Customer Reviews

Season of the Machete

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

As a dedicated fan of James Patterson, I realized that this was the one book of his that I had not yet read. Considering myself somewhat of a "completeist" when it comes to authors and musicians, I felt compelled to find a copy even though many, many Amazon reviewers recommended otherwise. Well, I guess I should have listened to the reviewers! This is not the James Patterson who wrote the great "Alex Cross" series (or even lesser works like "Thomas Berryman...", "Virgin", or "Black Market"). The character development is almost non-existent and the plot is so jumbled and rambling, it's like a runaway stagecoach.

Oh, don't get me wrong, there's plenty of action and numerous gory murders, but the set-up for the book is wafer-thin and it's really hard to fight your way through it. Like an earlier reviewer stated, I defy any reader to really tell me what the heck is going on through most of this book.

If you're a fan of Patterson's, stick with the Cross novels and his other later works. "Season of the Machete" was obviously a very early effort by Patterson and has about as much substance as some of my last-minute, weekend term papers from college. It's hard for me to give any Patterson book "one star" but when you compare this novel to his later books, this reviewer cannot do otherwise.

Stick to his good stuff and avoid this "Season"!

this was not a good book. i am a huge fan of his writing but this was not one of his best or even close. he must have written it a long time ago and couldn't get it published because it sucked and now that he is popular they will publish anything with his name on it.

This book was a complete waste. It was boring to read and hard to follow. I finished the book just see how it ended and hoping to clear up the confusion. I never should have read past the first chapter. Read Pop Goes the Weasle, or Lake House by Patterson. Just not this book. It is hard to believe it is written by the same author.

This book reads as if it were written in one marathon sprint, the plot racing from one bloody event to the next, with barely a pause for character development or background detail. What could have been an intriguing novel of mercenary killers and political upheaval is instead a throwaway pulp crime novel.

Reasonable story idea but very poorly put together. Got some free used Patterson books from a friend, "The Thomas Berryman Number" was a similar type book about crime, but much better than "Season of the Machete".

Guess Patterson was still learning with this book.

My head literally hurt trying to keep up with all that happened in this book. I gave up after 100 pages and donated it to Goodwill.

This is my ninth novel by Mr. Patterson. I guess I have been spoiled with Alex Cross stories. I try to read all a Author writes if I enjoy his books. I believe this to be his third and I have read all the rest. I felt he was still learning in this book. Very confusing, plenty of action but no growth of new characters, as I finshed it I realized that Peter was still in pursuit, I couldn't tell that until the final sentence. We all improve with time and so has this Author, all the rest have been great and I will read more as they come.

This is strange book...

A very early James Patterson, i had expected it to be more well written than some of his latest books. (As "See How They Run", another early effort, was) but no...it wasn't in fact, it was worse. Some of the sentences don't even make sense and soem of the turns of phrase are just plain weird. The dialogue, in parts, is so overemphasized it is unreadble. The plot rambles, and i defy anyone to actually tell me what on earth was going on. Patterson doesn't actually stop to explain ANYTHING. The characters are cardboard thin, and there are so many of them, and you are unclear of who they all are and what their role and whose side they are on, etc. The dates of all the events in the book just don't tally at all. (In the prologue, for example, there are two killings. the date is stated as 1980. When, about four chapters into the book, these killings are mentioned again, it says they took place in 1979.)

Overall, this is a completely confusing book. It'll take a really dedicated reader to actually be able to work out what it is all truly about. However, apart from that, it IS an enjoyable book. I sped through it, helped by Patterson's loose style. The plot, such as it is, moves incredibly quickly, and murder piles upon murder right up until the conclusion, which, i will admit, is certainly very good.

All in all, i cannot reccomend this book to anyone except fans of Patterson who wish to delve into these curios of his back-catalogue.

This is a basic suspense thriller. I enjoyed the read. It would be a good book for vacation reading or on a airplane. It does not take great concentration. It kept my interest. It is a very quick read. If it is a long flight, take another book. It is a little confusing as to the "Why".

James Patterson's books are usually a page turner. The suspense holds the reader until the last page. However, I find this statment to be true for the Alex Cross novels because this book not only did not take hold of my attention, but I actually stopped reading half way through. I'm not sure if the book gets better, but it is not the usual Patterson which is interesting from chapter 1. Simply put, this book was a bore and a disappointment. Patterson does have some other great books out there, especially those with Alex Cross.