Scan barcode
magis1105's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The worst book by Michael Crichton so far.
It's a book clearly written by a man. Everything is sex focused and in a ridiculous manner. Don't recommend it at all.
It's a book clearly written by a man. Everything is sex focused and in a ridiculous manner. Don't recommend it at all.
birdmanseven's review against another edition
3.0
Soft core Crichton.
We do a deep dive into this atypical Crichton story over on the All the Books Show podcast:
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-161-odds-on
We do a deep dive into this atypical Crichton story over on the All the Books Show podcast:
https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/episode-161-odds-on
risky_oak's review against another edition
Michael Crichton is my most well read author with 20 books just behind Stephen King who's on first place with 25.
Michael Crichton is the author of more than 30 books with Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Timeline and more recently Dragon Teeth among his most well known.
He is also the creator of the ER series and Westworld, as well as the action film Twister.
While a Medical Student at Harvard he needed money for his accommodation and personal expenses so he decided to gain some money by writing fast paced crime novels under the pseudonym John Lange, to protect his doctor persona.
He wrote 8 of these books of which I read only the last one published (Binary).
So last May I decided to buy all the seven remaining John Lange books reissued by Hard Case Crime editions with hardboiled/pulp fiction style covers.
November 4th 2018 marked 10 years since his sad passing in 2008 so I decided on that day to start my Crichton project where I will read all his books in publication order, one per month.
15 first reads + 19 re-reads something that translates into 34 months. It's quite a long journey but it's the journey not the destination that's important, right?
So, this was my 20th Crichton, his 1st novel, a novel where we see some signs of what Crichton would became later on.
A promising start by a 24 year old author but that's all.
It was cheesy, it had some plot holes, lots of sex, and not a lot of action or plot.
But it was a good start and I know that Michael Crichton will improve with every book he writes.
What comes next is Scratch One in December.
Rating: 6/10
Michael Crichton is the author of more than 30 books with Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Timeline and more recently Dragon Teeth among his most well known.
He is also the creator of the ER series and Westworld, as well as the action film Twister.
While a Medical Student at Harvard he needed money for his accommodation and personal expenses so he decided to gain some money by writing fast paced crime novels under the pseudonym John Lange, to protect his doctor persona.
He wrote 8 of these books of which I read only the last one published (Binary).
So last May I decided to buy all the seven remaining John Lange books reissued by Hard Case Crime editions with hardboiled/pulp fiction style covers.
November 4th 2018 marked 10 years since his sad passing in 2008 so I decided on that day to start my Crichton project where I will read all his books in publication order, one per month.
15 first reads + 19 re-reads something that translates into 34 months. It's quite a long journey but it's the journey not the destination that's important, right?
So, this was my 20th Crichton, his 1st novel, a novel where we see some signs of what Crichton would became later on.
A promising start by a 24 year old author but that's all.
It was cheesy, it had some plot holes, lots of sex, and not a lot of action or plot.
But it was a good start and I know that Michael Crichton will improve with every book he writes.
What comes next is Scratch One in December.
Rating: 6/10
the_graylien's review against another edition
3.0
Michael Crichton was always one of those writers that I wanted to just go out and read from the beginning. A while back I might have thought that one would have started with a book called "The Terminal Man" if they wanted to undertake this task. Turns out, Crichton wrote many books before that.
"Odds On" is his first, and is about a group of fellows who meet up in Spain at the Hotel Reina to rob it blind. They use a computer device called CRIPA (standing for "critical path analysis") and run scenarios on everything that could possibly go wrong. They seem to have an infallible plan. But do they?
This one's an intriguing concept. I mean, it sounds cool, doesn't it? These guys have what must have been shockingly unthinkable to 1960s (when the book was first published) readers in this supercomputer that practically robs the hotel for them. It's gonna have heist-y action, lots of tension as the robbery plays out, all that sort of thing... Right?
No.
The book may well have been called "Bods On" for all the sex these guys (and everybody in the book) had. I mean, I guess if you're gonna stay in a hotel and you're a single dude and you're gonna be there a few days...
The novel wasn't BAD by any stretch of the imagination. I found myself wanting to go back for more and see how the robbery was going to go down. Crichton kept me roped in enough to where I didn't even think of not finishing the book.
I guess lately, with me, I've been looking for just getting to the point in the fiction I've read.
While not bad, if the book had been done a bit differently and maybe just a tad more succinctly, I would have given it 4 or 5 stars, instead of the three I just did.
Recommended for Crichton fans/completists, heist lovers, and perhaps even fans of romance/steamy novels.
"Odds On" is his first, and is about a group of fellows who meet up in Spain at the Hotel Reina to rob it blind. They use a computer device called CRIPA (standing for "critical path analysis") and run scenarios on everything that could possibly go wrong. They seem to have an infallible plan. But do they?
This one's an intriguing concept. I mean, it sounds cool, doesn't it? These guys have what must have been shockingly unthinkable to 1960s (when the book was first published) readers in this supercomputer that practically robs the hotel for them. It's gonna have heist-y action, lots of tension as the robbery plays out, all that sort of thing... Right?
No.
The book may well have been called "Bods On" for all the sex these guys (and everybody in the book) had. I mean, I guess if you're gonna stay in a hotel and you're a single dude and you're gonna be there a few days...
The novel wasn't BAD by any stretch of the imagination. I found myself wanting to go back for more and see how the robbery was going to go down. Crichton kept me roped in enough to where I didn't even think of not finishing the book.
I guess lately, with me, I've been looking for just getting to the point in the fiction I've read.
While not bad, if the book had been done a bit differently and maybe just a tad more succinctly, I would have given it 4 or 5 stars, instead of the three I just did.
Recommended for Crichton fans/completists, heist lovers, and perhaps even fans of romance/steamy novels.
latepaul's review against another edition
4.0
This is a kind of cheesey '60s crime-thriller, and I don't mean that in a bad way. It's all about a meticulously planned heist that - surprise surprise - doesn't quite go to plan. It's set in Spain in a hotel in the 60s (it was written in 66) and it probably came across as quite exotic, like Jame Bond back in the day. It reminded me of one of those caper movies that never quite takes itself too seriously. Probably starring Michael Caine or David Niven.
Given the date there's quite a lot of quite explicit sex in the book. But that all just adds to the James Bond feel.
I think part of my enjoyment was as a kind of period piece, the associations of old movies watched on Sunday afternoons as a kid. Still I did enjoyed it so it's earned its rating.
Given the date there's quite a lot of quite explicit sex in the book. But that all just adds to the James Bond feel.
I think part of my enjoyment was as a kind of period piece, the associations of old movies watched on Sunday afternoons as a kid. Still I did enjoyed it so it's earned its rating.
More...