Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter ISBN: 0-375-71292-5 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 27 May, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.32 (303 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: first rate thriller- (some may enjoy the abridged CD better)
Comment: Yale law professor Steven L. Carter's first novel, The Emperor of Ocean Park is a hard book for people to classify. It is both a first-rate literary novel and a page turning thriller. Although the book can definitely be classified as "African American Literature," it is likely to please lovers of traditional legal fiction. One thing that is book is not is a typical popular thriller. Throughout the book, Carter takes pains to distance himself from the better selling thriller authors such Grisham, Patterson, and Turow.
To his uninitiated readers, Carter introduces what he refers to as "The Darker Nation." This is the segregated upper class of blacks that, before integration, vacationed in the black areas of the Hamptons and Martha's Vineyard and played on Black Country clubs. One of the most politically influential and prominent families in "the Darker nation" is the Garland family. The story begins with the death of the family's iconic patriarch, Oliver Garland, a corrupt and disgraced federal judge who once was nominated for the Supreme Court.
The scope of this novel is amazing. It spends an equal amount of time exploring the upper crust of 'the Darker Nation,' the halls of an Ivy League law school, and the power offices of in Wahington DC. Carter uses an interesting Chess problem 'The Excelsior" as a thematic metaphor for Talcott solving the mystery of 'the arrangements.'
Although the scope of the novel is impressive, the heart of any mystery is the logic and the details. This is where Carter deserves the gold medal. There are no loose ends in this book. Every major character has a role to play in the conspiracy or in helping (or hurting) Talcott in his task of solving it. The mark of a truly great mystery is that the careful reader can determine the answer before the conclusion of the book, based on the clues the author leaves in the text.
I must admit, that I read this book twice. I listened to an abridged version on CD in the car and I enjoyed it so much I read it after that. The only thing taking away from this book is that Carter is too wordy and longwinded. I assume this is either a symptom of his law professor background or an unnecessary attempt to distinguish himself from more popular authors of legal fiction. The audio abridgment of The Emperor of Ocean Park a much 'tighter' novel.
Rating: 4
Summary: Another Good Thriller
Comment: Stephen Carter enters the world of fiction with a bang. The Emporer of Ocean Park comes highly recommended, and does not disappoint. It's full of twists and turns, of familial discord and of mysteries unsolved.
Seen through the eyes of Talcott Garland (husband, father and now reluctant adventurer), this story will engage you from beginning to end. Tal's marital difficulties, strange siblings, chillingly dangerous "Uncle Jack" and the mystery woman who keeps popping up just when his life gets dangerously close to becoming normal again will keep you on the edge of your seat.
My only complaint is that this book is TOO LONG! 650 pages is about 200 too many, even for a book this compelling. And, while I enjoyed the way the author wove his love of chess into the storyline, after awhile, the more arcane game references began to wear on me.
Nevertheless, I recommend The Emperor of Ocean Park to anyone who enjoys a good mystery- and has a little time on his or her hands to read :-)
Rating: 2
Summary: there could have been a good book in there
Comment: I tried twice, but couldn't get through the boring characters and whining crap from the characters. All the characters from the main family are a bunch of drips with nothing compelling to offer. There is a thread (in the first ~200 pages I read) of an interesting story, but I was regularly beaten down by diversions about the 'paler nation', PC junk, and generally uninteresting comparisons. Fortunately for the author the main characters were not white, so it will be easy for some readers to view their lameness as a great thing that defies 'stereotypes'.
Too many pages, too much whining, too much plodding
 |
Title: Three Junes by Julia Glass, Julia Glass ISBN: 0385721420 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 22 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: The Dive From Clausen's Pier : A Novel by ANN PACKER ISBN: 0375727132 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 08 April, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: Middlesex : A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides ISBN: 0312422156 Publisher: Picador USA Pub. Date: 16 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: Atonement : A Novel by Ian McEwan ISBN: 038572179X Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 25 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (Today Show Book Club #8) by Alexander McCall Smith ISBN: 1400034779 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 06 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
