Customer Reviews

The Walk

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(72)
3 star:		(28)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

At the beginning of this novel, I pretty much hated the protagonist, Marty Slack. He was timid, shallow and self-involved and pretty much a stereotype of everything annoying about Corporate America types. As time went on, he began to grow on me as he wandered around the city. By the time Marty's plot twist revelation was revealed, I had already figured it out but it still worked in context of the story.

The book itself was an interesting snapshot of the aftermath of a major disaster and how people react. Some of the images were pretty disturbing but nothing rang all that false or contrived. (Although flooding Hollywood was a little reminiscent of the dam burst in the movie 'Earthquake' - but still pretty cool.) As with any disaster movie/story, Marty should have died numerous times but it's not unexpected to have the hero survive where normal people would be long gone.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was fun but nothing unexpected occurred. It is pretty much a standard disaster story. That's not necessarily a bad thing when you're in the mood for some entertaining brain candy.

This book did live up to all of the great reviews. I absolutely loved the combination of the apocalyptic story line mixed with the humanistic qualities of the characters. I love any book where I am surprised, and left to think about the book, and this book did that. It was not too over the top gory, which it could have been and I think takes away from a story sometimes, but just horrific enough to really give me goosebumps. It was like a horror movie from the seventies in that it left something up to the imagination. I got slightly bored with some of the description of the LA area, but that is just me.I will recommend this book, and look forward to other books from this author.

I would have given this book 4 stars but for one thing. The last obstacle that the protagonist faces was just too much (I don't want to spoil it). The author lost me right before the end of the book. Not that everything that happened before that in the book was believable, but the author convinced me it was believable in the way it was written. But that last one ...

Otherwise, the book was very compelling. I wanted to keep reading. As others have stated, the hero was flawed but you grow to care about his fate. Some of the conversations were very stilted and formulaic, but then you realize that those conversations were take-offs on bad TV or film premises and the author quickly disabuses you of any notion that the language was meant to be realistic.

There is a great deal of good humor mixed in with the high drama of the premise. I got stared at on the plane yesterday when I laughed out loud during the depiction of a dream/nightmare in which the protagonist was interacting with characters in disaster movies - one particular line about Anne Heche in Volcano set me off. The author manages to nicely mesh the drama and the humor.

I really did enjoy the book, but I thought it jumped the shark with the last crisis the hero faced. Even though the book often lampooned disaster movies and such, it wasn't in itself a lampoon so it just didn't seem to fit.

I was not intrigued and captivated by The Walk nearly as much as some of the other people reviewing this book. While I usually don't read books surrounding disasters or the aftermaths thereof, the reviews of this book caused me to give it a shot. While interesting in some areas, it just lacked the punch that it had the potential to deliver.

The book centers on Martin Slack's walk home after The Big One hits LA. The LA setting is central to the story as Martin is a TV executive, and it is clear that he lives up to the stereotypes most people have about executives. With respect to the setting, Goldberg goes to great pains to detail which streets the character is crossing, the routes he is choosing, and some of the more mundane landmarks on the character's walk home. However, being that I have never lived or traveled anywhere near LA, I found myself skipping over these sections. I found them confusing. Whenever you read a book, 99 times out of 100 you have never been to the area where the novel takes place (if it even exists). However, rarely do I find myself skipping over descriptions of the locale as much as I did here.

As much detail as the author went to in explaining the precise streets the character was walking, I found the description of the destruction following the earthquake oddly lacking. While the destruction was evident in the story, I felt it the descriptions lacked punch and vividness, and failed to draw me into the setting.

It becomes evident to the reader that the character's journey is really one of soul-searching. While the ending is interesting, I found that it was telegraphed well in advance and left open some holes in the story which could only be unsatisfactorily explained (in my opinion). Unfortunately, I can't provide any more detail without giving it away.

Throughout the book, I felt as if the author was writing this as a TV episode, which is understandable as that is his background. However, what is missing here are the pieces colored in by the other people who develop TV shows (director, set design, cinematographer, etc...). While Mr. Goldberg has presented an interesting idea and story, the overall product is lacking where other people usually take over on a TV series.

12 hours and 45 minutes. Tokyo to Chicago. My trip home. Not as long as the one Martin Slack endured in Lee Goldberg's "The Walk"' but a tortuous journey nonetheless. Coach class. Middle seat. People who wanted to talk in both sides of me. Fortunately, I was engaged in the wry writing of Mr. Goldberg. A bit Twilight Zone. A bit 70's disaster movie. A great page turner that made my trip fly by (sorry for the pun).

Like all of us Marty is not perfect, but he is driven. Neither a natural disaster of near biblical proportions, nor a promise to rescue a child from daycare can stop him. There are no zombies, but there are plenty of unique characters. Goldberg mixes the suspense with just the right touch of humor. If you are as perplexed as me by the inanity that is called prime time TV, you will appreciate the tongue in cheek references to series both real and imagined (I especially liked "The Endless Spiral" with Christopher Walken as a ghost assassin).

Floods, mud slides, fires, looters, urine soaked blankets, poison gas clouds, hungry animals, disruptive bowel movements, and ill fitting shoes all contribute to the fun. You will ask yourself, what else can they throw at this guy? In the end I made it home in a little better shape than Marty, but he definitely worked harder at it than I did. If you want to escape from a long day at work (or a long ride on a plane), read "The Walk". You will not regret it.

This was a really good book. It was more of a short book or a long short story, but I really enjoyed it. And it was engaging, so I read it in an afternoon. I like the main character--Marty. He had depth. And his on and off sidekick, Buck.
Also, for the Kindle price, it's better than some books I've read that are 2, 3, and 4x as much.
I also liked the twist at the end.
4 1/2 stars. (Something has to be life-changing for me to give that last 1/2 star!)

At the end of Kindle sample, I didn't like the main character, and wasn't going to buy thd book, but all the reviewers who like disaster books liked this, so I bought it. Almost instantly after the sample, the entitled attitude of the main character begins to crack and you see the real man.

Marty has problems, emotional and physical, he has to overcome to get to his destination, which is not just his house, but his relationship with his wife and his ambivilence about starting a family. He has to look at himself and make some decisions about his values.

The ending was sweet and emotionally satisfying.

I really enjoyed this book, and so, immediatly checked the author's other works, which all seem to be TV adaptations for shows I never watch and a book of short stories, which I don't like. Darn.

I will put author on my watch list and the next non-tv show or short story book he comes out with, I will buy

I liked it...creative trauma and after effects of the "big one" in LA. Great metamorphosis of main character. Part of ending surprised me, but made me want to go back through and read it again. Glad I started reading it on a day off, didn't put it down. Kind of a relief to read about a lucky guy.

One thing that I've really enjoyed about owning my Kindle 2 is getting to read all sorts of different books and stories from authors who make them available for extremely low cost. Some of these books I've read have been a decent read and some have been duds. In the case of The Walk though I actually feel honored that the author allowed me to read the book for only $1.40. It's not the type of book I would have bought if it had been a normal full-priced book, so I'm the real winner on this one.

For context I have to admit that I've enjoyed the "disaster genre" since I was a kid, though mostly in the form of movies. (I loved the references in the book to famous disaster movies, especially Earthquake which I got to see at its release in full Sensurround.) If you detest disaster books and movies where horrible thing after horrible thing happens then this one won't be for you. But if you enjoy stories about average people digging deep to find hidden inner strength in order to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles then this will be right up your alley.

The main character, Marty, is an average guy. He's made a good life for himself and loves his wife, but he has unfulfilled dreams and has misplaced priorities that often end up making him a jerk. After LA is completely devastated by an enormous earthquake Marty has to face both physical hardships and inner demons in order to make his way home. As a reader I was right there with him the entire time, hoping he would make it as one horrific thing after another befalls him and fearing what he might find at the end of his journey. The Walk was a great read and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Kindle note (edited 6/28/09): There was a formatting problem with random italics, but the author has since uploaded a corrected copy.

Lee Goldberg has a knack for simple stories. He can make even the most mundane events compelling. In The Walk, he turns what could have been a depressing disaster story into a rousing adventure tale with a hilarious love/hate relationship between a gentrified network slimeball and a one-dimensional gun wielding maniac at its center. If you're looking for substance, there is some to be found, but you might find yourself disappointed. If you want to have fun and enjoy a quick read, this book is well worth the price.