The Winner by David Baldacci Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Winner
Book Review: Baldacci is a Winner
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the first Baldacci book I read, and as I don't normally read fiction I was suprised at the affect this mans writing was having on me. You could actually get a perfect picture in your mind of how each individual character looked. The story was so well written! Unfortunately, other Baldacci books haven't had the same affect as this one did - both Total Control, and The Simple Truth, have not lived up to this standard. In parts they are poorly written but still worth a read. Despite this i will continue to read Baldacci.Book Review: Baldacci is a Winner...
Summary: 4 Stars
I was recently referred to "The Winner" by a friend of mine, and I'm glad I gave Baldacci a try. I am normally hesitant to read books like this, as the "thriller" genre is very hit-or-miss in my opinion. This one caught me off guard... in a good way. Baldacci wastes no paper telling his tale. Every chapter and every scene is relevant to the story, and there is very little filler added to this novel. The characters are not quite as well drawn as you might find in other novels, however this didn't bother me very much... in fact, I find that for this kind of story the characters don't need to be overcomplicated. Their motivations are clear-cut, and made sense to me for the most part (The only exception to this would be the Charlie character's decision to remain with LuAnn throughout the book... I suppose it can be chalked up to Charlie's drifter tendencies.). As usual, I found myself rooting for the bad guy, who is quite well-realized and "made" this book for me. All in all, the plot twists and crisp writing made this book and Baldacci a welcome addition to my collection. Baldacci is easily an equal talent to Grisham, however I would have to draw the line before I award him Ludlum status...Book Review: Baldacci is a great author, but this one didnt sum up
Summary: 1 Stars
LuAnne Tyler is a trailor trash woman, who wins, wouldnt you guess it, 100 million dollars. Amazing isnt it? Not really. Total Control was an excellent book, so i decided to read The Winner, even though the intelect level was fairly high, it was one of the few books that i chose to not finish, even though i was very near the end, and i am not normally one to put a book down.If you are wanting to read a David Baldacci, read "Total Control", if you want a cliche story of a lottery winner, that won't make you want to continue reading, read this book. I've read much better, nice try David, but try again.
Book Review: Baldacci is surprisingly refreshing...
Summary: 4 Stars
The storyline in the "Winner" is refreshing and the detail Baldacci gives his characters is fantastic. The background and character building that Baldacci gives to LuAnn and Jackson are what kept me reading this book. At times the plot seems to be too far out there to be considered realistic (mastermind financier develops a way to rig the lottery, and picks the most desperate of people to entrap in his scheme.) That being said, I was most impressed by Jackson's background and how Baldacci was able to portray the Wall Street genius gone bad and the paranoia that is the result of Jackson's scheme. Even though the plot was a tad far-fetched, the book is very well written and the heros were believable. That is with the exception of the ex-FBI agent, Charlie. His character is, of course, the hero that saves the day. Unfortunately he is too far-fetched to believe. It is too convenient for Baldacci to rely on Charlie to come to the rescue and to travel with LuAnn throughout the world. The character Charlie just didn't make any sense, and he was really misplaced.
Baldacci does deliver though, and this book is worth reading!
Book Review: Baldacci phones this one in
Summary: 2 Stars
For sake of argument, let's just accept the far fetched premise that the mega-evil "Jackson" can accomplish anything (such as fixing the national lottery), can find out any information about any person, can disguise himself as anyone - even mimicking their voices, and he is a ruthless killer who will eliminate anyone who interferes with his schemes. The heroine, Luann, obviously knows this and rightfully fears Jackson because of this. Yet she explicitly defies Jackson's order never return to the USA. And she does it in grand style by buying a mansion on a huge piece of land in her mother's hometown, and she files a tax return - all under the assumed name that Jackson set up for her! And then she wonders how Jackson found out?!? Stupid, stupid, stupid.Reading this book makes you feel you are watching a bad movie on late-night cable. You know the plot contrived, and the characters are cliches, and the dialogue is ridiculous, yet somehow you just keep watching... It got hard to focus on the pages because I kept rolling my eyes.