Customer Reviews

TYCOON: A Novel

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

I read a lot of Jackie Collins and the like, but I never read a Harold Robbins novel before (well, I skimmed through "Butterfly" when I was in 6th grade just to read the dirty parts, but I don't think that counts). I confess, I bought this because I wanted a sleazy, hopefully shocking, entertaining light read. I wasn't dissapointed on any of these fronts, and parts of the book made me laugh at loud they were so vulgar. I take away a star for the misogynistic tone of the book. (Though after I finished this book I read a few of his others and this one is feminist compared to, say, "The Storyteller") But that didn't stop me from reading it and shaking my head in disbeleif at how sick and twisted some of the plot developments are. I was reading it at work and hoping no-one could read it over my shoulder, because it was so filthy dirty. But I really did like it, and have to say enjoyed it a great deal. A couple times I could see something especially juicy was being set up and saying to myself, "Oh, this should be good!" It's also fun that it has real-life characters such as Ava Gardner, and some who have different names but are obviously supposed to be, for instance, Marilyn Monroe. If you like sleazy Hollywood novels and are a Jackie COllins fan, it's worth picking this one up. Just be prepared for it to be WAY more graphic!

Tycoon is the first book I've read by the prolific Harold Robbins. Tycoon spans an epic 50 years and tells the story of Jack Lear. Jack buys a radio station with the help of his father-in-law and turns that station into a radio then television empire spanning the country.

Tycoon is about the characters, and there are many. Robbins creates many characters and I'm surprised that after reading, so many of them made an impression on me. Robbins' story doesn't dwell too deeply on the motives of the characters, but instead just describes the actions of the characters, which speak for themselves.

Lear has his three wives and many mistresses and business associates. Lear's kids, Jack and Joni are also fun to read about as are his employees Sally Allen and Curt Frederickson. Jack's family is also interesting. They are the same type of people as he.

Lear seems to have a good marriage with his first wife Kimberly, yet he cheats on her constantly. This is my biggest problem with the novel. There is a lot of sex in Tycoon, a lot described in great detail. Yet Robbins never puts it in context. We never hear how Lear feels about cheating on his wife. We never hear about any reasons the characters might have cheated on on their respective spouses. And this is frustrating because using sex in a story can be very effective in a novel if there is a reason for it.

Jack Lear would've been a better character if he felt any remorse for cheating, or if he enjoyed it. Instead it is presented as a given, natural thing to do (as it is with all characters in the novel).

Tycoon is a sprawling novel with many memorable characters. The incest between Jack's kids seems a little unnecessary yet it shows Robbins isn't afraid to touch any subject.

The climax really isn't one because it involves Lear fighting to save the station, and since I really didn't care about him, I didn't care if he was successful. This novel is good because it tells a good story about many people. Yet afer reading I realized none of the characters were nice people and so I don't know how many more Robbins novels I'll read.

A lot of people dont like this book because they say that its a simple variation on the typical business storylines in Harold Robbins' books. I disagree. In this one...which, by the way, got me into reading Mr. Robbins, we have all sorts of business dealings, steamy sex, and it has a great retrospective on the media in contemporary society. You people need to lighten up. This was a good book, it was fun to read, and I think its got some of the better writing of the book. My only problem is...Mr. Robbin's dialogue isnt always great. Jack Lear, to me...is almost as interesting as Jonas Cord from The Carpetbaggers. Read this book. You wont be disappointed.

Good writting ability doesn't overpower that this novel is primarily written to sell people with the sex. Otherwise and half interesting half mundane story about a man's life as he struggles to gain power and money.

Jack Lear is an ambitious pioneer of radio and television. Starting with the golden age of radio, through the rise of television, till the introduction of cable television, "Tycoon" tells the story of jacks rise to power in the business world while also dealing with the drama of his and his family's personal lives.

Decent and enjoyable story for what it was. A bit of fluff that kept me entertained while reading.

the way the story goes and the way it ends simpy describes harold style..it is very good and interesting to read!!

Was one of those airport book store purchases for me. Never read Robbins before and was dissappointed. Reading this book is a little like letting the TV linger on a Jerry Springer episode while channel surfing. You feel guilty for watching something so banal, but don't want to change the channel right away.

Harold Robbins was (and still is) a very famous author here in Brazil. His books, that are usually known as books full of sex, intrigue, passion and hatred, don't have good stories that keep the reader on the edge of the seat, on the other hand.

And that's not different with that book. Although the story at first seem interesting, soon it starts to get pretty trite, but what really matter in this book is that Harold tried to fit in every empty space scenes of pure sex, a characteristic that made him famous worldwide.

Although his books have more sex and erotic scenes than a real good story, this book is interesting and a good reading. It's the kind of book that you enjoy reading even though you feel disgusted when you read some parts of the book, like a woman who has sexual relations with her brother and even get pregnant of him... And he describes the sex scenes, that's what most terrible. Though, these scenes are interesting because it's not the kind of thing you usually see in books. Harold Robbins was brave enough to brake some taboos, and that's great. Reading this book is just a great fun, nothing else. But it's worthwhile. It's always (or almost always) worthwhile. Even if you don't like the books, at least you learn lots of new ways and positions of making sex!

Marco Aurelio.

Typical Harold Robbins story line about a man with an ax to grind and the women he uses to climb to the top... this time in the broadcasting business.

The hero starts his business and builds it to a huge business with out one setback. Every female he meets just wants and does have sex with him. Thank God Mother Teresa did not meet him. The hero was not upset that his daughter "blew" her way to an academy award and more upsetting he showed no reaction when the daughter informed him she was having sex with her brother. All of his children from the many women he used became super successful in their field. The sex scenes were very good. I can only hope when Jack dies he goes straight to hell. Thats the sequel I would love to read next.