Customer Reviews

Strangers' Gate

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Strangers' Gate is a different novel than what the jacket description might tell you. Sure there are villains and edge-of-your-seat suspense near the end of the novel, but the main point of this novel, I felt, was not to create just another action-thriller. The book is only about 250 pages long, and the first 200 are really a character study of the main character. Those first 200 pages are spent mostly following the main character along as he tries to figure out his life.

The main character is Jason Walker, a pilot who is currently going through a tough divorce. Jason moves down to St. Croix to take a job flying airboats on a charter basis to other islands in the area. While there, Jason is trying to understand his life. The one thing he knows is that flying planes is his one true peace in life, but that is about it. He's not sure how he feels about his divorce, and when an old flame reappears in his life, he thinks its a good thing, but it turns out to be the gateway for much worse things to start happening to him.

My advice to readers: don't read the jacket description of the novel. Trust me when I say that the novel is enjoyable for what it is, not what the jacket says. Plus, the jacket description basically gives away what is going to happen in the last parts of the novel. If I hadn't read the jacket description, I would have had no idea of where the book was going, and it would have been that much more shocking than what it was.

Tom Casey has obvious skill as a writer. Being a former pilot, the way he writes about flying is beautiful, and you can tell that the author loves flying just as much as the main character does. Also, Casey shows some brilliance in the dialog area. Conversations between the characters are deep and meaningful, and even when the subject matter seems to roam from the main point of the novel, I was still enjoying what I was reading. Some characters are shallow, yes, but those characters are offset by the more important, developed characters that you grow to identify with. I really think that Tom Casey could be an amazing writer. Once the tension kicked in in the novel, it was really intense and well-written. I think that if Casey would write a 400-500 page novel to take the time to develop a better plot, the rewards for us readers would be infinite.

One thing is for sure: I'll be right there for Tom Casey's next novel.

Very well written book, good plot, and very enjoyable. Combines both the introspection of the main character's past life with drug smuggling, murder, and eventually his future.

An action thriller brought to the reader in a refreshing and unique style, combined with sex, travel, mystery, and adventure. I could not put this book down ~ a must read! I am on the edge of my seat, awaiting Tom Casey's next book.

Author Tom Casey bring a rare combination of poetic and psychological depth to "Strangers' Gate," an action thriller that is equally at home in the sophisticated enclaves of New York City and the salty beach bars of the Caribbean. There's plenty of action for his pilot hero, Jason Walker, most of it stemming from his affair with the estranged wife of an abusive Wall Street low-life who has hired some island drug runners to kill him. But through it all -- the sultry sex; the cast of wonderfully exotic charters; and the hair-raising climax aboard a seaplane called the Albatross -- the reader is always riding co-pilot in the cockpit of Jason's soul.

Adventure, sex, the best of the human spirit and darkest; from the first page to the very last, readers will find themselves captivated by extraordinary characters, beautifully described locales, and the charm of this accomplished writer. Strangers Gate will leave men lusting and dreaming of roads not taken, or perhaps reminiscing; women will find themselves with thoughts all too familiar, of what has been, could have been, or still can be. Sexual tension is laced throughout. Strangers' Gate is a brilliant lyrical torture of the senses.

I just finished reading STRANGERS' GATE by Tom Casey, and I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy a strong story and strong characters, written in a style not unsually seen in contemporary fiction. It feels like a book written in the 1940s. He writes very detailed descriptions of locations. The story takes place variously in New York, Alaska, Paris, and St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. It is a romance story in many ways, but a romance troubled by circumstances that threaten the lovers, a woman named Charlotte Lansing, and Jason Walker, an airboat pilot who has a past with her, an affair going back some years previously that began in New York. Her husband, involved in money laundering and other schemes, is aware of their renewed interest, and targets Jason through his network. The action moves at a fast pace and there are several memorable characters drawn into the trouble Charlotte's husband creates. The writing is unusual for a style that seems more from the best writing of the 1930s and 1940s, which is why the writers whose blurbs appear on the book's jacket call it a noir novel. For me it just seemed to be the kind of book that's hard to put down, which is the best recommendation a reader can give an author. I look forward to more from Tom Casey.

This book has received some very positive reviews, or at minimum, some rave blurbs. The book however is completely uneven. The concept and orienation are intriguing. Some sections of the novel are excellent - edge of your seat suspense writing combined with characters that express some depth. The author periodically demonstrates true talent. One of the early chapters, which reads like an inserted short story, is outstanding. However, much of the novel is absolute pulp, below average at best - plot contrivances, cartoon characters, cliches; everything that is wrong with 95% of the trash that gets published today. I mean when the villain of the novel is a swindling, wife-beating investment banker / porn producer who also happens to launder money for Latin American drug lords when he is not frequenting S&M clubs or looking at kiddie porn on his computer, I start to think that maybe the author has spent a little too much time at high altitudes. Mr. Casey has potential. Next flight out he should just keep his eye on the controls and not attempt any foolish maneuvers.

Author Tom Casey has a gift for combining a brilliant and invigorating use of the English language with a flair for adventure and outrageous characters that jump into your mind to stay. The plot moves its main characters through intense relationships and classic moral confrontations, while providing a vehicle for sharing flying sequences and exotic locales that transport
imagination to a level not often found in modern Summer reads. This is a book that should establish the author as one of those rare animals: a writer with an identifiable literary style. Casey's characters and his plot are truly liberated by a refreshing, palpable use of language. This is a recommended read on many levels, and a must read if you love to share intense experiences in the cockpit you will never forget. Casey carries the literary genetics of Ernie Gann and Normal Mailer and places his own brand on this exciting offering. It will leave the reader waiting for his next work.

Strangers' Gate is a lyrical, character-driven thriller from the best traditions of American Fiction. The author brings an introspective dimension to sexy high action. Women will love it for its passionate men, and men will love it for its high adventure. A must read.

STRANGERS' GATE is the finest novel of the summer season, and probably the best novel of the year. The writers who contributed comments on this book, including Norman Mailer, have given a great push to a worthy author. Tom Casey has a rare gift. I travel the world, and have read many novels over the years, but none in recent memory with the lyrical magic that this book offers to readers of fiction, too often disappointed by bad prose. The characters here a are well drawn with astonishing sensitivity, the pace of the story continues to accelerate, driving a narrative that has several strands that collide in a brilliant finish with a surprising happy ending. Casey understands flying, writing, and he knows how to write a love story embedded in an action thriller. I highly recommend this book.