Negative Positive
Title: Cross is a stereotype of himself
Review: The Alex Cross novels, much like Robert B Parker's "Spenser" stories, is a victim Patterson's own success. The series starts well, but as the novels are pumped out, the bad guys become bigger, while our hero becomes more heroic. As noted by another reviewer, the chapters are a paltry page and a half long. This gives the illusion of a "real page turner" but what it truly does is waste paper. The other "pager turner" device deployed is ending most chapters with a lingering question or an exclamation, complete with italics. Without those, the story doesn't move well. The basic plot is fine. The coincidences and the happenstances (a 13 year old hacker comes to the rescue) are not imaginative. The internal struggles of Dr. Cross are forced. While there are action sequences, complete with gunfire, I never sensed that Dr. Cross was in danger. I only read the Cross stories out of habit at this point, but much like the Spenser novels, the early books are the best.
Is the review positive or negative? 