The Great Train Robbery
by Michael Crichton
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael CrichtonEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-10-28
ISBN: 0061706493
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Harper
Book Reviews of The Great Train Robbery
Book Review: An Intriguing and Informative Novel
Summary: 4 Stars
Michael Crichton does a great job capturing the British slang of the mid-1800s in one of his more unique novels "The Great Train Robbery." This is one of those rare stories in which the protagonist is actually the bad guy. It's a wealthy man named Edward Pierce who has one goal in mind: to secretly rob a highly secured train shipping lots gold to Paris. This is a very difficult mission in which the slightest mistake can become catastrophic, and it takes several months of careful research and preparation as Pierce develops and executes the perfect strategy to accomplish this daring feat. The character development in this book is very rich, and it's why the readers become attached to Pierce's character. He's very mysterious, but he's calm and cool, well-mannered, and very friendly. We grow to like him and want him to succeed, which is what makes the story even more compelling and more suspenseful, because there's so much at stake for Pierce and the others working for him. In order to help the reader get a better grasp of the story, Crichton takes time occasionally to examine the history and culture of Great Britain during this time period. This is interesting to read, but sometimes it seems like he spends a little too much time on this aspect that it kind of disrupts the story's progress and dampens the suspense momentarily. The ending is somewhat anti-climactic because of how much the story's pace slows down, but it's also completely unpredictable and may even surprise you. Overall it's a very engaging and well crafted story by Crichton with a very memorable character, Edward Pierce. It's a great book that will keep you guessing and make you anxious to see what will happen next.
Summary of The Great Train Robbery
Lavish wealth and appalling poverty live side by side in Victorian London?and Edward Pierce easily navigates both worlds. Rich, handsome, and ingenious, he charms the city's most prominent citizens even as he plots the crime of his century, the daring theft of a fortune in gold. But even Pierce could not predict the consequences of an extraordinary robbery that targets the pride of England's industrial era: the mighty steam locomotive.
Based on remarkable fact, and alive with the gripping suspense, surprise, and authenticity that are his trademarks, Michael Crichton's classic adventure is a breathtaking thrill-ride that races along tracks of steel at breakneck speed.
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