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The Fan
Overcome by an obsession with baseball and his favorite team, broken-down knife salesman Gil Renard becomes dangerously involved when star player Bobby Rayburn suffers a slump. By the author of Lights Out. National ad/promo.
338 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
17 people are currently reading
253 people want to read
About the author
Peter Abrahams
117 books419 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Peter Abrahams is an American author of crime fiction for both adults and children.
His book Lights Out (1994) was nominated for an Edgar Award for best novel. Reality Check won the best young adult Edgar Award in 2011. Down the Rabbit Hole, first in the Echo Falls series, won the best children's/young adult Agatha Award in 2005. The Fan was adapted into a film starring Robert De Niro and directed by Tony Scott (1996).
His literary influences are Vladimir Nabokov, Graham Greene, and Ross Macdonald. Stephen King has referred to him as "my favorite American suspense novelist".
Born in Boston, Abrahams lives in Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. He is married and has four children including Rosie Gray. He graduated from Williams College in 1968.
Peter Abrahams is also writing under the pseudonym Spencer Quinn (Chet and Bernie Mysteries).
Peter Abrahams is an American author of crime fiction for both adults and children.
His book Lights Out (1994) was nominated for an Edgar Award for best novel. Reality Check won the best young adult Edgar Award in 2011. Down the Rabbit Hole, first in the Echo Falls series, won the best children's/young adult Agatha Award in 2005. The Fan was adapted into a film starring Robert De Niro and directed by Tony Scott (1996).
His literary influences are Vladimir Nabokov, Graham Greene, and Ross Macdonald. Stephen King has referred to him as "my favorite American suspense novelist".
Born in Boston, Abrahams lives in Falmouth, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. He is married and has four children including Rosie Gray. He graduated from Williams College in 1968.
Peter Abrahams is also writing under the pseudonym Spencer Quinn (Chet and Bernie Mysteries).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
July 6, 2017
A master class in how to make a thriller with minimal violence. There is no opening with finding the killer's handiwork, no bad guy killing someone every few pages.
It's not completely clean of course, but Peter Abrahams finds a way to introduce general unease through another path. It opens up with a scene where Gil is calling a sports radio station, and you can just feel it.
Great book, one you can't put it down until the end.
It's not completely clean of course, but Peter Abrahams finds a way to introduce general unease through another path. It opens up with a scene where Gil is calling a sports radio station, and you can just feel it.
Great book, one you can't put it down until the end.
January 8, 2021
It's fitting that Hollywood made an over-the-top movie out of THE FAN, which I suspect was a satire of over-the-top thriller writing, and how like Hollywood to miss the point of agile satire thrust at its diseased heart like a thrower knife . A thrower knife of the kind carried by Gil Renard, a knife salesman whose life's death spiral tangles itself with the whipsaw fortunes of baseball superstar Bobby Rayburn, whose gifts are as unimpeachable as his fragile, ego-driven psyche is not.
One way to read THE FAN is to roll your eyes every few pages, finding it utterly implausible that a man suspected of murder could seemingly get close whenever he wants to a superstar: sharing a bathroom with him, wandering onto his property, getting hired to work on the man's grounds. Another way to read it to say that the sheer ridiculousness of those notions is the true point of the novel. Either way, the story doesn't translate well to film. I can think about fifteen other Abrahams novels that would have worked better on the screen.
I prefer instead to focus on the things Peter Abrahams, who writes thrillers better than almost any other author within or without the genre, does well within the bounds of plausibility. He does a good job of portraying the struggles of a ballplayer, and the culture of ballplayers, without sportswriting clichés or sentimental bromides about intestinal fortitude. He does an ever better job of showing the deep shallowness of a superstar athlete who has gotten a little too used to life working out for him.
He does the best job of all portraying the systemic breakdown of a middle-aged loser who can't let go of childhood glories. Through a combination of self-induced bad luck and bad choices, Gil Renard loses his job as a salesman at a company founded by his master-knife-forger father. Then he loses his son through reckless behavior, then loses his mind as he descends into a spiral of crime hardly limited to murder. The darkness is hardly leavened by the absurdity of his actions (killing a naked baseball player in a hotel sauna, killing a ballpark mascot), and Abrahams' careful attention to detail and the delicious tension of his delightfully disturbing off-the-nose dialogue, in which things are implied but never stated, does a great job of keeping the reader deliriously off-balance in way that mirrors Renard's descent and Rayburn's blithe disregard.
And as Abrahams always does, his flair for realistic, fluid, disorienting action is more than fine:
"Slash: at the back of that coppery right leg, just above the knee. But the coppery leg was no longer there. The blade cracked against the tiles, sending a jolt up Gil’s arm, down his spine. And Primo was no longer prone on the bench: he was behind Gil, almost at the door already. Gil had never seen a man move like that. He lunged across the room, knife out, aimed low, at the back of those legs. But Primo lived in a fast-forward world—they all did, goddamn them—and before Gil could react, or even realize what was happening, he had whirled around and kicked Gil hard, inside the elbow. Everything went wrong at an unreal speed. The knife flew out of Gil’s hand. Primo caught it, caught it by the handle, right out of the air, and slashed Gil across the chest, opening him up from nipple to nipple. Gil fell to the tile floor, shrank toward the benches."
THE FAN is good fun, even slapsticky at times, but you have to work a little harder than usual to clearly see and appreciate the deepest gifts of its deeply talented master at work.It's good, and well worth reading, but Abrahams has written better.
One way to read THE FAN is to roll your eyes every few pages, finding it utterly implausible that a man suspected of murder could seemingly get close whenever he wants to a superstar: sharing a bathroom with him, wandering onto his property, getting hired to work on the man's grounds. Another way to read it to say that the sheer ridiculousness of those notions is the true point of the novel. Either way, the story doesn't translate well to film. I can think about fifteen other Abrahams novels that would have worked better on the screen.
I prefer instead to focus on the things Peter Abrahams, who writes thrillers better than almost any other author within or without the genre, does well within the bounds of plausibility. He does a good job of portraying the struggles of a ballplayer, and the culture of ballplayers, without sportswriting clichés or sentimental bromides about intestinal fortitude. He does an ever better job of showing the deep shallowness of a superstar athlete who has gotten a little too used to life working out for him.
He does the best job of all portraying the systemic breakdown of a middle-aged loser who can't let go of childhood glories. Through a combination of self-induced bad luck and bad choices, Gil Renard loses his job as a salesman at a company founded by his master-knife-forger father. Then he loses his son through reckless behavior, then loses his mind as he descends into a spiral of crime hardly limited to murder. The darkness is hardly leavened by the absurdity of his actions (killing a naked baseball player in a hotel sauna, killing a ballpark mascot), and Abrahams' careful attention to detail and the delicious tension of his delightfully disturbing off-the-nose dialogue, in which things are implied but never stated, does a great job of keeping the reader deliriously off-balance in way that mirrors Renard's descent and Rayburn's blithe disregard.
And as Abrahams always does, his flair for realistic, fluid, disorienting action is more than fine:
"Slash: at the back of that coppery right leg, just above the knee. But the coppery leg was no longer there. The blade cracked against the tiles, sending a jolt up Gil’s arm, down his spine. And Primo was no longer prone on the bench: he was behind Gil, almost at the door already. Gil had never seen a man move like that. He lunged across the room, knife out, aimed low, at the back of those legs. But Primo lived in a fast-forward world—they all did, goddamn them—and before Gil could react, or even realize what was happening, he had whirled around and kicked Gil hard, inside the elbow. Everything went wrong at an unreal speed. The knife flew out of Gil’s hand. Primo caught it, caught it by the handle, right out of the air, and slashed Gil across the chest, opening him up from nipple to nipple. Gil fell to the tile floor, shrank toward the benches."
THE FAN is good fun, even slapsticky at times, but you have to work a little harder than usual to clearly see and appreciate the deepest gifts of its deeply talented master at work.It's good, and well worth reading, but Abrahams has written better.
February 13, 2016
Maybe the most surprising thing about the suspense novel, The Fan by Peter Abrahams is that you don't have to know about baseball (or even sports generally) to enjoy this book. The human qualities brought to life in this story of an obsessed baseball fan and, his counterpart, the million-dollar batter, supersede any focus on sports.
Instead, it is the tale of two men, one a sports god (Bobby Rayburn) for whom playing baseball comes effortlessly, and the other is a more familiar person, the sports-star wannabe who lives for the game (Gil Renard). What makes the book sing, however, is the obsessed fan's gradual slide out of control, as his personal life deteriorates at the very same time it intersects with that of superstar Rayburn.
The fan, Gil, lives his life through the prism of his sports addiction. Divorced, living alone, and a job as a salesman pushing a product he doesn't believe in, Gil is nearing the edge of sanity. When a opening day ballgame with his young son conflicts with a job-saving sales appointment, it all begins to crumble underneath him. Gil can't hold the day (much less his life) together, but even that is no longer foremost in his mind. Instead, he's focused on the Sox (a deliberately vague baseball team, with no home city specified) and their new star, Bobby Rayburn, who seems to be in a slump right out of the gate.
As the fan begins to imagine he can change the team's pattern, he takes more and more risks, living a life outside reality even as he gains increasing access to Rayburn. Where it will all end is the point of the story, and author Peter Abrahams keeps readers guessing with the twists and turns of this highly charged suspense novel.
Abrahams also takes us into the less-than-superstar life of the multi-million dollar phenomenon Bobby Rayburn. Bobby just wants to play ball, but something is blocking his mojo, and he can't see the ball, even though the eye doctor assures him there's no physical problem. At the same time, it becomes increasingly clear that various people (including his sleazy manager, cheerleader wife, reporters, other players, even fans) all want a part of him, while offering up nothing in return. Few have his best interests at heart.
As the two men---fan and superstar---find their lives interconnecting, the stakes get even higher. The foreshadowing that Bobby has been anticipating all along seems to come to fruition as the fan takes more and more desperate measures to do what he thinks will help Bobby and the team win. The final flourish on the part of the fan is a natural progression into madness, but it comes as a shock all the same.
Abrahams has written a stunning book about the frailties of humans and the dangers of living in a world of fantasy, whether it's about the past and what could have been or an undue illusion about the importance of a game. Whether you're a sports fan or just an observer of the human condition, this book has a lot to say that is well worth reading.
Instead, it is the tale of two men, one a sports god (Bobby Rayburn) for whom playing baseball comes effortlessly, and the other is a more familiar person, the sports-star wannabe who lives for the game (Gil Renard). What makes the book sing, however, is the obsessed fan's gradual slide out of control, as his personal life deteriorates at the very same time it intersects with that of superstar Rayburn.
The fan, Gil, lives his life through the prism of his sports addiction. Divorced, living alone, and a job as a salesman pushing a product he doesn't believe in, Gil is nearing the edge of sanity. When a opening day ballgame with his young son conflicts with a job-saving sales appointment, it all begins to crumble underneath him. Gil can't hold the day (much less his life) together, but even that is no longer foremost in his mind. Instead, he's focused on the Sox (a deliberately vague baseball team, with no home city specified) and their new star, Bobby Rayburn, who seems to be in a slump right out of the gate.
As the fan begins to imagine he can change the team's pattern, he takes more and more risks, living a life outside reality even as he gains increasing access to Rayburn. Where it will all end is the point of the story, and author Peter Abrahams keeps readers guessing with the twists and turns of this highly charged suspense novel.
Abrahams also takes us into the less-than-superstar life of the multi-million dollar phenomenon Bobby Rayburn. Bobby just wants to play ball, but something is blocking his mojo, and he can't see the ball, even though the eye doctor assures him there's no physical problem. At the same time, it becomes increasingly clear that various people (including his sleazy manager, cheerleader wife, reporters, other players, even fans) all want a part of him, while offering up nothing in return. Few have his best interests at heart.
As the two men---fan and superstar---find their lives interconnecting, the stakes get even higher. The foreshadowing that Bobby has been anticipating all along seems to come to fruition as the fan takes more and more desperate measures to do what he thinks will help Bobby and the team win. The final flourish on the part of the fan is a natural progression into madness, but it comes as a shock all the same.
Abrahams has written a stunning book about the frailties of humans and the dangers of living in a world of fantasy, whether it's about the past and what could have been or an undue illusion about the importance of a game. Whether you're a sports fan or just an observer of the human condition, this book has a lot to say that is well worth reading.
April 26, 2012
The Fan is a fast paced thriller that will appeal to both to fans of the genre (no pun intended) and to the sports geek who wants to expand into other reading areas. The storyline is fast-paced with quite a bit of suspense and more than enough baseball and behind the scenes of professional sports for the sports enthusiast. The novel does a nice job of switching back and forth between the protagonist (a knife salesman who is down on his luck), the sports star (who also is battling through a career slump) and the media. It's an entertaining book that moves along pretty quickly and is really good for an escape from the day to day.
Of course, if you've seen the film with Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes, there aren't a whole lot of surprises in the book, but there are a few differences. The film actually did a really good job of capturing the feel of the book though and although there are some changes here and there, both the book and the film work at accomplishing their ultimate goals.
Of course, if you've seen the film with Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes, there aren't a whole lot of surprises in the book, but there are a few differences. The film actually did a really good job of capturing the feel of the book though and although there are some changes here and there, both the book and the film work at accomplishing their ultimate goals.
February 4, 2008
Even if you're not a baseball fan, I challenge you not to get wrapped up in this one.
Gil Renard is a baseball fanatic. His object of obsession? Slumping Sox star Bobby Rayburn. This novel is an interesting profile of life in the spotlight, and Rayburn could very easily be any major leaguer playing today. I just hope there aren't a whole lot of Gil Renards out there.
Watching this guy slowly come apart at the seams is reason alone for reading this. At one point, it's actually hilarious. My only knock is I found it a tad predictable. No matter, though.
It's a fun read, check it out.
Gil Renard is a baseball fanatic. His object of obsession? Slumping Sox star Bobby Rayburn. This novel is an interesting profile of life in the spotlight, and Rayburn could very easily be any major leaguer playing today. I just hope there aren't a whole lot of Gil Renards out there.
Watching this guy slowly come apart at the seams is reason alone for reading this. At one point, it's actually hilarious. My only knock is I found it a tad predictable. No matter, though.
It's a fun read, check it out.
September 15, 2016
I found this 1995 (but new to me) book to be an engaging, entertaining page-turner. Much of it reminded me of the dark and humorous Jason Starr novels involving characters who just can't seem to keep themselves from a disastrous downward spiral, but, overall, I thought this had an original and clever plot with a strong ending. The substantial baseball content throughout the book was a big plus for me but will not appeal to everyone.
September 27, 2010
Never judge a book by the movie made from it. This book is (aren't they all?) so much better than Hollywood's version. A stalker's tale. Frightening and captivating. Loved it.
July 16, 2021
I suppose I really hyped this book up due to the bullshit I went through to read it.
—
For context:
I love baseball and primarily read within the thriller and horror genres. So I look up books that fit that mix. I find The Fan.
I go to ThriftBooks to order it. I order it. I receive the package. I open the package. I get a Scottish harlequin romance with a man on the cover sporting the biggest pecs I’ve ever seen.
I email ThriftBooks and tell them what happened. They say they’ll send me the correct book. I receive the package. I open the package. I get Christian fiction.
I email again. They say they don’t have the book and refund me. I go to Amazon. I find the book. I order it. I receive the package. I open the package. I get a novelization of Batman & Robin.
I call up my library and they say they can get it as an inter library loan. It takes a couple weeks but I get it.
And then I read this disappointment.
—
The writing style is fine. It’s easy. It flows. I read the book within 24 hours. Great.
But, damn, there are some over-explained sex scenes. This is a personal preference, of course, and I’ve just gotten in a public argument about this. But I don’t need to know the size of someone’s nipples to get the picture of the Cheating Spouse. For the love of Christ, Peter.
And then there’s the racism. You can get that point across without using slurs, my dude. And maybe don’t make the only Latino with voice an antagonist, ya know?
And, finally, Gil was just a rather unbelievable killer. Sure, I got my slow build on that, but he needs a stronger trigger to go straight for murder.
I do appreciate, however, Jewel Stern. Especially for a male writer, especially in the 90s. She was decently written, had agency, had a strong character, and didn’t take bullshit from her male counterparts.
—
For context:
I love baseball and primarily read within the thriller and horror genres. So I look up books that fit that mix. I find The Fan.
I go to ThriftBooks to order it. I order it. I receive the package. I open the package. I get a Scottish harlequin romance with a man on the cover sporting the biggest pecs I’ve ever seen.
I email ThriftBooks and tell them what happened. They say they’ll send me the correct book. I receive the package. I open the package. I get Christian fiction.
I email again. They say they don’t have the book and refund me. I go to Amazon. I find the book. I order it. I receive the package. I open the package. I get a novelization of Batman & Robin.
I call up my library and they say they can get it as an inter library loan. It takes a couple weeks but I get it.
And then I read this disappointment.
—
The writing style is fine. It’s easy. It flows. I read the book within 24 hours. Great.
But, damn, there are some over-explained sex scenes. This is a personal preference, of course, and I’ve just gotten in a public argument about this. But I don’t need to know the size of someone’s nipples to get the picture of the Cheating Spouse. For the love of Christ, Peter.
And then there’s the racism. You can get that point across without using slurs, my dude. And maybe don’t make the only Latino with voice an antagonist, ya know?
And, finally, Gil was just a rather unbelievable killer. Sure, I got my slow build on that, but he needs a stronger trigger to go straight for murder.
I do appreciate, however, Jewel Stern. Especially for a male writer, especially in the 90s. She was decently written, had agency, had a strong character, and didn’t take bullshit from her male counterparts.
February 19, 2023
I must confess that I am a big baseball fan and that I had previously seen the movie The Fan starring Robert DeNiro which was based on this book. I disagree with a lot of the reviews of this book. I thought the movie followed the book pretty closely. It left out some of the sex scenes but that was probably good. The biggest differences were that the movie was based in San Francisco following the Giants (which are my favorite team) while the book was based on the Boston Red Sox. Also, in the movie the baseball player was African American while in the book he was Caucasian. The movie had the baseball player be a Barry Bonds-like character.
This is a story about a knife salesman named Gil Renard who is a big Boston Red Sox fan, and more so a Bobby Rayburn fan. Rayburn is a superstar who just joined the Sox after signing a huge contract. Rayburn starts the season in a big slump. He thinks it is because Primo has his previous number 11 and won't sell it to him for any price. Enter psycho Gil. Gil has recently been fired from his job. You watch Gil become more and more psychotic as the story goes on. Gil is determined to help Bobby get his number. That will turn Bobby's season around.
I enjoyed the book, and the movie, but I couldn't help visualizing DeNiro as Gil when I read it.
This is a story about a knife salesman named Gil Renard who is a big Boston Red Sox fan, and more so a Bobby Rayburn fan. Rayburn is a superstar who just joined the Sox after signing a huge contract. Rayburn starts the season in a big slump. He thinks it is because Primo has his previous number 11 and won't sell it to him for any price. Enter psycho Gil. Gil has recently been fired from his job. You watch Gil become more and more psychotic as the story goes on. Gil is determined to help Bobby get his number. That will turn Bobby's season around.
I enjoyed the book, and the movie, but I couldn't help visualizing DeNiro as Gil when I read it.
November 10, 2025
It has its moments (Gil trying to get to the office in the middle of the baseball game was one of them) and it's not without some flashes of humor, but overall this book suffers from a few fatal flaws. It's way too long, and there are way too many deadly dull descriptions of baseball scenes. It's too obviously indebted to Elmore Leonard, both in its deadpan dialogue and in its haphazard plot. The two main characters, perhaps all of the characters, talk and think in exactly the same way - namely, in a kind of numbing bewilderment at the world. In fact, despite the apparently exciting plot, reading this book is actually quite monotonous because both the tone and the characters are so flat.
It's essentially James M. Cain if James M. Cain wrote extended descriptions of baseball. It needed a strong editor to cut out 150 pages. There's a good book somewhere in here, but as it is I can't recommend it.
It's essentially James M. Cain if James M. Cain wrote extended descriptions of baseball. It needed a strong editor to cut out 150 pages. There's a good book somewhere in here, but as it is I can't recommend it.
January 22, 2018
Don't have too much to say about this one- it was a very quick read, but that was about it. I do wish that the action was dispersed throughout the book, rather than rushed towards the end- I saw the movie a long time ago, so my memory may be off, but I don't remember it happening that way. I was 3/4 of the way through the book and kept wondering when the main action was going to start with Gil and Rayburn. The climax was also really hokey compared to the movie (which wasn't even super great to begin with). Still, it kept my attention and I enjoyed reading it overall.
February 8, 2022
This was an older book that I really enjoyed. I usually like to have a character to root for, someone
I want to believe is a good person, a hero. However in this book the two major characters, the fan
And the Major League Baseball player that he admires, this concept does not play out. Neither man
Is heroic but I still liked the book. The ending was unexpected and powerful. Peter Abrahams is a
wonderful writer who crafted this book so well. Highly recommended.
I want to believe is a good person, a hero. However in this book the two major characters, the fan
And the Major League Baseball player that he admires, this concept does not play out. Neither man
Is heroic but I still liked the book. The ending was unexpected and powerful. Peter Abrahams is a
wonderful writer who crafted this book so well. Highly recommended.
December 27, 2022
Borderline 3/4 rating. Abrahams has something interesting to say, it's just not always at the forefront. The Bobby Rayburn chapters were significantly better for me than the Gil Renard ones. This book was better than the Tony Scott led film version, but I think De Niro saved Gil. Literary Gil, strangely enough, lacked the depth of silver screen Gil. But the pages kept turning and that's all that really matters for a thriller.
May 18, 2019
I read this book several years ago. I'm sure Boston Red Sox fans love it, about a deranged fan. If you like dark thrillers about deranged killers, then this is the book for you. I will say Peter Abrahams is a very good novelist and know how to devlope and lay out a suspenseful story. I watched the movie afterwards with Robert DeNiro, which is also well done, if you like dark thrillers. I don't.
August 19, 2019
A good sports book about an obsessive fan, though it is lacking on why Gil turns on his favorite player. Abrahams rushes through the ending and doesn't develop Gil's character and feelings as to why he feels how he does about Rayburn at the end. The movie portrays this much better, though the book has some other interesting elements.
January 28, 2022
I was expecting a baseball story but I got a story about 2 messed-up men with a side of baseball. The story itself wasn't horrible but it had some unnecessary sex and cursing. As a Christian, I wonder what these main characters would have been like if they had met Jesus. This is my take. Maybe you will love the book.
June 26, 2018
Not a single likable or even sympathetic character in this book. I'm not finished but I'm done. I enjoyed an earlier novel by Peter Abrahams, but this one simply isn't worth the time to try to slog through.
February 2, 2019
This wasn't bad just a bit slow for me I feel like most of the action didn't take place till the end of the book and because of that the end felt rushed to me. Not a bad end just rushed a bit.
November 18, 2019
It gets better
The first part of the book is unremittingly depressing. It picks up some and finally I started to care what happened next.
The first part of the book is unremittingly depressing. It picks up some and finally I started to care what happened next.
February 28, 2020
Although I enjoyed a lot of the behind the scenes of the MLB world, there wasn't a particularly likeable character (except perhaps Jewel) and it meanders a bit too much.
July 2, 2020
Can anybody say Barry Bonds?
July 12, 2021
Nobody juxtaposes the winners and losers in American society better than Abrahams, and he does so for much of the book in The Fan. He then takes it to a cartoonish level, which is unfortunate.
May 30, 2022
Good story with an interesting plot, well-paced action and suspense.
July 21, 2023
Rounded up from 3.5
March 25, 2024
Solid thriller. It's not over the top, but the tension is there, and I enjoyed it very much.
April 5, 2024
This wasn't bad just a bit slow for me I feel like most of the action didn't take place till the end of the book and because of that the end felt rushed to me. Not a bad end just rushed a bit.
June 30, 2024
Ozk thriller. I felt like the author went way over the top in the bloody. murders.
The main reason I read it was because of the baseball angle
The main reason I read it was because of the baseball angle
Read
March 3, 2025I stopped reading when I realized that the book was flop, as was the movie with Robert DeNiro
July 29, 2025
Weird plot, but fast easy read and not boring
January 3, 2026
Bigly!
*** 3 Stars.
*** 3 Stars.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews