Terminal by Brian Keene Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Terminal
Book Review: Irony At Its Finest
Summary: 4 Stars
Tommy O'brien is having one of those days. You know the kind. Very literally, nothing could make it worse. He's been to see his doctor, and the news is not good. He's dying, and there is nothing he can do about it. He has a prescription, but of course it costs more than he makes. He needs rent, groceries, bills paid, and some beer, but can only afford the beer. Life could not suck much worse...except that it could
In TERMINAL Brian Keene has brought the word irony to new levels. Life can always get worse. Not only can it get worse, but it can go several shades of weird on you in two shakes of a dog's tail, and for Tommy O'Brien, this becomes more and more obvious as the novel progresses.
There are worse things than being poor. There are worse fates than dying of horrible disease. There are worse ideas than robbing a bank, and there are stranger things in the world than you can imagine - but Brian Keene is available to help you with this latter. Terminal is a tour de force of twists and turns that never really settle into a comfortable mold. When Tommy O'Brien and his friends make that bank-robbing choice, everything goes south very quickly. They are stuck with a hostage situation, one another, and a host of characters they could never have anticipated stacked up between themselves and success. Tommy, a basically good guy trying to provide for his family, is sucked along in the center of the vortex.
There is a lot of introspection in this novel, and there are some wonderful characterizations. The plot twists hit you out of the blue, leaving you alternately laughing at and deeply saddened for the protagonist, his buddies, and those they encounter along the way. It would be difficult to be precise without providing spoilers, but suffice it to say that Keene has hit the nail directly on the head with street-wise, down-to-earth characters suffering all the standard woes of the world - and instead of helping them through their troubles, he piles it on like God assaulting Job until you think they have to snap.
This is not an uplifting novel, and though it is filled with messages and hidden truths, you won't come away from it loving the protagonist, or fulfilled by magical resolution of impossible tragedy. This is a gritty work, dark and desolate as the lives and dreams of its characters. A fine novel by a talented author,
Book Review: Keene's best is still terribly flawed
Summary: 3 Stars
After finding many serious flaws in the only two of Brian Keene's novels I'd read -- The Rising and Ghoul -- I was hesitant to delve any further into his work. But I kept hearing people say, "Read Terminal. It's very different from his other books," and since I had enjoyed the page-turning qualities of both those previous books, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try, especially since an online pal offered to loan the limited edition novella to me so I could read it for free. (Only the expanded novel-length version is available commercially.)
Tommy O'Brien has just been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The disease has taken hold of various parts of his body ("like roots") and is therefore inoperable. With a wife and son to provide for, but recently laid-off and with increasing debts (and maybe only a month to live), Tommy makes a pivotal decision: he and his friends will rob their local bank so that his family will be taken care of after his death.
The things Keene does well are all in Terminal: believable characters, a fast-paced plot, and really tight suspense. What makes this one different is its probability: just about everything in here could really happen and probably has. In fact, up until the robbery itself, Terminal was one of the best stories I'd recently read. The camaraderie between Tommy, John, and Sherm is realistically portrayed, and Tommy's love for his family makes him easy to identify with.
It's too bad that the story required the bank robbery to take place because that's where things go wrong -- not only in the story, but with the story as well. For example, the inclusion of the character of Benjy seems entirely wrongheaded and unnecessary, especially since his appearance does nothing to change the story's conclusion. It's as if Keene was not satisfied with a simple little crime thriller with a twist, but felt as if he had to add a supernatural element in keeping with the rest of his work.
And once the robbery begins, everything that was truly readable about Terminal pretty much goes out the window. (A cursory examination led me to believe that the novel-length edition actually expands on the robbery, which is truly unfortunate because what it really needs is more family scenes.)
Still, Terminal is without a doubt the best thing Brian Keene has done yet. But since he seems to have continued on with his zombies and other flesh-eaters, I am still unlikely to pick up another of his books until he realizes how to leave well enough alone and let a really good story speak for itself.
Book Review: Life is filled with the unexpected...
Summary: 4 Stars
You have grown up hating the town you live in and want to get out as soon possible. Yet as with a lot of people's dreams, some just don't come true. Life happens or so it does for Tommy O'Brien, Keene's main character.
O'Brien is living the life most folks fall into, marriage, children and the usual 40 hour grind. As if life isn't hard on it's on merit, O'Brien is faced with several life changing events one so devastating it leaves him literally on the edge of death. He's not only lost his job at the factory but he's found out he has terminal cancer. He's scared and he's alone in his disease because the last thing he wanted was his wife to worry. What was he going to do?
Overwhelmed by the events that happen in his life O'Brien turns to his friends; after all he can't keep it bottled up inside him because he knows if he does his wife and their son will be left with absolutely nothing. Sitting in the car with his best friends, John and Sherm, they devise a plan that hopefully will help him care for his family in his departure from this earth. The plan has to be carried out quickly though, because time is something O'Brien doesn't have the luxury of.
Brian Keene's "Terminal", is truly a page turner. I really enjoyed this book. Do you want to know what happens to O'Brien and his family? How are John and Sherm going to help their buddy in his time of need? I seriously suggest you read the book and find out! You will not be disappointed; Keene's spun an unforeseen heartwarming tale woven with love, friendship and a touch of the super natural. 4 Stars - Reviewed by Michael S. Timlin, Authors on the Rise Book Reviews
Book Review: Loved it
Summary: 5 Stars
There was not one thing that i did not like about Terminal. This book was fantastic. From start to finish. I loved the ending. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put it down. Brian Keene is a fabulous writter, and I love all 3 of the books I've read of his. These 3 have been my favorites. Terminal, The Rising and City of the Dead. All three were great. Pick them up. You get your moneysworth with all of them.Book Review: Minority
Summary: 3 Stars
Based on the other reviews I have read, I guess I am in the minority for not really caring that much about this book. I am a huge fan of Keene, so I was really excited to pick this book up. It is not in the supernatural vein that most of his stories seem to take place in. This is the story of a working class guy who is told he has cancer and has about a month to live. He and his wife and child are very poor and he decides that he needs to leave them taken care of before he goes. Keene writes well and parts of the story are actually very good. A big problem I have with Keene a lot of times is when he writes Black characters. Most of the time they are very stereotypical ghetto with Keene having them talk with every street slang word he has ever heard in movies. This book not along has the Black characters speaking that way, the main characters are White(wiggers) who talk that way. I found it annoying and it took away from the story for me. It was just too much for me, I think it could have been toned down a bit. Not every urban person speaks that way constantly.