The Fool's Run

Rating:
Summary: What a terrific story!
Review: I just made my way through all the Prey novels and enjoyed them so much that I went back to his early Kidd novels too. These are such wonderful characters I can only hope that there will now be just as many Kidd adventures as Davenport's. This one will go on my keeper shelf. Sure, much has changed in the computer world now but it doesn't interfere with the story at all. I can't wait to work my way to the Hangman now!

More Kidd and LuEllen please!!

Rating:
Summary: When smart people turn dumb
Review: I like John Sandford's books. In fact, I like them a lot. I guess that is why I found this one disappointing. It's not a bad book. It just isn't up to his usual level. The problem here is one of believability. The two main characters, Kidd and Luellen, are just too bright to find themselves in the mess that they end up in. They should have seen it coming. I certainly did. Then there is the ending when they kill the two "Mob" hitmen. Oh yeah, that was real believable. Anyway, this is better than a lot of books you can read, but it's also at the bottom of Sandford's list.

Rating:
Summary: Good story if you don't mind that there are no "good guys"
Review: I like reading thrillers. I like to get drawn into an exciting story about a conflict between one or more "good guys" and one or more "bad guys" - preferably including some gals in the top roles. I love it when the plot includes unexpected twists, and I like it when the background for the story includes authentic information of interest that I wasn't aware of before. Finally, I like it when the top characters are well developed and believable, and I can identify with one of the good guys and boo and hiss the bad guys.

"The Fool's Run" passes most of my tests for a good thriller. I found the book quite exciting and I did feel captured by the story - I read the book in only two sittings.

And yet, here I am giving it only two stars.

After I finished reading "The Fool's Run" I sat back and realized that I didn't particularly like the "good guys". In fact, it can be argued that this story does not include any "good guys".

The hero, Kidd (who has no first name), is a Vietnam veteran who paints pictures, practices karate, consults tarot cards and is a computer programming wizard. He accepts a job to basically smash a company by infiltrating their computer system and slowly but surely destroy the company's ability to function. Payment? Two million dollars!

Our hero recruits several others to help him in this endeavor. LuEllen (who has no last name) is a cocaine-snorting cat burglar. But she's OK, because she only steals from rich people. She and Kidd have a loose relationship because neither of them is capable of committing themselves to a real relationship.

The other two team members are Dace, a down-and-out journalist who admits that the only reason he isn't a drunk is that he's allergic to alcohol beyond a threshold amount, and Bobby, a hacker and phone phreak who is able to exploit the telephone lines and network connections and break into any computer system.

The first part of the book tells how first Kidd is recruited, and how he then recruits the three others, and how the four of them then go to work to destroy the company that has been targeted. Then the story gets more complicated and even more exciting.

But this can't really be considered to be a "good guys" vs. "bad guys" story. Instead, what we have is simply "us" vs. "them".

The fact that Kidd and Co. are willing to destroy a company in order to obtain a lot of money just doesn't appeal to me, even though they justify the project in various ways. I'm guessing that the fact that the targeted company is fairly large makes the crime seem more acceptable to many people. It's not like Kidd is trying to put a mom and pop grocery store out of business - or is it?

In addition to my lack of sympathy for the "good guys", I also have a problem with the lack of realism in the descriptions of how the hacking was carried out and how the targeted company reacted to the hacking. Kidd's device for taping telephone lines is not viable, descriptions of how all the data files that the team received were promptly printed out on paper is ridiculous, and in reality a company that was attacked as described would have sooner or later simply restored their entire system from the backup tapes.

One thing to be aware of is that this book was first published in 1989, and this makes the descriptions of the computer technology very dated. The Internet isn't mentioned (although it did actually exist at that time) and there aren't any mobile telephones or e-mail or CD-ROMs or Windows, etc. PC's are all IBM AT's or Kaypro IBM-compatibles, they communicate with mainframe computers using Hayes modems and dial-up telephone lines, and Lotus 1-2-3 is mentioned. To me this doesn't detract from the story in any way; in fact it made me feel very nostalgic. But if you weren't involved with PC-based computing in the 1980's you may find these descriptions rather strange.

A final point that should be mentioned is that this is the first Kidd/LuEllen book in what has become a series. Warning: For some strange reason there is incorrect information on this subject in various editions of this book. For example, in the edition that I read it says on the page inside the front cover that the author (whose real name is John Camp) has written "two previous Kidd novels." There are apparently other editions of this book where on the jacket it says that "Kidd and LuEllen return" in this book. But on John Sandford's official web site he makes it very clear that this IS the first Kidd/LuEllen book.

Rennie Petersen

Rating:
Summary: Good story if you don't mind that there are no "good guys"
Review: I like reading thrillers. I like to get drawn into an exciting story about a conflict between one or more "good guys" and one or more "bad guys" - preferably including some gals in the top roles. I love it when the plot includes unexpected twists, and I like it when the background for the story includes authentic information of interest that I wasn't aware of before. Finally, I like it when the top characters are well developed and believable, and I can identify with one of the good guys and boo and hiss the bad guys.

"The Fool's Run" passes most of my tests for a good thriller. I found the book quite exciting and I did feel captured by the story - I read the book in only two sittings.

And yet, here I am giving it only two stars.

After I finished reading "The Fool's Run" I sat back and realized that I didn't particularly like the "good guys". In fact, it can be argued that this story does not include any "good guys".

The hero, Kidd (who has no first name), is a Vietnam veteran who paints pictures, practices karate, consults tarot cards and is a computer programming wizard. He accepts a job to basically smash a company by infiltrating their computer system and slowly but surely destroy the company's ability to function. Payment? Two million dollars!

Our hero recruits several others to help him in this endeavor. LuEllen (who has no last name) is a cocaine-snorting cat burglar. But she's OK, because she only steals from rich people. She and Kidd have a loose relationship because neither of them is capable of committing themselves to a real relationship.

The other two team members are Dace, a down-and-out journalist who admits that the only reason he isn't a drunk is that he's allergic to alcohol beyond a threshold amount, and Bobby, a hacker and phone phreak who is able to exploit the telephone lines and network connections and break into any computer system.

The first part of the book tells how first Kidd is recruited, and how he then recruits the three others, and how the four of them then go to work to destroy the company that has been targeted. Then the story gets more complicated and even more exciting.

But this can't really be considered to be a "good guys" vs. "bad guys" story. Instead, what we have is simply "us" vs. "them".

The fact that Kidd and Co. are willing to destroy a company in order to obtain a lot of money just doesn't appeal to me, even though they justify the project in various ways. I'm guessing that the fact that the targeted company is fairly large makes the crime seem more acceptable to many people. It's not like Kidd is trying to put a mom and pop grocery store out of business - or is it?

In addition to my lack of sympathy for the "good guys", I also have a problem with the lack of realism in the descriptions of how the hacking was carried out and how the targeted company reacted to the hacking. Kidd's device for taping telephone lines is not viable, descriptions of how all the data files that the team received were promptly printed out on paper is ridiculous, and in reality a company that was attacked as described would have sooner or later simply restored their entire system from the backup tapes.

One thing to be aware of is that this book was first published in 1989, and this makes the descriptions of the computer technology very dated. The Internet isn't mentioned (although it did actually exist at that time) and there aren't any mobile telephones or e-mail or CD-ROMs or Windows, etc. PC's are all IBM AT's or Kaypro IBM-compatibles, they communicate with mainframe computers using Hayes modems and dial-up telephone lines, and Lotus 1-2-3 is mentioned. To me this doesn't detract from the story in any way; in fact it made me feel very nostalgic. But if you weren't involved with PC-based computing in the 1980's you may find these descriptions rather strange.

A final point that should be mentioned is that this is the first Kidd/LuEllen book in what has become a series. Warning: For some strange reason there is incorrect information on this subject in various editions of this book. For example, in the edition that I read it says on the page inside the front cover that the author (whose real name is John Camp) has written "two previous Kidd novels." There are apparently other editions of this book where on the jacket it says that "Kidd and LuEllen return" in this book. But on John Sandford's official web site he makes it very clear that this IS the first Kidd/LuEllen book.

Rennie Petersen

Rating:
Summary: One of the best books I have read
Review: Incredible. This author can write. The characters are well developed and believable. The plot is tight, suspenseful and creative. Read this one, then read the Empress File (same main characters). Hopefully, there will be more of this series (if two can make a series).

Rating:
Summary: Another kind of Sandford
Review: John Sandford is most known for his "Prey" series, which mostly deals with serial killers. This is a VERY different kind of novel.

Basically, it's a caper. A corporation hires main characters to hack into computers of their rivals. Not to steal information, but as a revenge for using stolen designs. Of course, it's not that simple, but you get the idea.

This novel was first published in 1989 and it aged rather well. Many thrillers that utilized technology in 80s-90s are nearly impossible to read today, because they tend to explain such things as 'modem' and 'e-mail' to, presumably, ignorant readers.
Sandford doesn't. He gives enough of explanation to satisfy people with minimum computer knowledge, but doesn't tend to explain everything.

This is not a book that leaves you breathless, it's just a fun read with sympathetic characters.

I think it's perfect for a train ride or a plane flight. I'll definetly read other Kidd novels (The Empress File and The Devil Code), but, how should I put it, they are not very high on my list.

If this was a new book - I would have given it 3 stars. But it gets extra star for being still readable after more than 10 years. Most thrillers that deal with technology become annoying in 5.

Rating:
Summary: Another kind of Sandford
Review: John Sandford is most known for his "Prey" series, which mostly deals with serial killers. This is a VERY different kind of novel.

Basically, it's a caper. A corporation hires main characters to hack into computers of their rivals. Not to steal information, but as a revenge for using stolen designs. Of course, it's not that simple, but you get the idea.

This novel was first published in 1989 and it aged rather well. Many thrillers that utilized technology in 80s-90s are nearly impossible to read today, because they tend to explain such things as 'modem' and 'e-mail' to, presumably, ignorant readers.
Sandford doesn't. He gives enough of explanation to satisfy people with minimum computer knowledge, but doesn't tend to explain everything.

This is not a book that leaves you breathless, it's just a fun read with sympathetic characters.

I think it's perfect for a train ride or a plane flight. I'll definetly read other Kidd novels (The Empress File and The Devil Code), but, how should I put it, they are not very high on my list.

If this was a new book - I would have given it 3 stars. But it gets extra star for being still readable after more than 10 years. Most thrillers that deal with technology become annoying in 5.

Rating:
Summary: Computer sabotage and espionage--what fun!
Review: Kidd and LuEllen are back in The Fool's Run. This time, they are asked to destroy a company, via computers. The novel is fast moving and well written.

Rating:
Summary: Caper tale with a twist.
Review: Kidd is a computer whiz. He's hired by the wealthy Anshiser defense group to destroy a business rival by disrupting the rival's internal computer processes. Kidd recruits LuEllen, burglar par excellenc, and Dace, former investigative reporter to help. Kidd is also helped by the mysterious Bobby who can hack into almost any mainframe. Kidd does his job well and the rival business is on the ropes. But someone takes out Dace and tries to terminate both Kidd and LuEllen. But who's behind the trigger? Is it the destroyed company, the governrment, or perhaps even the Anshiser group itself?

This book was written by John Camp (real name of John Sandford) before he branched out to the Prey series. As such its computer technology is dated but the story itself is still entertaining. Kidd and LuEllen are interesting characters and Mr. Sandford is a good writer. The book does gloss over certain areas of how Kidd actually does cause the computer systems to fail but that's only a minor quibble. All in all I found the book entertaining. If you like Mr. Sandford's Prey series I think you'll like this book too.

Rating:
Summary: NOT AS GOOD AS PREY!!!!
Review: Some of this book was great, some was bad, bad, in my openion. The bad to me was the great detail Sandford went into to describe what was happening to the computors and how that would screw things up. It was way over my head, I skipped several pages just because I did not understand what was going on. If you do read The Fool' Run and The Empress File, read The Fool's Run first. I did not because it says on the back of The Fool's Run, and I quote, " Kidd and LuEllen return in Fool's Run. They do not return it is the first book. Part of the action is very fast moving. I liked the suspense of breaking into the houses and the handleing of the so called mob men. I enjoyed The Empress File better but neither one is as good as the Prey series. Read those if you want a good mystery. Read this one if you want to be reminded of the old "Mission Impossible" show on TV.