Rating: 
Summary: A good, smart, funny read
Review: The brethren is another good book by John Grisham: it's smart, realistic (read "Saving Faith" by Baldacci if you want to compare it with something definitely weaker, almost cartoonish) and funny, too. I love Grisham's superficiality and his sense of humour. It seems everything in life is about money and fiction (and it's true, from a particularly cynical point of of view). Of course, if I want to read something a little moving or deep, I choose another author, but I guess I would read anything written by John Grisham just for the intellingence and sense of humour. The plot is interesting, and I liked the ending, too, but the really good part for us readers is sitting around the fire and listening to this great story teller tell us a story.
Rating: 
Summary: An easy read
Review: Grisham has become a staple of my reading not because he writes great novels, but because he writes readable books that aren't very challenging to ones points of view and he writes them frequently which allows me periodic breaks from more serious reading. This book is the perfect example. An easily told tale that is fast paced and not at all thought provoking. I'm glad he broke his formula after Street Lawyer and the last two books have been definite improvements. While not nearly the book A Time to Kill is, its clearly better than his anti-death penalty crusade of The Chamber. Of the highs and low of Grisham's works, this one fits in the middle, thus three stars. He'll probably sulk all the way to the bank with his studio check. This like almost all his recent books read more like a screen play than a novel. I wish he would show the talent that wrote A Time to Kill Again.
Rating: 
Summary: Another typically awful Grisham ending
Review: Why do I keep reading his books? Grisham keeps writing stories that start off being extremely intriguing, as this one does. He really needs to figure out how to finish these stories, or get someone else to write his endings for him! This book had the potential for a really great wrap-up, but I had chilling memories of the horrible ending to The Firm when the Bretherens' lawyer has dreams of taking his money and sailing the Caribean. Great idea, lots of potential, then horrible finish.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as bad as I thought it would be
Review: This is the first book I ever read where i sat out to prove to myself that it couldn't be as bad as all of the reviewers said it would be. After all, the premise of the book sounded very intriguing. First, I wanted to see if the ending was as bad as everyone said it was, and second, I wanted to see if the characterization way below Grisham standards. For the people who said Grisham cut this book off twenty pages short, they are wrong. Sure, the ending may have not been what they wanted, but Grisham ties up all lose ends. Your questions are answered and no sequel is necessary (although one might be interesting). I happened to like the ending, even though there were no bombshell surprises or twists. About the characters, this is one of Grisham's worst. Even in the terrible Street Lawyer, I at least knew and cared about the characters. In this book, I could never separate in my mind the judge from California and Texas. To me, they were interchangeable and therefore Grisham failed in making me care about them. You may enjoy the book better if you just think of the three Brethren as one character. The other characters weren't that bad, although we maybe could have known more about Aaron Lake since he was a key to the plot. This book wasn't bad, but I don't like the fact that Grishams books are so short. Take an extra few months and add another 100 pages. That would make it worth the money instead of a trip to the library.
Rating:
Summary: An interesting book with a terrible ending
Review: I really enjoyed picking up this novel at bedtime and finding out what was to happen to the presidential candidate and, of course, to the Brethren. The ending, however, was just awful.
Rating:
Summary: Grisham knows how to write...
Review: I have a friend, who as a law student clerked for the Boston prosecutor. He told me a about a scam where the mob would hang out at the blue movie theatres and follow the men who came out, and who were wearing wedding rings. The mobsters would take the license plate number and have their buddies at DMV run the plates. Then the blackmail would begin. So, Grisham did not invent the scam but he certainly perfects it in this book. The judges at the Club Fed are all interesting. The political thread of the story is less so. How the two intertwine is for you, dear reader, to find out. This is not Grisham's best book. However, he did perfect this genre and comparing his books is, to me, like comparing different caviars. Grisham's books are all delicious. They are beautifully written. I felt this story was a tad weak; however, it still was a terrific read. Sometimes you get beluga and sometimes you get sturgeon. The bottom line is that they are all good. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to expectations
Review: When you read a John Grisham book, this is what usually happens: When you've reached pages 10 to 20, you become hooked, pages turn themselves, and you're done in a day or so. Not this time. I noted it took past page 100 or so for the "Grisham Effect" to take place. This is not a bad novel, but the high expectations never happen. You wait for a character with some redeeming quality (the 'hero') to appear, but it never happens. You wait for the plot twists, but it merely bends. And finally, you wait for the surprise ending that is not there. A good, but dissapointing, read.
Rating:
Summary: The Brethern
Review: I borrowed this book from our local library, and was very greatful I hadn't invested any money to read it. Thin plot. Little suspense. And a confusing tangle of "who cares" characters. Frankly, I couldn't have cared less how it turned out. In short, I felt duped into thinking that because I've enjoyed John Grisham's books in the past, this would be entertaining too. Boy, was I wrong!
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes Grisham is great; this one's not even good
Review: How do you tell which John Grisham is going to show up? Are you going to get the incredibly clever and funny author of The Client? Or are you going to get the somber and plodding author of The Chamber? I don't know, but The Brethren is neither funny nor somber. The two plot lines (prison mail fraud and a rigged presidential election) are so far-fetched that you're dying for signs that you should take it all tongue-in-cheek, but by the time you get to the end it's more like head-up-rear. None of it makes any sense in the real world and, frankly, the prose is half-hearted at best and the characters are un-characterized and the deadpan and entirely unsurprising nature of the whole book bores you to death from start to finish. "Stephen Bury" (a.k.a. Neal Stephenson et al) wrote a nice little book called Interface, which is a much better bet if you're looking for a goofy fiction on things presidential. Or if you're into the far-out conspiracy angle, there's Robert Anton Wilson. Heck, I can't even begin to enumerate the better efforts. What the heck went wrong here? Oh, well. I'll just have to hope for a return to form in Grisham's next book.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: This is the sort of dissappointing stuff you get when an author gets too popular. Hope he does better next time!
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