The Racketeer
question
do you find yourself buying books of authors you loved but now getting disappointing
Vn
Nov 09, 2012 09:23PM
haven't started reading the racketeer that i received a few days ago. am already a little apprehensive.
i find myself addicted to some authors where i end up buying their books knowing that i am likely to be disappointed by them. John grisham, janet evanovich, james patterson, richard north patterson, david baldacci, mary higgins clark are some of the names that come to mind.
i may be hope that the latest would recreate the charm of the older books, but i am starting to think its almost as if i feel i owe them for the pleasure they gave a few years ago :) now i put them on my amazon wish list, watch until the kindle edition reaches below 7 dollars and then buy them. that compromise works for me.
I just wish authors would spread their great ideas through more books rather than make the first few amazing and then peter off.
i find myself addicted to some authors where i end up buying their books knowing that i am likely to be disappointed by them. John grisham, janet evanovich, james patterson, richard north patterson, david baldacci, mary higgins clark are some of the names that come to mind.
i may be hope that the latest would recreate the charm of the older books, but i am starting to think its almost as if i feel i owe them for the pleasure they gave a few years ago :) now i put them on my amazon wish list, watch until the kindle edition reaches below 7 dollars and then buy them. that compromise works for me.
I just wish authors would spread their great ideas through more books rather than make the first few amazing and then peter off.
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unfortunately it happens to a lot of great authors- Many of my favorites have gone this way- Grisham, Patterson, Picoult, Phalinuck.
When no one knows your name you MUST write a GREAT book to get published, and you have your whole life to work on it until its fantastic.
Once they're famous we are all clamoring for their next achievement- all of a sudden there are advances contracts, deadlines. They don't necessarily have to produce quality, they just have to produce.
Remember- they have to make a living too- one great book is a decent paycheck, but it wont pay the bills forever.
Some can perennially produce great stories (with a stinker here and there), but they are the exception. Other's may be one hit wonders, most run out of good ideas somewhere in between- but they will still publish until we stop buying.
When no one knows your name you MUST write a GREAT book to get published, and you have your whole life to work on it until its fantastic.
Once they're famous we are all clamoring for their next achievement- all of a sudden there are advances contracts, deadlines. They don't necessarily have to produce quality, they just have to produce.
Remember- they have to make a living too- one great book is a decent paycheck, but it wont pay the bills forever.
Some can perennially produce great stories (with a stinker here and there), but they are the exception. Other's may be one hit wonders, most run out of good ideas somewhere in between- but they will still publish until we stop buying.
The Racketeer was an enjoyable read, not one of his top three but somewhere in the middle of the pack. My favorite books of his are Testament and The Firm.
The Racketeer was my first John Grisham book and I really enjoyed. The plot was very clever and the end was WOW. There is justice in the end.
I use to be a avid Grisham fan but not anymore I still read him but not as much. My favorites were The Firm of course and King of Torts. Patterson's books are starting to be all be the same. So now I read whatever I've been reading a lot of these quick mysteries.
I feel the same way about Daniel Silva. Early Gabriel Allon books were great, now getting more boring :-(
The Racketeer was very enjoyable! Thought it was had an amazing twist. In the beginning you feel sorry for Malcolm but now after reading the entire book how innocent was he before when he was just a lawyer? In the beginning I am thinking wow this guy has been totally derailed for something he did not do and by the end he has done so much you see that he was not that innocent. Like when the money was first deposited when he was in the law firm he should have made a more drastic move rather than just sit back and let the money just move around.
I'm the same with John Grisham and I can't see the trend ending here despite finding The Racketeer being a quite lazy piece. I then read Sicamore Row, Grisham's sequel to the very, very good A Time to Kill which was quite good. Truth is I don't have many authors that I love and each time I try a new one it's not great.
Suppose we're destined to read Grisham till the end of time, then.
Suppose we're destined to read Grisham till the end of time, then.
I love the books written by John Grisham however, "The Racketeer" was not up to par with his previous novels!
Jodi Picoult's books never disappointed me! I love the twists at the end of the plot.
Jodi Picoult's books never disappointed me! I love the twists at the end of the plot.
As people get older, they get stupider and less interesting. Authors are people. Your disappointments will only continue to grow.
I have read some of his books and liked them.I enjoyed this book and liked the suspense.
Disappointing. Wrong character with no function besides "snitching" and "gossiping". John Grisham writes about the "clean" legal system and methods, he is a safe side player cos he never works his legal story's from the "hackers" side. That means although everybody knows the Laws are full of cracks for smartass layers to win through, very few writers want to write. Grissom writes for people who have a short knowledge of Legal laws.
It felt like he was in desperate need of putting a book out and just grabbed the first idea that came to mind and jotted it down. It was an ok book but it seems like Baldacci is the only one coming out with better ideas and stories lately. I also have the same opinion about Black Box being just something to put on the shelf with their name on it.
deleted member
May 16, 2013 08:27AM
0 votes
So stop buying. Start borrowing then you haven't spent movie on a crap book, but you can easily go buy it if it is good enough that you would read it again.
Sandra Ianuzi
I enjoyed The Racketeer and didn't expect it to end the way it did - so the surprise ending made me smile!
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Vn wrote: "haven't started reading the racketeer that i received a few days ago. am already a little apprehensive.
i find myself addicted to some authors where i end up buying their books knowing that i am l..."
You should really start reading this book. I felt the same way when I first started. However, I kept reading because my curiosity got the best of me and I was pleasantly surprised! The ending will blow your mind. I think this John Grisham's best writing since A Time to Kill and The Firm. Start reading today!
i find myself addicted to some authors where i end up buying their books knowing that i am l..."
You should really start reading this book. I felt the same way when I first started. However, I kept reading because my curiosity got the best of me and I was pleasantly surprised! The ending will blow your mind. I think this John Grisham's best writing since A Time to Kill and The Firm. Start reading today!
I enjoyed The Racketeer. One of my favorites that Grisham wrote was The King of Torts, mainly because I knew nothing about that type of lawsuit and what was involved.
I think it's easy for both authors and publishers to wanna saturate the market with every thought that comes into their mind.
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Check out my webcomic, updates every Thursday: http://reddkaiman.blogspot.com/
I'm a die hard Grisham fan. Love ALL his work, though I acknowledge some are better than others. With The Racketeer, the only disappointment I had was when it ended, and I immediately began missing the characters and the excitement.
Vn wrote: "haven't started reading the racketeer that i received a few days ago. am already a little apprehensive.
i find myself addicted to some authors where i end up buying their books knowing that i am l..."
Vn,
You can trust your intuition on this one. It isn't worth your reading time. I've read every novel the man has written, this one should have never been published.
Bert
i find myself addicted to some authors where i end up buying their books knowing that i am l..."
Vn,
You can trust your intuition on this one. It isn't worth your reading time. I've read every novel the man has written, this one should have never been published.
Bert
Vn wrote: "haven't started reading the racketeer that i received a few days ago. am already a little apprehensive.
i find myself addicted to some authors where i end up buying their books knowing that i am l..."
If you haven't read The Racketeer then I would recommend you to start today itself. It is quite uncanny book unlike the ones you might have read by John Grisham. The excitement begins in the 2nd half of the novels and there are loads of surprises in the end that would keep you all the way hooked up ...!!!!!
i find myself addicted to some authors where i end up buying their books knowing that i am l..."
If you haven't read The Racketeer then I would recommend you to start today itself. It is quite uncanny book unlike the ones you might have read by John Grisham. The excitement begins in the 2nd half of the novels and there are loads of surprises in the end that would keep you all the way hooked up ...!!!!!
I was a little disappointed it The Racketeer. I've been reading Grisham since The Firm & this booked seemed to be a throwaway. It wasn't terrible, it just wasn't great. It seemed like a book he threw together to meet a contract obligation. Maybe I was expecting too much because his previous book The Litigators was one of my favorites
You should try "A Time to Kill". That and "The Firm" is why I can't stop readding Grishams books. Even though his books are no way as good as they once were. I also agree with Becky about "The Black Box".
First book I read by Grisham and I was disappointed.
This book was one of the worst books I have ever has the misfortune to read. John Grisham was a good writer once - The Firm, The Pelican Brief, Runaway Jury for instance - but now he is just churning out tat. It's time for Mr Grisham to retire. Please.
don't rush out for The Black Box the new Michael Connelly then either......
I have only read two Grisham books. The first (Litigators) did not meet the expectations I had for a "Grisham Book". Since he is so famous and has written many books that were turned into movies I enjoyed, I figured I would give him a final chance. I was pleasantly surprised. It was a good book. I only saw "The Firm" in movie form, but it was a great movie. Since most books are better than the movies, I assume the book was incredible.
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