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A review by paulabrandon
L.A. Times by Stuart Woods
3.0
Vinnie Callabrese is a low-level mafia thug in his early teens, who absolutely loves the movies. He goes to film school, and uses his skills at budgeting to develop another student's script into a movie. He turns the movie into a hit, and gets a golden deal at Centurion, a movie studio. Changing his name to Michael Vincent, he develops a reputation as a skilled and respected film producer. However, Michael is nothing less than a sociopath, and has used deceit, seduction, threats and even murder to get what he wants. That's an easy way to develop enemies, which constantly threatens to derail his ambitions, as he keeps trying to run from his past and cover up his actions.
This is an entertaining enough story, briskly paced and easy to read. There isn't really a plot, however, and it's hard to figure out what genre it's operating in and what readership it's directed towards. It's really not much more than a recounting of how Michael hits it big in Hollywood, and the wheeling and dealing - and worse - that he undertakes in order to make the movies he wants to make. If it's an insider look at the dark side of Hollywood, again, it's interesting enough. But it's not really a thriller. It's not a comedy. There are no interesting character arcs. We're just following around an anti-hero and watching his various underhanded deeds until his inevitable downfall.
Again, I enjoyed reading something outside my usual reading zone, and it's not without some interesting parts, but it doesn't really have much depth, and feels more like a random series of events happening as opposed to a carefully crafted story. I really wouldn't know who to recommend it to.
This is an entertaining enough story, briskly paced and easy to read. There isn't really a plot, however, and it's hard to figure out what genre it's operating in and what readership it's directed towards. It's really not much more than a recounting of how Michael hits it big in Hollywood, and the wheeling and dealing - and worse - that he undertakes in order to make the movies he wants to make. If it's an insider look at the dark side of Hollywood, again, it's interesting enough. But it's not really a thriller. It's not a comedy. There are no interesting character arcs. We're just following around an anti-hero and watching his various underhanded deeds until his inevitable downfall.
Again, I enjoyed reading something outside my usual reading zone, and it's not without some interesting parts, but it doesn't really have much depth, and feels more like a random series of events happening as opposed to a carefully crafted story. I really wouldn't know who to recommend it to.