The Fan

This creepy baseball-based thriller reads fast, but it's quite memorable for its anti-hero, The Fan himself. Includes some of the most convincing scenes of male humiliation I've ever read. The only flaw: it's let down a bit by an implausible Hollywood ending.

The Fan is a fast paced thriller that will appeal to both to fans of the genre (no pun intended) and to the sports geek who wants to expand into other reading areas. The storyline is fast-paced with quite a bit of suspense and more than enough baseball and behind the scenes of professional sports for the sports enthusiast. The novel does a nice job of switching back and forth between the protagonist (a knife salesman who is down on his luck), the sports star (who also is battling through a career slump) and the media. It's an entertaining book that moves along pretty quickly and is really good for an escape from the day to day.

Of course, if you've seen the film with Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes, there aren't a whole lot of surprises show more in the book, but there are a few differences. The film actually did a really good job of capturing the feel of the book though and although there are some changes here and there, both the book and the film work at accomplishing their ultimate goals. show less

Fast-paced story was engrossing despite it's baseball theme. Had many unexpected developments.