover - Amazing
This is truly an amazing piece of writing. Truly a must read for anyone who enjoys good books, it contains not only a rich variety of tales but a perspective on the human... Read more

Published on September 30, 2006 by ReviewerM

5.0 out of 5 stars The Star Rover
The Star Rover is unknown compared to Londons other works but this is an amazing book. A straight jacketed prisoner is brutalized and basicly left in the dark in solitary... Read more

Published on May 10, 2006 by Cwn_Annwn

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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First Sentence:
ALL my life I have had an awareness of other times and places. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
forty lifers, sing cucu, head trusty, red wrath, gray old man, waste motion, rifle pit, great wagons

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Warden Atherton, Lady Om, Darrell Standing, Chong Mong-ju, San Quentin, Captain Jamie, Jake Oppenheimer, Captain Nicholl, Cecil Winwood, Adam Strang, Hendrik Hamel, Johannes Maartens, Doctor Jackson, Captain of the Yard, Arnold Bentham, Snub Noses, Cedar City, Kwan Yung-jin, Tostig Lodbrog, Pie-Face Jones, Raa Kook, San Francisco, Mountain Meadows, Aaron Northrup, Board of Directors

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