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shychipmunk's review against another edition
4.0
While this is an enticing story full of twists and turns and daring subterfuge and historical details, I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't already been familiar with the /actual/ Great Train Robbery, which bears very little similarity to the story described here except in high level details, which led me to wonder about the truth of all the rest of the so-called historical details. I agree with the comment Greg made on the Futility Closet podcast episode about the Great Train Robbery questioning why Chrichton didn't use the real story as the basis for the novel because that's just as much of a thriller.
thomasr417's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
miss_fortune's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
tifftenn's review against another edition
2.0
Difficult for me to get through because I found much of it so boring. If it weren't a book club read, I wouldn't have finished it. 2 stars instead of 1 because I learned some history and the actual robbery narrative was intetesting--unfortunately the narrator inserted historical facts and positioning overpowered the narrative and dragged on.
roxmaree63's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to this book and the narrator was fantastic.
maddierandolph's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Violence, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Sexism, Alcohol, and Deportation
_lilbey_'s review against another edition
2.0
I think I would have liked it more if it hadn't been marketed as "based on real events" as that is hardly the case. If "based on real events" means a train robbery happened, and this book is about a train robbery set in the same era, then great. But everything about not only the robbery itself, but little side "facts" about the time were completely fabricated, which I found disappointing.
iddylu's review against another edition
3.0
It kind of felt like this book couldn't decide whether it wanted to be fiction or nonfiction. The lengthy exposition-heavy digressions about Victorian England (many of which were only tangentially related to the plot) were definitely interesting, and I would have welcomed them wholeheartedly if this were nonfiction - but they felt out of place in a fictional narrative, where I usually expect and prefer that kind of worldbuilding to be more subtle and seamless. That said, I enjoyed the fictionalized characters and events that Crichton came up with, and it makes me want to go learn more about the real Great Gold Robbery to see how reality matches up!
kathrinpassig's review against another edition
4.0
Den zentralen Erzähltrick habe ich erst hinterher durch Wikipedialektüre begriffen und kann ihn hier nicht spoilerfrei verraten, aber er ist schon sehr elegant.
dantastic's review
4.0
In Victorian London, can Edward Pierce and his cronies pull off a train heist and get away with a fortune in gold bullion?
Like quite a few of my reads over the years, this book appeared on my radar courtesy of Kemper. We were discussing the Breaking Bad episode Dead Freight and he asked if I'd ever read The Great Train Robbery. I said I hadn't and promptly forgot about it for a couple years until I ran across the Great Train Robbery in the local used bookstore.
The Great Train Robbery is a gripping heist novel set in the 1850's. Crichton doesn't skimp on the Victoriana, either. The social climate and attitudes of the time are in full force, as is Victorian criminal slang. Critchton throws the reader into the deep end with his talk of bone lays, twirls, drums, and gammons.
As with most capers, the joy is in the planning and watching Pierce deal with getting key impressions, ferreting out key impressions, and dealing with setbacks along the way. Pierce proved to be quite a cracksman and would make Richard Stark's Parker smile with admiration, if such a thing were possible.
The way Crichton tells the story is masterful, alternating the story as it occurred with newspaper clippings from after the caper went off and the subsequent trial. It was excellent way to misdirect readers such as me. I thought I had things pegged pretty early on but Crichton surprised me at the end.
If I had to justify not giving this a five, I would mention that the characters were a bit weak, Pierce included. However, the story is entitled The Great Train Robbery, not An Examination of the Psyche of a Train Robber so some slack must be cut.
Four stars. Now I want to track down the movie version starring Donald Sutherland and Sean Connery.
Like quite a few of my reads over the years, this book appeared on my radar courtesy of Kemper. We were discussing the Breaking Bad episode Dead Freight and he asked if I'd ever read The Great Train Robbery. I said I hadn't and promptly forgot about it for a couple years until I ran across the Great Train Robbery in the local used bookstore.
The Great Train Robbery is a gripping heist novel set in the 1850's. Crichton doesn't skimp on the Victoriana, either. The social climate and attitudes of the time are in full force, as is Victorian criminal slang. Critchton throws the reader into the deep end with his talk of bone lays, twirls, drums, and gammons.
As with most capers, the joy is in the planning and watching Pierce deal with getting key impressions, ferreting out key impressions, and dealing with setbacks along the way. Pierce proved to be quite a cracksman and would make Richard Stark's Parker smile with admiration, if such a thing were possible.
The way Crichton tells the story is masterful, alternating the story as it occurred with newspaper clippings from after the caper went off and the subsequent trial. It was excellent way to misdirect readers such as me. I thought I had things pegged pretty early on but Crichton surprised me at the end.
If I had to justify not giving this a five, I would mention that the characters were a bit weak, Pierce included. However, the story is entitled The Great Train Robbery, not An Examination of the Psyche of a Train Robber so some slack must be cut.
Four stars. Now I want to track down the movie version starring Donald Sutherland and Sean Connery.