Farfetched but still brilliant!
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There is no questioning that this is an improbable plot but this is a brilliant book that will keep you turning the pages.Its fast-paced, unputdownable, gripping and addictive and you will not want to put this one down until you have finished. Mr Archer at his best.
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Inside knowledge
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I have never subscribed to the view that Jeffrey Archer should be avoided at all costs - to me that just smacks of elitism and snobbery. I bought this to go on holiday and thoroughly enjoyed it. It kept me interested and entertained although towards the end I did find myself putting the book down a lot as I did not want to finish it !! To me Jeffrey Archer has always been a good story teller and that is precisely what he does with this book - tells a good story with a fairly typical Jeffrey Archer twist. I have not read all his books but this does stand up there amongst the best that I have read along with "Not a penny more not a penny less" and "As the crow flies". Due to his recent incarceration in Belmarsh he gets the prison parts of the story as right as can be expected (well I have to trust him on this as I have not been "inside") !!
A very enjoyable book and one that I have no hesitation in recommending
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A Prisoner of Mediocrity
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I so wanted to like this book and it started well, the first 100 pages galloped along.Then once we got to the Prison section i felt it started to stumble and by the time the first major plot change happened i just couldnt accept it.
It was to me totally unbelievable and not realistic, and from that point I struggled with continuing.I did continue, but skip read vast chunks and its that poor that I did that and still did not manage to miss any key points.
Archer made his name as a great storyteller, he doesnt have to rip off other authors (eg Dumas)to tell a story.I was very disappointed in this book and hope Archers next foray into authorship is a significant improvement on this tale.
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Splendid
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I liken this story to Archers 'Not a penny more, not a penny less', a novel I equally enjoyed. Both stories are about revenge for undoing some injustice and have great plots on how the revenge is sought and delivered. Archer's story-telling in this novel is back to his best and it grips the reader from the opening murder and trial of Danny, through to 'Sir Nick's' release from prison and revenge through to the final re-trial of Danny. I only had 3 complaints, i) Book 4 revenge came after 330 pages,and its prior chapter 'freedom' was overly long recounting Nick's re-establishment of family wealth, ii) The character of Danny's fiancee 'Beth' during this ordeal could have been explored in more depth, and iii) The Glaswegian enunciation spelt by Archer for the character Big Al was cumbersome. Otherwise a splendid read, and highly recommended.
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Preposterous entertainment
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As a big fan of Archer's books, I thought this was no more than a middling affair from an author some distance past his best. Its premise is utterly ludicrous - a bit like Archer himself, I suppose - and I had a difficult time suspending disbelief for any length of time.
The main character, Danny, goes from working class chav to educated toff in less time than it takes to say "You're a James Blunt" - and it is simply ridiculous.
There is, of course, the obligatory auction, along with prison cell and courtroom shennanigans (something which Archer should know about) - and a convoluted revenge plot. Not sure what the shock ending was supposed to be either. Silly, mildly entertaining tripe.
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