The Prestige by Christopher Priest
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.50 You Save: $4.49 (56%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Prestige
Book Review: Good tribute to RLS, Poorly realized female characters
Summary: 3 Stars
Nothing to add to the other reviews in terms of plot critique other than the magic is just too Spontaneous Generation-ish (a pile of straw and dung turns into mice kind of thinking) and I wasn't willing to suspend my disbelief. I did very much like the descriptions of the principles of stage magic that one magician offered in his diary, and the whole treatment of self is very much like Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Who is "I" and what have "I" become?
However, the women in the book are cardboard cutouts, The Devoted Wife and The Scheming Mistress. (the modern woman is OK). I kept waiting for one of them to do something unexpected, but neither lady ever did. I look forward to reading more of Mr. Priest's books to see if he overcame this technical, stylistic, and most basic hurdle in character creation.
Book Review: Not great writing...but a great premise
Summary: 3 Stars
Granted, I come to this as a result of having seen the film adaptation. (In fact, the very act of adaptation is what compelled me to read it, not the novel itself in a standalone sense.) And therefore, no matter how I've endeavoured to be objective, have found it wanting.
It's a book from a genre I don't normally read, but it was enjoyable. I guess my chief complaint would be that its telling wasn't up to the premise. It was stylistically done, with great verve and a certain amount of Victorian sensibility about it, but in the end, it wasn't the 'great read' I felt it could have been, had perhaps Caleb Carr written it.
Now, if you want to talk about what I felt of the adaptation to film by the Nolan brothers...
Book Review: Good... not great
Summary: 3 Stars
The book was a good, enjoyable read. However i believe that the movie (The Prestige) took the book and vastly improved upon it. The book somewhat lacks a climax and could be considered a disappointment. The movie outdid the book, but that doesn't mean it's not a good read.Book Review: Worth the Read
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is worth the time and money spent reading it, as it tells an intriguing tale. It is true what other reviews say on here, that the writing is not the best. The writing is sufficient, I would say. If you like tales of intrigue, this one is definitely worth the read.Book Review: the prestige
Summary: 2 Stars
it's taking forever to read; the story appeal to readers with interest in magic, the book drags and drags and and it's quite different from the movie, like always.