Rating: 
Summary: a little noir music
Review: i love noir. what can i tell you? i'm obsessed with chandler, hammett, mcdonald, and jim thompson. what do all those guys have in common? they're dead! recent noir's been pretty tepid stuff, following the path of the masters' but never striking forth in search of new territory. so i was suspicious when i read all the glowing reviews of this little novel. but listen to me, brothers and sisters: this cat's for real. the book howls out and keeps howling and then it's over and you want more, more. monty brogan is in many ways a jerk but i can't help liking him, and his friend jakob is a good kid who somehow finds himself caught up in a bunch of stuff he never wanted to get caught up in. even frank, who's a bit of a bully and a braggart, is redeemed by his sense of loyalty and friendship. i don't want to give anything away, but the ending's worth a prize.the best noir novel in twenty-seven years.
Rating:
Summary: Vrrrooom!
Review: This novel gets going from the first line and never falters. I read it while travelling by Eurostar from London to Paris and then back again, totalling less than five hours. But while the tome is slim, it's far from lightweight. The characters are moody and complex, the story is fascinating, and the writing exquisite. I'm trying to write screenplays myself, and I found myself studying Benioff's dialogue. Such rhythm and range!
Rating:
Summary: Dark, Cold & Beautiful
Review: Ever since 9/11 I've been reading as many New York City-based books as possible. I grew up in NYC but haven't lived there for twenty-two years, so I guess it's my way of keeping in touch with my hometown. I think any smart reader would adore The 25th Hour, but it's especially great for people who know and love the city. It reminded me of winter nights below Houston Street, those strange evenings when the streets are covered with snow and all the traffic noise is muffled. The most beautiful New York City novel I've read in years.
Rating: 
Summary: mild torture
Review: Well fleshed out characters who do what you think they should do. Since this is his first book, I'm sure subsequent works will be met wtih a keener editor's pen. Includes some interesting trivia, particularly the ball/rat torture trick..yikes.
Rating:
Summary: The Last Day of Freedom
Review: Monty Brogan is a popular man. He has looks, charm, charisma and power. He is also a drug dealer who has just been arrested, charged and sentenced to serve seven years in a federal prison. This book documents the last day of freedom for Marty, how he feels about his coming ordeal, the feeling of hopelessness, regret and anger. We also meet his two best friends, Frank and Jacob and the relationship they share with each other and Monty. A feeling of impending doom dominates the story, thanks to Monty's impending incarceration. Every plan and every activity that is usually taken for granted, now has much greater meaning to Monty, now that he realises that all that is about to be taken from him. It's a story of three men who are forced to take stock of their lives and none of them really like what they see. A little word of warning, if you are expecting a mystery story, it isn't. This is more a character study, but it is one that is very well done and left me wanting more. It's a fast read that covers a lot of emotional territory. This is a wonderful debut novel that I highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: 25 Hours? I read it in 3!!!
Review: I read this book in one night, way after I should have gone to sleep! Once I started it, I really could not put it down. This is an incredibly good read and I recomend it highly. My favorite character is Doyle, the pit bull. What a dog! Even though Monty has done a lot of bad things in his life, when I read about him and Doyle walking through the snow in New York City, I could not help but like him and feel great sorrow for him. Also, I've only been to New York once, but now I feel that I really know some of the neighborhoods. I want to go there and walk where Doyle and Monty walked! Terrific first novel!
Rating:
Summary: One star is a bit much.
Review: I forced myself all the way through this, trying to find the gold that the fawning reviews spoke about, but alas, it was all in vane. The protagonist is superficial and vane--he's a drug dealer--so what? Why would I opr anyone feel sympathy for a drug dealer? The prose is vapid, simplistic, and trite, and the plot is cliched--we've all seen the movie before. I now realize that half the five star reviews sound like a publicity department hyping a book. As more people are lured into reading the book, I suspect that more realistic reviews shall emerge.
Rating:
Summary: Even Better than the Reviews
Review: After finishing this superb debut novel, I was eager to see what others at Amazon had written. My assumption was correct. As with many of the other readers, I loved this book but found the marketing a bit strange. The 25th Hour is sexy, mordantly funny, occasionally terrifying, and often heartbreaking. I'm not much of a crime fiction fan, but Beniov's novel is much more than crime fiction. Don't read it expecting car chases and gunfights. Read it because it's a beautiful story, beautifully told.
Rating:
Summary: Crime Novel? Why not just Novel?
Review: I understand the pressures of marketing and "niching" every product for specific customers, but it's a shame when literary works are unfairly categorized...: this is a wonderful novel, but it's not a crime novel. Personally, I like crime novels and I like literary novels, but I could see how some people might be irritated by false advertising. Don't expect a murder mystery or gunfights or car chases-- THE 25TH HOUR is about the consequences of crime, not crime itself. As such it succeeds brilliantly. Read it for what it is, an exceptional book about young men and women trapped in a desperate situation.
Rating:
Summary: I Want More!
Review: My only complaint about this novel is it's too short. I wanted to keep hanging out with these characters. But I guess that's ignoring the title (and the whole point of the story)-- this is about one day in a life, a critical day, a last day of freedom. Maybe there will be a sequel. A very fine read.
| 
