Rating: 
Summary: A Good Easy Read
Review: I read this book because I am looking very forward to the movie. The book is very good. The only reason that I did not give it 5 stars is that author left some lose ends. I know that is the popular thing to do in literture, but when I finished reading the book I was looking for some closure to important part of the plot.
Rating: 
Summary: An intriguing view of a complex situation
Review: Benioff has succeeded in creating a compelling tale of the moral ambiguity surrounding the relationships of his characters. Centering around a convicted drug dealer as the protagonist could easily have gone either the direction of glamorizing the drug trade and ignoring its moral consequences or becoming preachy and overly-redemptive. He has done neither. In fact, you're left feeling satisfied by the justice of the outcome. A clever solution.Perhaps most pleasing to me, however, was the realization of the supporting characters. If you've already seen the movie, you'll not get a sense of these characters as almost all backstory on them was dropped. I highly recommend you read the book even if you've seen the movie. It's much richer.
Rating:
Summary: More time
Review: I thought that this was a compeling story about consequences and also about letting go of everything.This gives you a sense of whats's not real to you, but also you feel compassionate towards the main character.
Rating: 
Summary: A Pointless Book
Review: This book tells the story of a convicted drug dealer spending his last day and night of freedom in New York, before starting his prison sentence. I picked up a copy of this book because the theme seemed to have a lot of potential, but after reading it I feel that the author's delivery was extremely poor. This book has a predictable plot and a meaningless ending. The only vaguely interesting point in the story is where the protagonist comes face to face with the informer who turned him over to the police. However, this small climax soon dissolves and the story returns to its previous boring direction. The characters in this book are all cliche and are simply not interesting. This book READS like a screenplay and the author makes very little effort to give his characters depth or life. This is one of those rare examples where the film has a good chance to improve on its literary origin. The one good thing I have to say about this book is that it is an easy read. 211 pages of widely spaced text go by pretty quickly, so you will not be wasting too much of your time on this book. In short, do yourself a favor and give this one a miss.
Rating: 
Summary: ' BIG' let down
Review: Don't see how 90% of the people who read this book gave it five stars, they must have never read a good novel. The ending was terrible!! In addition, I won't see the movie!!
Rating: 
Summary: Promising, but a disappointing end
Review: The first 90% of the book are inspired and makes you wanting more, but the end is forced and a disappointment.
Rating:
Summary: An everlasting day
Review: What does a single day represent in one's life? Not too much depending on the day. But, in some cases, a day means the whole eternity. This is the feeling left to me when I finished David Benioff's The 25th Hour. Monty will be jailed for 7 years for drug dealing. He has only one day to say goodbye to his friends, girlfriend and father. This novel follows him during his last hours while he tries to come to terms with going to jail and losing everything. Moreover, even his friends are in a borderline situation, where they must solve their problems and start again. It is easier for them, because they will be outside, while Monty won't. It feels that they will always have a second chance, while Monty won't. Benioff's style is very interesting and melancholic. His particular choice of words can make the reader sad, and I feel this was his intentation. He is a very talented writer to put down in word so many feelings that many people would avoid to think of. I'll look forward to his next works. The 25 th Hour is a melancholic book about lost chances. Moreover, it is a novel that tells you not to miss a chance in your life. Life is short and there may not be time to do everything again. While we follow Monty's destiny we find out ours, and we realize that no matter how young we are, there is no much time left for us doing everything we want to do. It is a depressing novel, but highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Benioff attempts something new -- a thriller without a plot
Review: To be fair, this short novel is more a work of fiction than a suspense novel and more a novella than a novel. Readers are better off approaching it as a work of serious fiction. Judged as such: The writing is occasionally too precious but is often evocative; the characters are somewhat interesting. Middling. Judged as a thriller: The action directs itself towards the conclusion. The problem is that there really is no plot. It only seems to move in a direction when in fact there is no meaningful climax or resolution. It ends up being boring. I can't recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Does anyone else have the sneaking suspicion that all these book award people only read the first few chapters? For those chapters, "The 25th Hour" is a good book. It is building, slowly, the picture of a man who has to face what he cannot face. We learn about his life, his friends, his predicament. But the problem is, nothing is done with this. The book promises that Monty has something "shocking and devious" up his sleeve... It isn't shocking or devious, it's dull and rather pointless. The book has two things wrong with it that seem contradictory: it is too short, yet also way too wordy. Basically the author has too little story and a whole bunch of filler. So be prepared for about twenty "Monty looked at the city he loves and noticed ..." paragraphs. And whenever Benioff gets going on a list, just start turning pages. This book seems more like a short story that was rapidly fleshed out with chaff. It's ultimately unsatisfying because we get zero conclusion. We just get setup. We don't learn what happens to anyone as a result of their actions - just setup and more setup. Considering the amount of filler in the book, and its short overall length, this is simply inexcusable. Overall: decently written pulp (although it drags a bit at the beginning and end), and a quick read. But when you're done with it, you won't remember it.
Rating:
Summary: a hauntingly beautiful novel about friendship
Review: This is one of the most profoundly beautiful and powerful novels I've read in recent years. It tells a painful and poignant tale about friendship, bonds, and loss. I think it was a great disservice of the publishers to market this book as "true crime" -- it's anything but. It's far better than that and truly deserves to be called "a serious literary novel." The only fault I found, albeit small, was that the author occasionally hit a little too hard on tried-and-true old chestnuts: the dying mom, the little boy who wanted to be a fireman, the ugly dog that the hip young guy rescues from beside the road. But they're far overshadowed by the brute power of the narrative and story. I can't wait to see what David Benioff writes next.
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