The Christmas Train

I have always wanted to travel across the country by train and I love the Christmas season, so this book was an absolute joy to read. It is filled with plenty of simple "feel good" moments. It is warm and filled with the true spirit of Christmas. The story offers something for all readers. It has mystery, romance and a sense of adventure. This would make a great Christmas movie.

I've never read one of those Harlequin Romance books. I've heard about them, but never read one, nor do I ever intend to. As I read David Baldacci's second "non thriller", I had two thoughts: 1) this is probably what a Harlequin Romance is like, but 2) A Harlequin Romance, however, can't possibly be this bad. This book was awful.

Let's see if I can regurgitate the plot: The story centers around Tom Langdon, who is a foreign correspondent (or journalist or something). He lives in Washington D.C. and is going to see his girlfriend in Los Angles for the Christmas holidays. She's a famous "voice over" actress for popular cartoons (I didn't even realize there were famous voice over actors and actresses). He needs to take the train, because he's banned from flying since he had a recent altercation with airport security somewhere, so train traveling is new to him.

Now, I've never taken a train across the country either, so I confess I have no idea what it's like, but it a word, Tom's traveling experience can be bluntly expressed in two words: Ridiculously unbelievable. This story was so idiotic, that I literally expected the character to "wake up from a dream" at the end of this story since all of these fantastical events couldn't possibly happen in real life.

First, all of these strangers seem to immediately bond with one and other. Each time a passenger strikes up a conversation with another, it's not like they've known each other for two minutes, but rather two decades. I'm sorry, I can accept that traveling by train is "different" and perhaps "cozier", but people simply aren't this revealing about such personal matters to total strangers. This, I guess, is so Baldacci can tell his tale a little easier, but it simply reeks of being unbelievable. Sadly, the situations only get more preposterous.

As Tom begins his journey, he starts to reminisce about his life up to this point in time (lots of free time to think on a train), and he regrets many of his choices, especially around some relationships. His only other "real" relationship was with a gal named Eleanor, that he lived with for a couple of years while he was overseas. He thinks a lot about Eleanor. He almost proposed, but chickened out at the last minute. Their relationship ended rather abruptly, and Tom isn't sure why. He sure does miss Eleanor.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, speaking of unbelievability, who do you think Tom meets on this Christmas train??? Did I mention this story was rather ridiculous?

Well, as Tom and Eleanor reluctantly reconnect on this cross country ride, it's apparent that there's still a lot of bad blood, hurt feelings, forced conversation, and arguing. It's pretty pathetic. I seem to recall several arguments that went something like this:
Tom: You still never told me why you left me!
Eleanor: If I had to tell you, it was obvious that our relationship would never work!

Note to couples everywhere that are starting out in a relationship: This is not a good way to resolve conflict.

Anyway, we don't feel too bad for Tom because, after all, he does have someone new that he is going to see in Los Angeles. Well, we then see them talk to each other a few times over the phone during the train ride, and it seems Tom's new love interest is a bit of a shallow, whiney bint. In case you're wondering, dear reader, this is so that when Tom and Eleanor do reconnect and rekindle their relationship, you won't feel too bad for this broken relationship. His L.A. actress girlfriend then actually manages to meet Tom on the train halfway through the trip and join him rather then simply wait for him in Los Angeles. I guess this is supposed to make the story more interesting. To me, it just reeked of implausibility.

The other aspects of the story aren't any better. You see, Tom actually has to connect with another train in Chicago before he can continue his journey to Los Angeles, and for some reason, 95% of the original passengers somehow have the same final destination. Anyone who's ever travelled with any type of commercial carrier knows how idiotic this situation would be. The author casually eliminates the characters that aren't needed to advance the plot, yet conveniently takes everyone else to California. Then, somewhere in the mountains of Colorado, the train gets stranded in an avalanche. Yet our hero Tom boldly goes on a risky rescue mission (with one other passenger - I'll let you guess which one), and manages to save everyone. This takes up about 2 1/2 pages. Yeah. Right. Time and time again, you tell yourself that this story simply can't get any worse. But it does.

Here's another note to travelers everywhere: If there is a "thief" on a train, and the thief continues to steal throughout the long trip over and over again without getting caught, you might want to, you know, lock your door on your compartment. Or at least safeguard your valuables. To think that these brained damaged idiotic passengers have the nerve to be surprised when they get their stuff stolen after the third or fourth incident.

By the way, how does a very large python end up on a train outside of a cage or with no apparent owner nor origin?

Well, our characters essentially end up being dragged to a happy ending kicking and screaming, and you can't help but think that after the final pages of this story, that their problems are far from over. I think if I were a college professor and one of my students wrote this story as part of an assignment, I'd give them an "A" for grammar, yet a "C-" for the story.

Being that this is all sappy and romantic, it wouldn't surprise me if this has somehow been made into one of those movies on the Harlequin channel. If you do come across this rendition in movie format, I beg of you not to watch. Do yourself a favor and switch the channel and watch a rerun of "Cosby" instead.

Better yet, just turn the television off and read a book.

Just don't read this one.

I choose The Christmas Train one of 10 Christmas Theme audio stories from all different authors. I wanted to get into the happy festive season mood.

The thought of an AMTRAK transcontinental ride, what a great idea. A train ride compared to the frustrations I have experienced with air travel, I settled down for a great ride. What a disappointment. I felt some of the characters didn't seem real enough and seemed to be lacking flesh and blood.

The first third of the story was slow and introduced so many characters.

a Hollywood director and his LA young assistant
a retired railroad employee riding for nostalgia,
a boys choir,
a thief,
a reporter and his ex girlfriend
a clairvoyant,

Add to that a mother of all snow storms, an avalanche and multiple diesel engines running out of fuel.

In the middle of this story things improved and clipped along quite nicely.

Then kaboom, the ending twist was so pathetic. My jaw hit the floor and I said your kidding. I walked out of the room. If I had been reading the book it would have been thrown across the room.

I gave this 2 stars. It would have been 3 (an OK read) if the ending wasn't so unbelievable.

Out of the 10 Christmas Stories I have listened to only 50% I have given a 4 or 5 star rating. There is a shortage of good Christmas stories out there. Authors please don't publish unless the story is good.

My top ones were
THE GIFT by Richard Paul Evans
SKIPPING CHRISTMAS by John Grisham
CHRISTMAS JARS BY Jason F Wright

This is about as bad as writing can get. Reading Baldacci is akin to watching a horrendous train wreck unfold. I don't know why he is such a popular author or why I keep thinking that his books might be interesting. I think that so many authors are writing along similar lines that it becomes confusing whether or not the particular authors work was decent or bad several months after reading his/her previous novel. The Christmas Train however does stick out in ones mind in that it is a departure from Baldacci's more predictable and suffering titles. And because he is taking a step in a new direction for himself, and that the words pass easily by, I decided to give the author a two star rating here, kind of like throwing him a bone for his effort.

All of that aside, this is a terrible book. It starts off all sentimental in nature concerned with family values and the mystery of a Christmas train ride. Then it throws in a little mystery and a chance bit of disaster to get the blood roiling. It's so sadly contrived and uninspired. Baldacci is writing for his enormous paychecks and little else. No wonder people just don't read very much, if they pick up a best seller like this and suffer through a few pages, they will hesitate to pick up another book for some time to come.

I've been reading a lot of espionage and fast-paced novels lately. When December hit, I thought it a good time for a change for a bit. I decided to pick this up for a nice quick read. I'm pretty thankful I did.

In all honesty, when reading this book, I found myself jumping on-line and seeing how practical the prices were for train rides! What this book did for me, was slow me down a little bit and tell me to remember to enjoy everything thrown my way.

I liked the main character, Tom Landon, and found this a very cute read. The character development wasn't bad, and the pace was steady. The pace of some of the dialogue was a bit wavy, but on the other hand, I found myself letting out audible chuckles here and there.

I have no real complaints about this book, and would recommend it to anybody looking to slow down the pace of there lives and have them look around.

I don't know why I kept reading, but I did. I guess I hoped the story would redeem itself. I agree with every negative review here. Please don't read this book thinking you've got a cute little Christmas story to take you into the season. It is a waste of time!

David Baldacci is usually known for his thrilling novels filled with fast-paced action and adventure. However, in The Christmas Train, Baldacci presents a heartfelt holiday story about people and the second chances that one can be lucky enough to receive. Reading this book around Christmas, I enjoyed the tale.

The story is centered on a middle-aged journalist, Tom Langdon, who is taking a train ride across the country to reach his girlfriend for Christmas. Many events happen during the ride, including re-meeting the love of his life, Eleanor, an avalanche, an elopement, train robbery, movie making, and much more. Certainly, the plot was always moving. There were always new characters being introduced, or new plot twists changing the dynamics of the story. However, at times I felt that the plot was moving a little too fast for my liking. I felt that the author had plenty of good material without all the extra twists, and all the different aspects of the plot prevented some character or relationship development. My senses were overloaded - - I could only absorb so much information, and at times the information was excessive. Also, I felt like the ending was a little forced and unsatisfying. Apparently, Tom and Eleanor's relationship was set up by everyone around them without their knowledge. This particular plot twist seemed very unnecessary - - although it added an interesting surprise, it lessened some of the "magic" of the story.

Although there seemed to be a surplus of characters, overall, they were very realistic and well represented. Each character has admirable qualities, but also, each has faults. Colorful characters like Agnes Joe and Roxanne added just the right mix of wisdom and uniqueness to the story to keep me smiling and wondering what would happen to them in the next chapter.

Between the quirky characters and the engaging, if overloaded, plot, an overall message for the story emerges. It does not follow the traditional "scrooge" plotline of many holiday stories, but instead shows that holiday miracles do happen, and that second chances can happen, and when they do all the forgotten or unachieved dreams of the past can be fulfilled. This message, if presented in a slightly unbelievable format, comes through very strongly and leaves the reader feeling good and ready to achieve his or her dreams and conquer past hurdles.

Taken as a whole, The Christmas Train is a good book. It has an enjoyable storyline, likeable characters, and a positive theme. I also enjoyed the author's style of writing. He really captured the feeling of being on a train. Herrick Higgins, a former railway employee, says, "You see, every stop this train makes, a little bit of America, a little bit of your country, gets on and says hello" (122). Baldacci has great ways of phrasing things that really resonated with me. He can be very descriptive, like when he describes the snow. "The darkness grew deeper outside, the only sounds those of the wind and the snow falling against the roof and tinkling against the windows" or very matter of fact and eloquent. For example, Father Kelly, the priest onboard the train conveys his wisdom and one theme of the story when he says, "They say that during the week of Christmas any miracle is possible" (181). Baldacci has created a world inside of this story - - a world on a train that is just as real as any other.

This book was such an incredible disappointment - If I could rate it lower than one star I would.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my mother. She was nothing less than polite, but I - having forced myself to finish it - could do nothing more than apologize for having wasted her time and my own. This was drivel at it's worst. It was boring and predictable with dreary characters and a storyline that evaporated after the first few pages. If you're looking for a preachy, smaltzy "lesson" story from the not quite religious right this may interest you. If you're looking for a good book with interesting characters and a plot, do yourself a favor and pick something else.

Our generation tends to speed through life at a fast and furious pace, particularly during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. This story provides a needed reminder of the restorative nature of slowing down and making the effort to appreciate all the subtleties around you that would otherwise speed on by without notice. Instead of flying cross-country for Christmas, journalist Tom travels by Amtrak, documenting the rural countryside his keen eye observes along the way. His musings are full of train-travel history, and he encounters numerous lively and quirky characters onboard. These add significant interest and vivid detail to the story.

This story is also about reuniting with the one who got away. Also aboard the train is Tom's one true love, Eleanor. She still holds a lot of anger and resentment towards Tom and his commitment-phobia. While it's obvious to everyone but them that they belong together, it takes an avalanche and rescue, a train robbery, the appearance of Tom's current girlfriend, and the help of all their newfound friends aboard to bring them around.

The Christmas Train is a delightful story, filled with Americana, action, adventure, human nature and forgiveness. A quick read that I highly recommend at any time of the year!

The Christmas Train has romance, mystery, humor and danger. The central character of the story is Tom Langdon, an investigative reporter who has relegated himself to writing about furniture following his more adventurous existence with his longtime girl friend, Eleanor, in foreign lands covering wars and such. He decides to take a cross-country train trip partly to fulfill a request from his now deceased father and partly to reflect on his own life and to see a friend on the West Coast. The Capitol is the train to Chicago where he changes to the Southwest Chief for the rest of the trip. There are colorful characters on the train and one gets a good insight into the domain of travel by rail. Tom is very surprised to find that Eleanor is on the same train. He has never forgotten her but has not seen her since she left him while overseas. He is overwhelmed by the coincidence and does some checking to try to verify that it indeed was a coincidence. Eleanor is on the train with her boss Max Powers, a movie producer as he is considering a movie with a train setting. For Eleanor seeing Tom was certainly not love at second sight. Two other travelers are planning to get married on the train as they go from Chicago to Los Angeles. Max decides to give them a great wedding and film it as well. After being snowbound in Colorado, the train continues to L.A. where mysteries are solved and some surprises revealed.