Reviews

The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton

alannabarras's review against another edition

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2.0

I enjoyed chunks of this book. The overall topic was fascinating, and the author did a good job feeding out the information piece by piece to keep it engaging without being too confusing or too obvious. That being said, there were a couple scenes that felt both gross and unnecessary, one involving a 12 year old prostitute being portrayed as a capable/consenting adult (gross. no.) And one involving a bored man just... imagining his lady's *****. The first scene may be defensible through the lense of 'historical accuracy', but there are simple workarounds the author could have used to either obscure the age or not try to normalize the encounter as something that should be ok/enjoyable for the audience to read. The second scene advanced nothing, wouldn't show up in the historical record, and was just weird. Both were jarring enough while reading that I put the book down for a couple days each time to decide if it was worth finishing.
TL;DR - I may try another Michael Crichton book in future, but I will not reread this one. I wish I'd found a straight nonfiction book talking about the Great Train Robbery instead.

glennab28's review against another edition

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4.0

i suspect there aren't many people who choose this as their first chricton novel. but this did not disappoint! chricton chose a fascinating story in itself, but peppered it with just the right amount of historical context. if for nothing else, an entertaining read to discover how weird the victorians were and how much crazy slang they had just for criminal enterprises. (also, i love the idea that a treadmill was essentially conceived of as a form of punishment.) a quick, compelling and occasionally edifying read.

katielkc's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

bjrosengren's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

ralphnodon's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

mascha_blue's review against another edition

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4.0

The novel is based on the actual 1855 robbery of a gold shipment from a railroad car. Crichton kept the story moving along, weaving in a portrait of Victorian London along with the police practices and social beliefs of the time. The mastermind behind the theft, Edward Pierce, had already amassed considerable wealth from previous successful robberies by the time he applied his intelligence and resourcefulness to this heist. The story of how he planned, prepared for, and executed the robbery, as well as the aftermath, was fast-paced and enjoyable.

duskvstweak's review against another edition

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4.0

One of Crichton's better works, for sure. While I tend to enjoy his science fiction tales more than his other tales (which are few), I really enjoyed this. His characterization is spot on and his commentary of 18th century England is a lot of fun to read. I'm not one for crime capers (this might even be the first on I've read), but this one was just a lot of fun to read. Recommended.

benj_78's review against another edition

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3.0

This novel was much more of a non-fiction accounting of events from court transcripts than a traditional fiction story. As such, the prose was rather dry and to the point. You don't get to know the characters very well and are not terribly invested in their fates. That being said, the events leading up to the robbery were fairly interesting. We get to learn quite a bit about life in the Victorian era of London and about about the operation of the criminal underworld at that time.

bangerlm's review against another edition

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3.0

It is like a real life Ocean's Eleven. It was a bit slow to start, but when we got to the actual heist it was crazy and impressive.

inkslinger78's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0