Negative Positive
Title: Not so much written but retold
Review: Having been an avid Irving fan for over twenty years, I had high expectations for The Fourth Hand. Irving disappoints me on just about every level. The characters are essentially one dimensional and static. One could see every plot twist long before it arrived. One reason I continued to read was that I was waiting for Irving to surprise me. He never did.The Fourth Hand borrows from just about every other book he's written with nothing new to offer. I got the sense that Irving was filling the quota of a book contract and we'll see his next effort with a new publisher. It's either that or Irving has chosen to rest on his laurels.I thought A Widow For One Year a stunning comeback from the abysmal Son Of The Circus. However, with this effort I have to begin to wonder if Irving has lost his will to write. Shallow characters, predictable plots and unresolved subplots just left me unfulfilled as a reader.
Is the review positive or negative? 