| Next to Britt Gillette's "Conquest of Paradise", this is the best book I've read in a long time. I'm a first time Dan Brown reader but I'm hooked! I stayed up all night and didn't quit until I finished, blurry eyed and sleepy. I found myself believing every word and had to stop and remember that it's just fiction! I was amazed at the inside information about the Vatican (especially the library), and I finally got out a map and books from my trip to Rome to see if I could find all the churches. Anti-matter, illuminati, choosing a pope - all of it was fascinating. When I finished, I had to laugh thinking about the fact they never ate, slept or made comfort stops and neither could I. The ending was a total surprise! Anyone who enjoys non-stop action and information shouldn't miss this one. |
| This has got to be one of the strangest novels I've ever read. It's as if this guy decided that Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt novels weren't over the top enough, and Lincoln Child and Douglas Preston weren't stretching the bounds of science and reality enough. As a result, we get a completely preposterous story of an American university professor who's summoned suddenly and peremtorily to Switzerland (in the X-33 Spaceplane, no less!) to solve the mystery of a murder committed by the fabled and legendary Illuminati. This is only the tip of the iceberg here. The book goes on for 568 pages, and most of that takes place in Rome, where the academic plays detective, assisted by a (beautiful, of course) female scientist. They're looking for an anti-matter bomb someone has hidden on the grounds of the Vatican, and also for some cardinals who have been kidnapped on the eve of the conclave, which will elect the new Pope. The whole thing takes place over the course of an evening. There are gun battles, torture, betrayals, bizarre symbology (including ambigrams, which read the same right side up and upside down), and a great deal clues following various Roman art and religious artifacts. All of this is sewn together relatively seamlessly by Brown, but after a while it does get to be a bit much. And if you're like me, you will guess the ending about 50 or 100 pages before the main characters do. Given how the novel goes, it does take a while to finish. However, I will say that I enjoyed it, and recommend it, given that you can accept the over the top nature of the plot. |
