... i'm wondering if puzo even wrote the fourth k ...

... i'm finding it dry and somewhat disjointed. in some ways it's a disaster novel. don't forget, puzo wrote the script for the classic charlton heston movie earthquake. in the fourth k you've got a plane hijacking, an atomic bomb explosion destroying part of new york city, not to mention the destruction of the middle east country of dak (is there such a place?). it's weird how puzo just mentions these things then moves back to the political dialogue. lots of policitians talking. the destruction of dak itself wasn't really covered at all ...

... one interesting thing: a lot of the issues that arised a decade later out of the 9-11 attacks on manhattan are discussed in great detail in the fourth k, in particular the use of a very unorthodox interrogation technique on a couple of militant suspects and the president's determination to destroy dak in the face of great oppostion, including impeachment proceedings ...

... however the writing doesn't even feel like puzo to me. it's dry and broadly written and it seems like it was written by a policitian, not a mafia writer. the only part that feels to me like puzo actually might have wrote it is the hollywood stuff. that's where he loosens up ...

... if by writing the fourth k puzo was trying to prove he's an ultra-intelligent intellectual then he has done so. it's an interesting exercise in puzo's understanding of the american political system. nonetheless, it's somewhat disappointing in that it reads like a lesson in how the american political machine works ...

... the godfather is unparalleled and, while fools die is a very entertaining read, the last don is closest to the godfather ...

... maybe next i'll try the sicilian. i hear it's quite good ...