Customer Reviews
Very Disappointing - By: Love Books, 24 Apr 2007 
Couldn't wait to read this as A Star Called Henry was soooooooooo brilliant and, indeed it starts well. Henry is escaping from Ireland & eventually arrivesin NY & history comes alive...this is NY as it must have been. However, from that point on the story gets lost. The plot becomes unbelievable. I suppose,in the end, if you enjoyed the first book it's worth reading just for the first few chapters....disappointing
Somewhat disappointing - By: Julian Ferguson, 10 Apr 2007 
The first book of the series, A Star Called Henry, was a brilliant book. The pace was fast, the story was gripping and, most importantly, it all fitted together. From cover to cover, the story flowed perfectly, taking you on a fascinating journey, on which you learn much about history as you develop along with the character.
Unfortunately, this book didn't rise to that level. Having read the first of the series, you expect a continuation of that interesting journey. And although you get a journey of sorts, it is not the one of discovery of the world & Henry himself you hope for. The story is quite disjointed, the various episodes don't really hang together that well. Some of the various stages Henry goes through are even a bit superfluous.
You, much like Henry himself, don't really know where the story is going to, often taking bizarre turnings. I found this a bit disappointing, asin the first book the sense of direction was clear. On a few occassion I came across points which would've made nice endings, but due to some incredulous plot twist, the book would continue.
Lastly, Henry remains a bit of a flat character, developing little. He makes the same mistakes again & again. You're wanting him to move on, as similar story lines continue to repeat themselves. This doesn't make for a very interesting read. In the end I wanted to know how it would finish, but I found myself skipping over large sections, desperate for an ending.
Dissapointing - By: Ms. R. Smith, 28 Jan 2007 I have to admit, I didnt get any where near the end of this book, & so you may think I am not the best to give a review!
The reasno for not finishing is that, although I found the story intriguing, & the characters likewise, I found the style hard to get on with. It was not what I expected from Doyle, either, & was not similarin style to his previous novels...
All that Jazz - By: Mr. F. I. Dudaniec, 15 Nov 2005 
It's easy to criticise ambitious literature because it extends itself, asks you to take a leap, to commit more than other books to the journey. If you are willing to leave yourself at the front cover & dive rightin then this book is for you. A book like this, writing like this, has no flaws, Doyle creates a way of storytelling all of his own, animating history with such enthusiasm that it leaps off the page & slaps you across the face. Just enjoy the ride.
A poor sequel - By: Declan, Dublin, 11 Oct 2005 
Doyle's previous novel "A star Called Henry" was a superb book - probably the first to look at what has now become a very romantacised periodin Irish history from a realistic & authentic point of view. The formula of combining actual historical figures with the swaggering innonence & bravado of Henry Smart - patriot, hitman,lover & romantic - made for a highly entertaining sweep through the story of the emerging Irish statein the early part of the last century. It exposed much of the revisionism which has since taken place about that periodin Irish history, which up to now has been taughtin Irish schools as a glorious period.
Unfortunately, the same formula applied to Henry Smart's continuing adventuresin the america of the 1920s & 1930s does not work as well. Apart from the fact that this approach has been overdone from Ragtime onwards, large tracts of the story are incredulous - bordering on the bizarre, if not the ridiculous (sudden escapes from the jaws of death etc). Having moved on from courting Louis Armstrong to Dutch Schulz & a host of further legendary figures of the period, there are further plot twists (e.g the Bonnie & Clyde & Holywood movies episodes) which seem to drawn their inspiration from Woody Allen's Zelig (and that was a comedy movie). On top of this, the dialogue is stilted & is difficult to read.
Roddy, on this occasion, has bitten off too much to make for a decent book. Hopefully, there is not another sequel.
