Mystic river vs Up the Line: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Fiction

Mystic river Dennis Lehane · 2001 ★★★★☆ 4.2 496 pages · ≈ 9 h 11 m · Moderate

“WHEN SEAN DEVINE and Jimmy Marcus were kids, their fathers worked together at the Coleman Candy plant and carried the stench of warm chocolate back home with them.”

When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened -- something that…

1 film adaptation

Literatura Male friendship Boston Police

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Up the Line Robert Silverberg · 1969 ★★★★☆ 3.7 250 pages · ≈ 4 h 38 m · Light

Being a Time Courier was one of the best jobs Judson Daniel Elliott III ever had. It was tricky, though, taking group after group of tourists back to the same historic event, without meeting yourself coming or going.…

Young Adult Science Fiction

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Mystic river highest: Mystic river 4.2 · Up the Line 3.7.
Up the Line is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 9 for Mystic river.
Mystic river has the widest readership — 171181 ratings behind its score.

Mystic river: Check price →Up the Line: Check price →

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How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Up the Line ≈ 4h vs 9h for Mystic river Want the crowd-tested pick? Mystic river 171181 ratings vs 2147 for Up the Line Just want the better-reviewed one? Mystic river 4.2 vs 3.7 from readers New to the genre? Up the Line Light vs Moderate for Mystic river

Scores by source

	Mystic river	Up the Line
Goodreads	4.2 (171181)	3.7 (2147)
Hardcover	4.1 (184)	3.0 (10)
Apple Books	4.5 (687)	3.5 (25)
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Reception

	Mystic river	Up the Line
Ratings	171181	2147
Editions	53	18
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	139549	—
Reading it now	4943	—
Written reviews	6742	—
Wikipedia attention	5175	300
Pages	496	250
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Mystic river or Up the Line?

Mystic river has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Mystic river 4.2/5, Up the Line 3.7/5).

Which is shorter to read: Mystic river or Up the Line?

Up the Line is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Up the Line (250 pages, ≈ 4 h 38 m); Mystic river (496 pages, ≈ 9 h 11 m).

Which is harder to read: Mystic river or Up the Line?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Mystic river: Moderate; Up the Line: Light.

Have both books been made into films?

Mystic river: 5 film adaptations; Up the Line: no film adaptation on record.