Excellent for about 75% of the book
586917
This book was fantastic until aboutt 3/4 of the way through then it turned.  The twist seemed contrived.  Very diisappointed.  Only have two stars because of how great the beginning was.
2107772
The first 75% of this book was definitely better than the last 25%, which felt a bit rushed and disconnected.

On the positive, I enjoyed Madsen's writing style. I found her dry and humorous, and somewhat unexpected. I think that her journey was interesting, though I had trouble relating to how she went about it at times- while she claimed to love her husband and value their relationship, I felt as though she tried a little too hard to push him into things he was not comfortable with and when he didn;t play along it was his problem of not being cool enough.

Overall, it was fascinating but I didn;t find the author to be someone I thought I'd really be friends with. Perhaps that's a cop-out on my end, but in general I find books- memoirs in particular- most enjoyable when I simply LIKE the main character...
4977007
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. However, I didn't realize only half of it contained the story. The remaining half was filled with the author's explanations of how he wrote the book. In my opinion, he should have stopped at page 212 when the story ended. Instead, he continues for another 185 pages about his research. He writes about the story being a novella, so he should have left it that way.
3786330
I enjoyed 3/4 of the book.  The first half was history, much of it new (to me) history regarding the popularity of Shakespeare in the frontier, the characters of that time and the rocus nature of theater up until the riots. The last quarter explained the riots and the aftermath which was also a great history lesson.  Between the first half and the last quarter the author got bogged down in dialogue and a he said she said as to the falling out of of the two main characters.  Much too detailed, for me.  Glad I read the book and would recommend the 3/4 mentioned.
2953033
I read this book during my holiday vacation after coming across a copy at the home of one of my relatives.  I have to say that the book description and the final storyline (at least at the 10,000 foot level) is quite interesting.  However, I feel that the author did a mediocre job at executing said story.

The opening chapters were well written.  The action was intense and some of the characters showed promise.  Though some people don't like this style, I really did enjoy the flashbacks to ancient history to fill in the holes in the story. However, beyond the first 150 pages or so, the story loses its punch.  The actions of some of the characters are, at times, completely unrealistic, and the dialog (especially during intimate moments between the two protagonists) is just plain dull.

The two main characters, Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin, are underdeveloped and largely uninteresting.  Because the reader doesn't really get to know either of them during the story, it's hard to root for either of them.  The author goes over the top to draw out the romantic undertones between these two from their initial meeting, to the point that the reader is bored with their relationship before it ever really starts.

Although I didn't like the way the story ended, I'm not going to hammer on that point - that's just a matter of reader preference.  Where the author did fail at the end is in the abruptness of it.  The stereotypical chase scene followed by the demise of one of the central characters could have been cut from almost any fictional drama, but it was so anticlimactic that I was sure that there must be a final chapter I hadn't yet reached.

Although I didn't really enjoy this book, I think the author shows promise.  If I understand correctly, this was the author's first novel.  As I did enjoy many of the elements displayed in his writing, I may revisit this author again to see how well his stories mature in later works.
4494912
The last 10% of this book was great, but up until that point it kind of dragged.
3772920
I enjoyed the book and if I had been rating it at the halfway point I would have given it 5 stars.  At around 70%, it got to be a bit over the top, with too many things going on that really weren't necessary.
1614606
This was almost a superb book.  Almost.
I almost felt sufficient sympathy for the main characters, but most of them were inadequately fleshed out.
I almost understood the grief for lost Tigana.  At one point  I was murmuring 'Tigana' because _I_ could say it (this is the kind of  irrational thing a good fantasy book has you doing), but that feeling  wasn't sustained.
Certain points of the plot almost succeeded.  Particularly I point to the romances and the death-that-isn't of a main  character. In places I can see what he was aiming for, but it falls short.  Sometimes I don't see the point or meaning of an event at all.
I get an  appreciation of the histories and cultures and landscapes of the provinces  of the Palm that is almost sufficient.
I can't contrive any more almosts.  Another peeve is the unnecessary and intrusive use of the present tense in  places.  I have nothing against the present tense, but it wasn't acheiving  anything.  Despite all of this, Tigana gets four stars because it is a very  good book, just not quite what it could have been.
4387076
I loved the first half of this book. However, being hearing impaired myself, I found a couple of things really interesting.  It seemed like a lot of attention was paid to his job (with the exception of the repeated comment that he was neutering dogs and spaying cats, implying that there were only male dogs and female cats in town), but there were at least five different situations where she was able to perceive sound that were not picked up on.  If she was profoundly, completely deaf, and her own senses had compensated for it, she would have noticed other things.  For example, there is a scene where the hero says he heard the daughter's music from outside the house.  Music that loud would vibrate the walls.  Most deaf people listen to music, enjoying the thumping beat because they can feel it.  One situation was where the heroine's daughter spent the night in the heroine's bed and the heroine mentally noted the next morning that the daughter snored and talked in her sleep, thus disrupting it.
She could hear a door close when her mother left one scene. She also determined that the hero's voice was hoarse in a scene.

I was quite disappointed with the lack of care in regards to the descriptions of her hearing problems.  I know the book came out in 2002 originally, but there were more options out there for her that would have improved her hearing and I felt that it wasn't fully explored.

It was a sweet story but the end just dragged on, like the author had a word count to meet and added filler to the last 1/3 of the book.  That being said, it was a sweet story with a full cast of characters and a very satisfying ending.
243990
The first 75% of this book was fantastic. It was well written and well edited. The characters were fully described and likeable. The descriptions were wonderful. The paranormal aspect (which is not always something I enjoy) was subtle enough to blend into the story without overwhelming it. Unfortunately, the author tried to stretch the plot out too long. She did everything but write the solution to the mystery in blood on the heroine's dressing room mirror, and poor Lee still couldn't figure it out. I had a difficult time finishing the book, simply from exasperation. After all the stumbling around being oblivious, the heroine's final confrontation with the culprit was overdone. I seriously think the author only did it to put her outside, nearly naked and surrounded by photographers. Why the need for cheap thrills? Then, if that wasn't bad enough, the author added one of those mega wrap up chapters : then this happened, then that happened, then .... I still gave the book three stars, but the last few chapters were a disappointment after the book started off so splendidly.
732494
The book is really good, but it doesn't substantially move the main story forward except for a couple chapters at the very end.
If you are looking for Honor you will only find her in about half a page ... same for most of the other usual characters.
As others mention, this book tells some already known stories from different points of view and also fills a lot gaps, I believe that the reason for this book is to complete the foundation for the new book (PLEASE DAVID, PROVE ME RIGHT !!!!)
One problem of the book is that it develops in multiple different "star nations", each one with a different set of characters and some of them with really complicated names and last names, this tends to make following the story a bit complicated (thanks Amazon for the X-ray functionality)
The worst part of the book is the first chapter, I believe that DW made a huge mistake starting the book with such complicated names and last names. Don't get me wrong it's interesting chapter, and the whole time I was cheering for the characters to achieve their goal, but I was hard to know who was whom.
Unsure about buying it? download the free sample, survive the first chapter, and you will be hooked for the rest.
2947054
I really enjoyed the book for the most part.  There are some great topics discussed.  I especially enjoyed the chapter on nonprofit/corporation alliances.  The downside: I thought the two chapters regarding Boards were lacking.  Overall, it's definately worth checking out.
2780977
Peter is obviously highly intelligent, and his book is very great in chapter 9 until the end.  The firast 2/3rds of the book are mostly fluff and not alot of real good information.  His writing style is a little bit borning and leaves alot to be desired, but the last 3/rd of the book brought osme real value on how to pay a CEO, be a startup , and what to do to be sucessful as he is connected with probably the richest 1% click in the tech world
3336833
About about 75% through the book and I don't like it as well as the first two; however, it is still worth reading.
2010179
I enjoyed it for the most part, but I think the author spent just a little too much time on the build up and not quite enough on the resolution.

I liked the alternating perspectives and I cheered for the characters along the way.
3610908
This book contains a lot of great PKD-style inventions, and he also makes some good points about who we trust and why. A lot of the human interactions in this book are well done, and that is not as common in PKD books as we all would like. However, he introduces too many plot threads and characters. While he has merely a complex cast of characters, the plot goes through way to many twists and turns, and the two interact badly. Either one would be fine, but together, I feel this book would be a lot better if either about twenty-five unneccessary pages were edited out or another fifty pages to use these characters or ideas were added.
Don't get me wrong- PKD did a lot of stuff right in this one. His characters behave like people, when he's looking at the main plot, it shines, and using a disc jockey as the closest thing to God and the U.N. makes for a good book. However, it took a few readings for me to discover what he did right, and at first I was very frustrated with this book. I see that some characters or ideas might make the book feel more detailed, and make the post-holocaust world that much more vivid and gripping, but not to excess. At a point I stopped paying attention to the throwaway characters because their presence served no purpose.
If PKD was better known, then maybe people would be forwarned about the plot, and be able to handle it. I'm not saying that the average reader shouldn't buy this book, I'm just suggesting that the reader have either a background in PKD (you don't need it to understand the plot, but it helps with the general weirdness), a lot of tolerance for a plot that manages to be roundabout without leaving California, or the patience to read this book a couple of times to get a handle on it. Or maybe two of the three.
2977198
I won't repeat the plot summary-- others have done it already. So let's get straight to my opinion: The book is good, but it could have been very good, if the editor had done a proper job of editing out the fluff.
When famous authors with a guaranteed public get power over their editors, they often begin to write longer and fluffier. Clancy began writing 400-450 pages, and ended writing 800 pages. J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book was her best, and among the shortest. Later on she began to fluff up the book, and no editor dared speak back to her. Apparently the same happened to Lee Child.
Don't misunderstand me: His descriptive power is still awesome, but this does not mean he has to describe everything. He can still turn out a page turner book-- which this book occasionally is-- but when I found myself skipping whole parts fight scenes, and of the sex scenes (!), I knew there was a problem here.
Now, I myself write (and publish) award-winning books (both non-fiction and fiction-- yes, thrillers), and I have always found Elmore Leonard's dictum (to cut out all the parts the reader skips) a good one. It helps keep the paying bums in the paying seats. Lee Child can still keep them, but I found my own bum over-fidgety at times. I bet others were too.
It would have been interesting to get the honest, confidential view of Lee Child's editor about the book. I betcha that he or she would agree that it's too long, but about 20%, perhaps even as much as 25%.
But other than that, it's a good page turner-- though it could have been better, if some of the beautiful lard had been peeled off, so more of the book's cheekbones could show to advantage.