return to home  
Join   |  Gift   |  Member Login   |  Library Login
BookBrowse Mobile
twitter Bookmark and Share mail to a friend Email
   Reader reviews of Beat the Reaper

Read what people think about Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell, and write your own review.

Beat the Reaper

Beat the Reaper
A Novel
by Josh Bazell
Hardcover: Jan 2009,
320 pages.
Paperback: Sep 2009,
336 pages.

Publication information
First book/First Novel


Author Information
Critics' Opinion:   
Readers' Rating:  
About BookBrowse Rankings
Buy This Book
Page 1 of 1 There are currently 4 reviews
for Beat the Reaper
Select your view:
Order Reviews by:
Click Here To Write Your Own Review
Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Susan Reiners
Those with Delicate Sensibilities, Beware!
Despite using an f-word as a noun, this book grabbed me harder faster than just about any book I can think of. It was difficult to put down, and at first I would have recommended it to just about anyone, including my German physician daughter-in-law for my son to read aloud. Later, there were some of the most graphically violent scenes I have ever read. I suppose they did move the story along, and I still liked the story enough to give this top rating, but the nothing-left-to-the-imagination violence is a big reservation. You just know this is going to be made into a movie.

And no, I wouldn't give this book to anybody, certainly not my daughter-in-law or my doctor.

The premise is original, nothing is as it appears, the tale is very funny and intelligent, and--oh, yes--very, VERY graphically violent.


Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by bridgiebee
Wanting Fast and Furious? Read this one!
This is a very funny, fast paced book. Actually a book for everyone who is looking to be entertained! You won't be able to put it down. Beware, if a lot of cursing and foul language offends you; as there is a lot. I loved this book! Only bad thing is it ended to quickly! Read It! Prepare to laugh out loud!


Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by PDXReader
What a ride!
Beat the Reaper is a fast, furious, fun roller-coaster ride of a book, and I enjoyed it tremendously. Its protagonist was unique, entertaining, and three-dimensional. I kept waiting for the plot to take some predictable turn, but it never did; I was constantly surprised by the way events unfolded. It was often extremely funny although I felt it maybe got a little ridiculous there toward the end. This one is definitely on my "recommend to friends" list.

A note of warning: The language is very, very profane. I've been known to talk like a truck-driver myself from time-to-time, and even I found the cussing extreme and jarring, particularly in the opening chapter, where pretty much every sentence contained the word "fhead." The language calmed down after the book's opening, but it was still liberally laced with the "f-word." If such language offends you, you should skip this novel.


Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Carol K.
Unique Debut
Beat the Reaper is an unique read. Read it for the quirky characters. Read it for its dark humor. Read it because it's one heck of a thriller. Read it for the history, or for the medicine. Read it before it's turned into a bad movie. Read it for the gimmicks; I'm not telling. Read it because it's a debut effort and a new voice in fiction. Read it because it's a real hot book and everybody's reading it. Read it before Bazell publishes a second in the series fingers crossed!


  1

Lists of books with similar themes


Read-Alikes


Other books by Josh Bazell
Buy This Book:

Become a Member
The Leftovers
Editor's Choice
  •  May 24 
  •  May 22 
  •  May 20 
Luminarium
Alex Shakar
Luminarium Jacket Do you feel... Your life is without purpose? Your days are without meaning? There's something about existence you're just not getting?
Lehrter Station
David Downing
Lehrter Station Jacket WWII has ended… But the danger has just begun for a spy caught between political superpowers.
All Woman and Springtime
Brandon W. Jones
All Woman and Springtime Jacket This spellbinding debut, reminiscent of Memoirs of a Geisha, depicts, with chilling accuracy, life behind North Korea's iron curtain.
Birdseye
Mark Kurlansky
Birdseye Jacket The first biography of Clarence Birdseye, the eccentric genius inventor whose fast-freezing process revolutionized the food industry and American agriculture.
A Land More Kind Than Home
Wiley Cash
A Land More Kind Than Home Jacket A mesmerizing literary thriller about the bond between two brothers and the evil they face in a small western North Carolina town.
Click Here
   Most Recent Blog Entries
Why "Fifty Shades of Grey" Is So Successful
Summer 2012: Movies Based on Books
Following the Thread - Great Book Design
rss  RSS   rss  subscribe
The Butterfly Cabinet
  Latest BookBrowse News
BookExpo America will broadcast live author appearances for the first time (May 24 2012)
For the first time, BookExpo America is making author appearances at the show available for viewing online live or on demand, via Livestream. It is... Full Story
rss RSS feed More...
BookBrowse Poll
Q: Have you bought a book in any of these stores in the last 3 months?
Walmart
Costco
Sam's Club
Any other warehouse store
Any other bricks & mortar location that isn't a bookstore
None of these
Select Any That Apply
Search: Title or Author
Free Newsletters

Online Book Club
More about
Next to Love
Join the discussion!

BookBrowse Showcase
visit showcase now!
Advertise Here

First Impressions
Members Recommend:
A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar
by Suzanne Joinson
Four Stars
The Secrets of Mary Bowser
by Lois Leveen
Five Stars
A Simple Murder
by Eleanor Kuhns
Four Stars
The Voluntourist
by Ken Budd
3.5 Stars
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake
by Anna Quindlen
4.5 Stars
Afterwards
by Rosamund Lupton
4.5 Stars
more...


Win This Book!
Beneath The Shadows

Beneath the Shadows jacket

A thrilling gothic debut - publishing June 5

Enter To Win Now!

wordplay
Solve this clue:
"S T Pass I T N"

and be entered
to win....
frame top
New Author
Interviews
Isabel Allende
Alice Hoffman
Mark Seal
Charlotte Rogan
frame bottom
HOME Submissions | Advertising | Libraries | Media Inquiries | Reviewers | Contact Us