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| Fade Away | 
 enlarge | Author: Harlan Coben
Publisher: New English Library Ltd
Category: Book
Buy Used: $3.88
Used (2) from $3.88
Avg. Customer Rating:  48 reviews
Format: Import
Media: Paperback
Pages: 346
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
ISBN: 0340766360
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780340766361
ASIN: 0340766360
Publication Date: February 3, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 43 more reviews...
 Crackles with Action December 13, 2008
I couldn't put it down. Fade Away by one of my new favorite contemporary authors Harlan Coben is a rollicking and excellent read. A sort of guy's Stephanie Meyer, if you will.
The story of great hopes dashed by a white superstar basketball player at Duke, drafted by a Red Auerbach-type GM of the Boston Celtics, who suffers a horrible knee injury before playing a single regular season game. This Myron Bolitar, whom I take to be Jewish, doesn't look back. It's a good message to disappointment: don't dwell on what could have been.
Bolitar goes on to graduate from Harvard Law, found his own Jerry Maguire-like sports agency, and become an heterodox PI with the help of a couple of colorful side kicks: Esperanza, a former svelte female professional wrestler, and Win, a blond beast following the Superman ethics of Friedrich Nietzsche. This Win, a sort of Whit Stillman WASP with .44 magnum fists and impeccable timing, I found intriguing, living the dream I sometimes wish I could engage in if I didn't have to worry about the repercussions. But that's no way to talk to a girl, Win.
Ten years after Bolitar's hopes were dashed to play in the NBA he unexpectedly receives a call to play for the NJ Dragons, in order to search for a flaky superstar player who has gone missing again. Another white guy in the black-dominated sport who happens to have been Bolitar's big rival at UNC.
A murder is uncovered. And a female sports writer very quickly uncovers the cover story of Bolitar's hiring. We also meet Cyndi, a giantess whom we haven't seen the likes of since Mark Helprin's Soldier of the Great War, who celebrates being asked out for a date in a way that registers on seismographs. You'll understand once you read the book, which I think you should.
The narrative is wild. The ending will probably be a gotcha. And you'll find out what SWB means. My only criticisms are that Coben, a very skilled technician and obviously hard worker, neglected to hyphenate what my AP Stylebook says to do in writing eighth-grader, for example. Also, Bobby Hurley's picture kept coming up in my brain. He's from NJ and suffered injury that threatened his NBA playing days. But it's not a nice picture, Bobby Hurley that is. I hate Duke basketball anyway, being a Michigan State football man.
Tiny criticism in an otherwise very fun book, first published in 1996 but re-released in 2008 by Delacorte Press in hardcover. Four and a half stars.
I look forward to many more hours of enjoyment with Myron Bolitar as I have received from Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon. Thanks, Mr. Coben!
Another adventure with Myron Bolitar's irreverent wit... October 8, 2008
I've been on a bit of a recreational reading kick lately... probably trying to escape the stress of the economy. Anyway, my number finally came up at the library for the latest Myron Bolitar novel by Harlan Coben... Fade Away. It's been awhile since I've had the pleasure of reading Bolitar's irreverent dialog and his interaction with his partner Win Lockwood. And as always, it's a treat.
Bolitar, a sports agent and one-time promising basketball phenom (before his knee was blown out at the very start of his professional career), is approached by the owner of the New Jersey Dragons. They're a playoff-bound team with a minor problem... their star player Greg Downing has disappeared. He's a bit of a head case anyway, and the team is trying to sell it to the media as seclusion to rehab an injured ankle. The owner wants to sign Bolitar to finish out the season with the team, basically as a scrub player with some name appeal of what "could have been". But what he really wants is for Bolitar to investigate from the inside and see if he can solve the mystery. Bolitar's not sure he wants to subject himself to public ridicule as a player, but the chance to have his shot at the pros is too strong. He takes the case and quickly finds a number of people who could have wanted Downing dead, including an ex-wife and some underworld characters. As Bolitar digs deeper, no one ends up being exactly who they say they are (or who Bolitar thinks they are). He has to question everything, including his own past, to solve this case and find closure for his professional life that never was.
There's not much more to say other than this was just a fun read. Bolitar always seems to be one snide remark away from getting the pulp beat out of him. He basically says all the smart-alex things you'd *like* to say if you had time to think about it (and there were no repercussions). The dialog is one of the main reasons why I enjoy the Myron Bolitar series. Couple that with a plot that keeps twisting with no resolution until the end (and even then, there's still a few surprises), and it's my idea of a perfect book for killing a few hours at home or on a plane.
 Enjoyable October 7, 2008
This is the second of Coban's novels featuring Myron Bolitar that I've read and like all of his books I found it quite enjoyable. I enjoyed Promise Me a bit more but Coban held true to form with last minute twists that always bring surprise. I've yet to read one of Coban's novels that I wouldn't recommend to others.
Still a timely story October 6, 2008
Writing on anything connected to sports gambling is always timely - and "Fade Away" is a good example. Coben's underlying theme, whether intentional or not, centers around the timeless questions of freedom and responsibility. Coben is not only an entertaining writer, but knows how to blend reality and idealism - and everything in between. (Reviewed by Jerry Marcus, author of four novels - including Broken Trust - The Murder Of Basketball Star Jack Molinas.)
 not my style September 20, 2008
I am a fan of Harlan Coben but have never read this particular series. In contrast to the majority of reviews, I found this to be tedious rather than witty and in need of additional editing. Lame, forced dialog on top of a silly plot...even taking it for what it is, there are better ways to spend one's time.
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