This story read more as a nonfiction book than anything else. I know that the crime and the characters were real and I like how Crichton tried to make their escapade into an entertaining tale.

The book was written I typically Crichton fashion, where he tries to weave all the facts and science into a story. Unfortunately there wasn’t much of a narrative. It was more like a nonfiction book interspersed with a few moments of dialogue.

I really liked learning all about this crime. I had never heard of it before and I was fascinated with all the details. How come no one ever talks about this robbery? I know that they made this into a movie in 1978 and I’m determined to watch it now. But wouldn’t it be a good serial show? Maybe someday someone will resurrect the story and make the crime new again.

⚫Po skoro 45 rokoch sa slovenský čitatelia majú možnosť v revydaní stretnúť s pútavým, prekvapivo málo známym a z veľkej časti až groteskným príbehom priebehu lúpeže známej ako (Prvá) Veľká vlaková lúpež, ktorý už v roku 1975 napísal Michael Crichton, autor dnes kultových žánrových diel ako Jurský park, Smrť Andromeda či Sféra, pričom tento, skoro vyhradený žánrový autor sa k tomuto dielu rozhodol pristúpiť inak.

Ponúka nám tak román oscilujúci na pomedzí publicistickej dokumentárnej rekonštrukcie udalostí a historickej detektívnej fikcie, ktorý svojou, skoro publicistickou naráciou a krátkymi kapitolami na malom priestore dobre pracuje s dynamikou i gradáciou deju, zároveň podrobne popisuje životy všetkých zúčastnených, plán a prípravy krádeže, i keď, s istou dávkou autorskej invencie, keďže množstvo informácií o prípade, či práve zúčastnených osobách nie je známych, no to všetko na pozadí života society vo viktoriánskom Londýne s vlastným genius loci, vlastným životným štýlom, morálkou i triednymi vrstvami.

Román tak nie je iba klasická spoločenská beletria, ale skôr multižánrový produkt, ktorý sa nielenže snaží objasniť, vysvetliť celý priebeh tohto zločinu a jeho motívy, a to všetko zrozumiteľne, s dávkou humoru a čo najstráviteľnejšie i pre laického čitateľa, ale zároveň so žánrovým presahom odkazuje i na skutočný život na Britských ostrovoch, na históriu, zvyky a tradície, skutočné historické udalosti a hýbatele súvekej spoločnosti, jej názorov a postojov, ktoré potom ovplyvňovali i reálnych zlodejov či vrahov a dôvody ich kriminality.

Crichton sa tak vo Veľkej vlakovej lúpeži ,,hrá" nielen na prostého rozprávača príbehu, ale i na historika a etnológa, sprevádzajúceho čitateľa nielen istou historickou udalosťou, ale skôr vybranou komplexnou historickou epochou, jej súvislosťami, faktami a koreláciami, to všetko na prekvapivo malom textovom priestore.⚫

Lot of good Crichton out there, but this is the first I'd truly call great. Fascinating historical heist story - but what made it really stand out was the additional background information on Victorian England. I learned so much here that I hadn't expected to - how the introduction of rail travel changed England; how Scotland Yard got its name; how the Crimean War (and the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade) gave us both the Balaclava and the Cardigan; and just endless fascinating details of every aspect of British society at the time.

This was Crichton's second "big" book after 1969's Andromeda Strain; but he then followed this up with the "meh" Eaters of the Dead, Congo and Sphere before hitting his real stride with Jurassic Park, Rising Sun, Disclosure, Lost World, etc. Hard to believe he's already been gone for a whole decade, (especially since new Crichton books continue to be released with the same regularity as Jimi Hendrix albums).

ALSO, PROBABLY SHOULD'VE KNOWN BUT DIDN'T: I never realized that the Retreat from Kabul, Crimean War and Indian Mutiny happened back-to-back - yikes! Tough days for the British Army, but opened up the world for Harry Flashman...

Soft 4, this book grew on me. Michael Crichton is a cool author. The slang in this book reminded me of sci-fi slang, but instead of made up techno-jargon, it was victorian criminal slang, which was equally incomprehensible. Gonna keep chugging on Crichton I think. Also btw women, sorry how we treated you in the past, thats messed up, sorry bout that.

For some reason, whenever someone had mentioned this book to me earlier, I had always pictured a cowboy on horseback chasing down a train in the wild, wild west, complete with a lasso in his hand. I have no idea how I made that relation but the image stuck. And since cowboys and westerns were not really my thing, I had never felt the urge to pick this book up, until now.

Oh, how so very wrong I had been!

You can safely assume I kicked myself a fair number of times after I was about a quarter-way through this book, for this was most definitely NOT a western!

The Great Train Robbery is a basically an account of a event that actually occurred about a century and a half ago, put together by some excellent research work by Michael Crichton. I can only imagine the number of people he had had to talk to, the amount of newspaper clippings he had had to go through to put together this tale so wonderfully that never, not for a second, do you doubt that those people had said and felt and expressed the very things mentioned in the book, in actuality. In fact, the side tidbits Crichton offered shed a wonderful light on life in the 1800's and I, as someone who knows little about how the world worked back then, thoroughly enjoyed those insights.

Simply put, this story is about a man who wants to steal some gold, and who enlists the help of certain skilled people to pull the whole thing off, all based on a crazy, insane but highly intricate and meticulous plan. A fellow reviewer likened it to the Victorian Era's Ocean's Eleven, and I couldn't agree more.

The fascinating thing about this is IT ALL ACTUALLY HAPPENED. The fact that an audacious, insane, genius of a man pulled off such a large-scale, highly publicized robbery IN THE VICTORIAN ERA is simply astounding - so much so that one comes to admire and root for him in the end. I actually cheered out loud when I found out he got away with it finally! :D

Brilliant narration of a thrilling tale. Highly recommended!

In 1855 a gang of thieves carried out an elaborate scheme to rob a train of the gold bullion scheduled to serve as payroll for the soldiers fighting in the Crimean War. “The Victorians always referred to this crime in capital letters, as The Great Train Robbery.” This is Crichton’s fictionalized novel based on what is known of the truth, with a good deal of conjecture and embellishment.

What a rollicking good story! I was entertained from beginning to end. Crichton starts out with a recitation of the facts and sprinkles the text with details of Victorian life and the specifics which came to light during the trial. But the way he imagines the lead characters, especially Edward Pierce (the gang leader), is what really breathes life into the story.

I first read this back in 1975 when it was a new release. In fact, I have a book-club edition I purchased at the time. It’s always been one of my favorite books by Crichton and I’ve recommended it to people over the years as a quick, fun adventure / crime story.

The book was adapted to film in 1978, starring Sean Connery as Edward Pierce, and Donald Sutherland as his accomplice Robert Agar. It’s a pretty faithful adaptation, and well worth watching.


NOTE: This review was written on my second (or third) reading, August 2015. One of my book clubs chose it for discussion in June 2019, so I’ve re-read it yet again. And I still love it!

This is a fictionalized account of a gold heist that happened in 1855. The author has recreated the events in his own way. The story is simple however, it is a well-researched and engaging thriller. The 19th century is recreated by the author beautifully and to boot it, it is an unsolved mystery. But it is not your typical Michael Crichton and a hard-core fan would be disappointed.

Absolutely fantastic! As a Crichton fan, I absolutely loved this additional book in the series of those I’ve I’ve read.

This plot is very special about this book was that he poured in so much authentic history small details about made mid 18 00s life that it made it very special.

I highly recommend.

"Now, on the matter of motivation, sir, I ask you: why did you conceive, plan, and execute this dastardly and shocking crime?"

Pierce shrugged. "I wanted the money," he said (p. 327).

Quizás 2 estrellas sea algo escaso, pero la verdad es que me ha decepcionado bastante.
Se trata de un texto a medio camino entre el ensayo o reportaje periodístico, y la novela. Lo malo es que creo que he leído bastantes reportajes periodísticos con más gancho que esto.
No puedo decir que esté mal escrito, o que no pueda tener un cierto interés... pero es que es anodino, no se disfruta, no hay tensión, no hay pasión, no hay nada. Estamos ante una ¿novela? que nos detalla la planificación y la ejecución de uno de esos robos "perfectos" de guante blanco, una trama que a priori suele dar resultados de gran interés... y sin embargo casi aburre.
En fin, pues eso, que si lo que se quiere es conocer en qué consistió el gran robo del tren, pues vale. Pero si lo que se quiere es disfrutar con una lectura, mejor coger otra.

This actually might be the worst book I’ve ever read

This fictionalized telling of the Great Train Robbery is great stuff. It’s heavy on the London criminal class slang, but it’s fun and exciting.

I don’t think Crichton has ever been better. And it’s a great example of a Heist.

I read this when I was in High School and it’s just as good as I remembered it.

Five stars. It’s not serious literature by any means, but it’s a “ripping yarn.”