false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171584950m/108505.jpg 108505 25 A complex, smart mystery filled with intrigue, drama, and more than a little danger awaits in Stephen L. Carter's engaging debut novel, <I>The Emperor of Ocean Park</I>. After the funeral of his powerful father (a federal judge whose nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court became a public scandal), Talcott Garland, an African American law professor at an Ivy League university, is left to unravel the meaning of a cryptic note and carry out "the arrangements" his father left behind. Armed with fortitude and familial devotion--though paranoid of his wife's fidelity--Talcott soon finds himself in an investigation that entangles him with a number of questionable Washington, D.C., denizens, including attorneys and government officials, law professors, the FBI, shady underworld figures, chess masters, and friends and family. All the while Talcott tries not to hurt his attorney wife's chance for a judicial nomination--and their fragile marriage--but the closer he comes to unraveling his father's dark secrets, the more dangerous things become. <p> Clocking in at over 650 pages, the novel could easily have been streamlined; many of Talcott's thoughts are unnecessarily repeated. But Carter's storytelling skills are adept: tension builds, surprises are genuine, clues are not handed out freely. The prose, while somewhat meandering, can be crisp and insightful, as demonstrated in Carter's description of the misguided paths of young attorneys who sacrifice <blockquote>all on the altar of career... at last arriving... at their cherished career goals, partnerships, professorships, judgeships, whatever kind of ships they dream of sailing, and then looking around at the angry, empty waters and realizing that they have arrived with nothing, absolutely nothing, and wondering what to do with the rest of their wretched lives.</blockquote> <I>--Michael Ferch</I> 104562 book 2002 The Emperor of Ocean Park total:1453|5:211|4:555|3:484|2:158|1:45| 1453 5088 1972 279 3 4 false false Tue Feb 19 14:01:35 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 20 07:57:18 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 3 false false Wed Apr 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Mar 26 21:21:53 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 02 22:41:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Wed Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 23 09:25:41 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 08:17:58 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jul 28 08:24:39 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 06 19:51:40 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 3 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 27 14:32:42 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 27 14:59:39 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 11:52:05 -0800 2008 Mon Jan 07 12:05:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 2 false false Mon Apr 13 11:08:29 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 10:35:20 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 13 11:08:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sun Dec 07 22:20:16 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 10 14:01:22 -0700 2009
The protagonist of the story is Talcott Garla...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Jan 18 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 27 15:35:03 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 18 20:53:06 -0800 2009
The characters are what drew me into the book and kept me there. While I've certainly see...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 27 21:27:52 -0700 2008 Sun Jul 27 13:53:52 -0700 2008
I heard abou...more...]]> 4 1 false false Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2002 Sat Dec 15 18:53:04 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 15 18:55:21 -0800 2007 Audible.com

Narrator: Peter Francis James
Publisher: Random House Audio, 2002
Length: 6 hours and 6 min. (abridged)

Publisher's Summary
An extraordinary fiction debut: a large, stirring novel of suspense that is, at the same time, a work of brilliantly a...more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Nov 15 07:11:01 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 15 07:31:36 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 1 false false Fri Jan 30 11:32:12 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 30 11:33:25 -0800 2009 3 1 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Nov 21 18:10:50 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 21 18:41:41 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 01 19:17:30 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 01 19:22:34 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Thu Jan 15 23:03:42 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 23:03:42 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Dec 29 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 14 13:24:20 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 13:38:03 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Mar 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 06 16:59:04 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 24 18:24:34 -0700 2009 4 1 false false Sat Dec 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 16:00:43 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 06:07:12 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Mar 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Mar 01 06:07:23 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 17 16:49:40 -0700 2009
Judg...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=108505