Rating: 
Summary: William Goldman the Marathon Man
Review: (...) Marathon Man, by William Goldman, is an epic thriller, that which simply begs to be read over and over again. The initially mysterious characters and their odd lives that begin to intertwine and show themselves later on are enthralling, and the book is impossible to put down. Marathon Man attracts an audience of virtually anyone who can enjoy the typical fast-paced action-packed spy novel, and yet sense and enjoy the clever wit woven into the text by the author.
(...) When confronted with the question of "How good was this book?" I can only answer one way: Fantastic. The book sets the pace in the beginning with a cryptic car crash, the necessity of this being explained later on in a sort of "light-bulb over your head" moment. To read the book is to be frequently interrupted by your own intermittent cries of, "So that's who he was!" and "Oh! I get it! How amazing!". The narrator pelts with you sarcasm and charm throughout the book, making light of the most dire situations and adding a touch of surrealism to the whole situation in the protagonist's point of view. Every event in the book has some sort of logical place in the story. Nothing is insignificant. It's a puzzle, and the pieces gradually begin falling together as more and more is found out. You begin to crave to know more, to understand more, and you form your own ideas, predictions, and suspicions, until another puzzle piece falls into place and totally spins you around in bewilderment.
The only criticisms that could be genuinely made on the book are that the situation is almost fantasy and unreal. How many siblings do you have that are connected to Nazi scientists from Auschwitz? Personally, I didn't give a damn that the whole plot was full of sheer implausibility; I was enjoying myself far too much to actually give in to a few minor errors that didn't make any difference whatsoever.
Overall, the book is of exponential distinction and acclaim. It grabs you with the first scene, and plunges you into a thrilling and intoxicating world of scandal, mystery, and terror. To put down the book and become occupied with some random, irksome task is ridiculous and highly unlikely for any reader. Marathon Man is a thrill ride, but lucky you, you don't even have to leave your bedroom!
Rating:
Summary: William Goldman the Marathon Man
Review: (...) Marathon Man, by William Goldman, is an epic thriller, that which simply begs to be read over and over again. The initially mysterious characters and their odd lives that begin to intertwine and show themselves later on are enthralling, and the book is impossible to put down. Marathon Man attracts an audience of virtually anyone who can enjoy the typical fast-paced action-packed spy novel, and yet sense and enjoy the clever wit woven into the text by the author.
(...)When confronted with the question of "How good was this book?" I can only answer one way: Fantastic. The book sets the pace in the beginning with a cryptic car crash, the necessity of this being explained later on in a sort of "light-bulb over your head" moment. To read the book is to be frequently interrupted by your own intermittent cries of, "So that's who he was!" and "Oh! I get it! How amazing!". The narrator pelts with you sarcasm and charm throughout the book, making light of the most dire situations and adding a touch of surrealism to the whole situation in the protagonist's point of view. Every event in the book has some sort of logical place in the story. Nothing is insignificant. It's a puzzle, and the pieces gradually begin falling together as more and more is found out. You begin to crave to know more, to understand more, and you form your own ideas, predictions, and suspicions, until another puzzle piece falls into place and totally spins you around in bewilderment.
The only criticisms that could be genuinely made on the book are that the situation is almost fantasy and unreal. How many siblings do you have that are connected to Nazi scientists from Auschwitz? Personally, I didn't give a damn that the whole plot was full of sheer implausibility; I was enjoying myself far too much to actually give in to a few minor errors that didn't make any difference whatsoever.
Overall, the book is of exponential distinction and acclaim. It grabs you with the first scene, and plunges you into a thrilling and intoxicating world of scandal, mystery, and terror. To put down the book and become occupied with some random, irksome task is ridiculous and highly unlikely for any reader. Marathon Man is a thrill ride, but lucky you, you don't even have to leave your bedroom!
Rating: 
Summary: A swift, suspenseful page turner of the highest order
Review: A well crafted thriller with interesting, complex characters. It is one that I did not want to put down. I only wish there were more pages to it with more background of the characters and more details. It is one that I did not want to end but couldn't wait to get through it to get the whole story.
This is a spy classic. It hasn't lost its edge over time at all. It is some of the best suspense, action writing I have read--skillful and artistic not like some of the packaged, thesaraus writing milled out by some of today's writers.
Go for it; you will be pleased I think.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Ever Let A Nazi Dentist Work On Your Teeth
Review: Ever wonder where all the Nazis that escaped Allied Justice, the ones that weren't allowed to escape that is. Most went to Latin America, which is here Szell "The White Angel," spirited off to alfter the Third Riech fell, Paraguay to be exact. There he stays until the man, his father, who is the man intrusted with Szell's vast wealth of diamonds dies. So Szell needs those diamonds to live. Doc, our hero's big bro. is a spy, but apparently spies need some extra cash now and then so he worked as a courier for delivering the diamonds to wherever they needed to go.
The White Angel thinks Babe (the main character) knows whether or not its safe to get the diamonds, torture of Babe insues. The old Nazi is a dentist so you can imagine how he tortures.
Though I wasn't too impressed with the story itself, already having seen the movie, and they are pretty much just alike, Goldman's prose on the other hand was outstanding, a fast paced well written little book. His dialogue was to die for, quick and witty, giving the characters a 1930's noir aura.
Really if just want to skip the novel and watch the book, feel free. Or if you have seen the movie and want experience the book, you really don't need to. They are nearly identical. Which makes since of course because Goldman wrote the sceenplay, so you'd think he'd stay true to his own work.
Rating:
Summary: Top-drawer thriller
Review: Goldman's Marathon Man gallops to the finish line, never slowing, never giving away too much too soon, keeping on a steady pace to the end of the race. Thrillers don't get better than this -- simple yet complex, easy-going but quickly moving, funny yet chilling. The perfect subway read.
Rating:
Summary: An 8th Grade Student
Review: I am only in 8th grade but I stayed up reading so late that I couldn't keep my eyes open because it was such a good book. It has suspense, love, and a kick a$$ plot. Babe is so oblivios to what his brother does, it is kind of scary. One question I'm sure I never ever want to hear is "Is it safe?". Sure I could tell you more about the book, but then why would you want to read it if you know what happens? In the famous words of Reading Rainbow, Don't take my word for it, try it yourself!!
Rating:
Summary: An 8th Grade Student
Review: I am only in 8th grade but I stayed up reading so late that I couldn't keep my eyes open because it was such a good book. It has suspense, love, and a kick a$$ plot. Babe is so oblivios to what his brother does, it is kind of scary. One question I'm sure I never ever want to hear is "Is it safe?". Sure I could tell you more about the book, but then why would you want to read it if you know what happens? In the famous words of Reading Rainbow, Don't take my word for it, try it yourself!!
Rating:
Summary: Is it safe?
Review: I saw the movie before I read the book, and realized that dentist scene was going to attain the status of a classic. Let's just say the scene is worse in the book. Poor Babe--he literally is a nerd, and has no idea what his older brother does for a living. You could say he cleans things up, and those things are always people. If you like sadistic dentists, and even more
sadistic Nazis, vengeance, and understated violence (no overkill here) with some humor, then Goldman's novel is for you.
Rating:
Summary: Marathon Man
Review: I thought this novel totally reeked of awesomeness!! Though it wasn't as good as the sequel "brothers" it was still very enjoyable. The whole book was action packed, with some very good suspence. The novel had its occasional good humor. THe beginning was kind of slow, when it first mentioned the story of Tom Levy, i found it quite boring at first, when they just talked about how he was doing in school, but every chapter that mentioned Scylla was very interesting and quite suspenceful. He was a spy, and all the fights, and encounters he went thru were very well described. At first u don't see what Scylla has to do with Thomas, but later u see it, and it's pretty smart. Eventually when the villains go after Thomas, it works really well, with great action sequences, and it's good to see how Thomas out smarts everyone, and how one guy he thought was helping him, was actually not. It has its nice surprises, and though it's quite unrealistic in quite a few parts, that doesn't really take away from it. After reading this, i rented the movie and that movie also reeked of total aweomeness. I highly reccommend this book, it's a great action/suspence, with a good plot and some smart twists.
Rating:
Summary: Pulpy goodness
Review: I'm not a big fan of suspenseful "page-turners," but this one's as good as it gets. Goldman is definitely a cut or two above the Grishams and Clancys of the world. His writing isn't always top-notch (the scenes with Babe as an awkward student are pretty bad, especially the dialogue---a poor imitation of J.D. Salinger), and Goldman is obviously no scholar (amusingly, one of his characters, a "brilliant historian," alludes to the Keats sonnet where Cortez discovers the Pacific, unaware that Keats had Cortez confused with Balboa). But the book has many strengths: the early spy scenes are excellent, the glimpses of the international underworld are skillfully done and believeable, and the psychological struggle in Babe's head (peaking when he eludes his captors on foot) rings true. The spectacle of the Nazi monster in the Diamond District is terrific. And best of all are the "stoop kids," well-rendered, perfectly true to life, almost worthy of Dickens. This is not your average modern thriller.
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