Search - Thunderstruck

I have been a fan of Erik Larson ever since I read Devil In The White City. Larson has a talent for making historical nonfiction read like a good mystery novel. While Thunderstruck did not disappoint, it is not on the same level as Devil.

I believe that the key to enjoying Larson's books is knowing what you're getting into. Both Devil and Thunderstruck involve two seemingly unrelated storylines, woven together to form some intersecting and intertwining conclusion. Larson gets you to that conclusion through meticulous research and a lot of detail. I did not find this book boring, but readers who do not like to trudge through pages of technical explanation and minute detail might disagree with me.

In other words, people who really enjoyed Devil might not necessarily enjoy this book. While Devil was a seriel killer murder mystery wrapped up in the glamour of the Chicago World's Fair, Thunderstruck is more of a slow march towards a single domestic murder wrapped up in the technological baby steps in the development of wireless communication. By nature, the subject matter of Thunderstruck will be less appealing to a wider audience.

With that said, I still enjoyed this book (even though I liked Devil better.) You can only do so much with the subject matter available to work with, and I think Larson pulled off Thunderstruck with good success. I think this book is certainly worth reading, but it's not a book that everyone would enjoy.

Erik Larson is one of my favorite authors & his story-telling skills are unparalleled. In Thunderstruck, he weaves together seemingly unrelated stories about Marconi & the development of the wireless & the murder of a "celebrity". The way the two converge is astounding & Larson expertise shines through during this part of the story.

I found this book to be a bit slow-it took me a while to "get started" on it-but understand that Larson has an enormous back story to tell, so the details are necessary. If you love true crime & historical non-fiction, then this is a great book to read. I personally liked Larson's Issac's Storm about the 1900 Galveston Hurricane better, but this is definitely an engaging read.

This is an excellent read! There are two parallel stories: The difficultes Marconi had in developing his wireless radiotelegraph system (back in Edwardian times, the main use was for transatlantic communication between ships, and ships and land), and the story of Dr. Crippen's murder of his wife. Towards the end of the book the two stories intersect when Dr. Crippen and his lover (disguised as a young man) try to escape to America, and are recognized by the captain of their ship who sends wireless communications about their life on board. The book blurb is - for once - accurate in its praise of the book.

The characters are great, and you really get a feel for the Edwardian pre-WWI era.

Unlike most of Erik Larson's work, I found this one a bit difficult to wade through. The Marconi sections were slow. However, he's still very skilled in presenting historical events is an interesting and readable way. I'll certainly continue to read his works!

For about the first 100 pages I kept wondering when the real action would start & what could the stories possibly have in common. As usual Erik Larson came through with a thoroughly absorbing tale and I was anything but disappointed. Great story!

Was excited to read this book for my book group because I so enjoyed "Devil in the White City."

"Thunderstruck" started out a bit slow and just as I grew weary of the trials and tribulations of Marconi and others, the story of the murder began to gain energy.
The two stories bounced off each other well.

I will admit I found "Devil in the White City." more compelling, but "Thunderstruck" was a very good read and the Book Group had a really lively discussion.