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A review by eb00kie
Satori by Don Winslow
3.0
I came upon this book after reading [b:Shibumi|607423|Shibumi|Trevanian|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1349011333s/607423.jpg|1326919] due to IMDb. I like the book as one likes fanfiction; it fills in some gaps. Fanfiction is all it is.
Compared to [a:Trevanian|691|Trevanian|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1227586164p2/691.jpg]'s, this book was written with all the literary prowess of the average female YA author. Don Winslow makes a dubious virtue of telling rather than showing, which, together with his slightly obnoxious preference for simplistic superlative expression, yields passages such as:
"...Haverford thought. Compared to Singleton, Machiavelli was a naïve choirboy and the Borgias subjects of a Rockwell painting. Standing beside Singleton, the devil himself would appear as the angel Lucifer before the fall."
What he is showing is a condescending, short-sighted Nicholai Hel-shaped mannequin, that all characters point out as Nicholai Hel whenever one's desire for self-delusion weakens. Its only saving grace is the final showdown.
Compared to [a:Trevanian|691|Trevanian|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/authors/1227586164p2/691.jpg]'s, this book was written with all the literary prowess of the average female YA author. Don Winslow makes a dubious virtue of telling rather than showing, which, together with his slightly obnoxious preference for simplistic superlative expression, yields passages such as:
"...Haverford thought. Compared to Singleton, Machiavelli was a naïve choirboy and the Borgias subjects of a Rockwell painting. Standing beside Singleton, the devil himself would appear as the angel Lucifer before the fall."
What he is showing is a condescending, short-sighted Nicholai Hel-shaped mannequin, that all characters point out as Nicholai Hel whenever one's desire for self-delusion weakens. Its only saving grace is the final showdown.