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meowreader's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
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 against another edition
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, Classism, Child abuse, and Violence
Minor: Sexism, Alcohol, Deportation, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship
tnt307's review against another edition
4.0
Je to samozřejmě výrazně jiné, než Jurský park nebo Říše zla, ale to dává smysl, když se to odehrává o tolik dřív. Nabízí to zajímavý vhled do společnosti, do práce lupičů, skvěle se to čte a je to rozhodně napínavé. Ale někomu to možná v porovnání s ostatními díly od Crichtona nepřijde dostatečně akční.
_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!