My two cents:

On the first read-through, the GFR book makes a decent effort to fill in the gaps. However, overall, the book strikes me as a 'forced' effort. Perhaps my view is jaded and my expectations are based on the GF book, GF1 and GF2.

As with GF3, for someone for whom this story is their 'padrino point of entry', it will be well received. However for me (and I suspect many of you), the GF book and the first two movies (in particular) really told the entire story. If someone wanted to flesh out the Corleone story, I think that the period of Vito's rise to power might be a worthwhile effort. But other than that, any other effort, including this one, is just an effort to embellish a completed story.

TIS - I respect your view that perhaps some of us are too critical of the book. However, this guy knew the risks before he opened his MS Word document. There are too many people that know the story lines and dialog for him to tinker with subtle aspects of the story. Perhaps we are just trying to preserve the beauty and integrity of the original work. I admit I am biased; I like the original GF novel, GF1 and GF2. I think that GF3 was a big mistake. GFR is a solid effort, but I question whether the author's real intent was to put the icing on the cake or take orders for more cakes.

I would hate to see Michael Corleone become the next Zatoichi or James Bond - at that point he would be a real serial killer ;-) I respect this man's work, I appreciate his level of effort and his respect for tbe original body of work, but I think that the book does more damage than good. I will read this through a few more times; perhaps I will loosen up a bit. But for now, I think that this is an example of gilding the lily.

Any reaction folks?