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vruben62's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
shu_long's review
1.0
Not my normal genre to read, so perhaps lovers of the mystery arena will disagree with me; eventually the grammar and lack of cohesion between viewpoints really started to bother me. The end redeemed it all a little, and the historical notes were nice, but the name dropping got to be to much. We get that the author knows a ton of history; if feeling superior because you get each reference is your thing, you'll enjoy this book. Could have been a great story with a better edit. It felt like Paul Christopher had a nice tight little story he was told to stretch to the proper word count.
johnbreeden's review
3.0
A quick and energetic read. I have a few minor qualms with some of the early elements of the books-especially as an art history major, but for the most part is was fun to read. I also agree with the comment that there are too many names to keep up with. I had to review segments to find out how each victim was. Otherwise, though, it was quick and fun.
gbdill's review
1.0
This book is a complete joke. With his obsession with breasts, the book surely was written by a pimple-faced, pubescent, 16-year old boy whose hormones are raging. In almost every chapter there was some mention of Finn's breasts or some other sexual innuendo. It distracted from the story and after about halfway through the book, I had completely lost interest. It was a complete waste of my time. It's not very often I rate a book with 1-star. But, to balance things out I guess every once in awhile a book like this needs to be written.
imyerhero's review
1.0
Finn Ryan is studying art history and scraping by in New York City when she stumbles upon a long-lost mythical Michelangelo drawing. Immediately after finding it, her life changes forever. People around her are murdered violently and someone is after Finn herself – for no reason she can see. She heads to her last resort for safety – a mysterious man named Michael Valentine who she is only supposed to contact in extreme emergencies. Together, they attempt to find out who is behind the murders and how it is tied to a child raised in a convent in Italy during Hitler’s reign, and a tight circle of art enthusiasts who have a suspicious link to rare and thought-to-be-lost works of art.
I pictured this book being one of those novels which tried to feed off of the Da Vinci Code frenzy, but possibly cooler because it didn’t involve the Catholic Church and did involve one of my favorite artists – Michelangelo. Unfortunately, what I discovered was one of the worst books I’ve read in a great while. It DOES include the Catholic Church and hardly involves Michelangelo at all.
The entire book feels piecemeal in plot. As if the author picked three big plotlines and attempted to find ways to connect them only after they had started writing. Finn herself isn’t bad as a character, although we hear way too much about how pretty she is (including an entire chapter describing her nude – uhhh, no thank you!) Unfortunately, she is the only interesting person in the entire book. The chapters jump back and forth in time – and we have no way if determining if we are in World War II, at the end or the beginning of that war, or in the present day – or somewhere else entirely.
I struggled through most of this, to keep my attention focused on what was going on. And past the first three or four chapters, I stopped caring about anything but finishing the book. I never thought I would praise Dan Brown’s writing, but this author tries and fails so spectacularly to mimic it that I almost wished I had picked up “Angels and Demons” instead.
I pictured this book being one of those novels which tried to feed off of the Da Vinci Code frenzy, but possibly cooler because it didn’t involve the Catholic Church and did involve one of my favorite artists – Michelangelo. Unfortunately, what I discovered was one of the worst books I’ve read in a great while. It DOES include the Catholic Church and hardly involves Michelangelo at all.
The entire book feels piecemeal in plot. As if the author picked three big plotlines and attempted to find ways to connect them only after they had started writing. Finn herself isn’t bad as a character, although we hear way too much about how pretty she is (including an entire chapter describing her nude – uhhh, no thank you!) Unfortunately, she is the only interesting person in the entire book. The chapters jump back and forth in time – and we have no way if determining if we are in World War II, at the end or the beginning of that war, or in the present day – or somewhere else entirely.
I struggled through most of this, to keep my attention focused on what was going on. And past the first three or four chapters, I stopped caring about anything but finishing the book. I never thought I would praise Dan Brown’s writing, but this author tries and fails so spectacularly to mimic it that I almost wished I had picked up “Angels and Demons” instead.
pollyno9's review
1.0
This book was terrible. Sexist, too much exposition, unrealistic relationships, and nothing to vindicate any of that (like the lightheartedness in a Clive Cussler, or the mystery of James Rollins). Utter trash.
bookthia's review
1.0
A sorry attempt at the ancient history turned urgent mystery genre. Even Dan Brown does it better and I'm only so-so on him. First beef -- the page from Michelangelo's notebook that starts the book disappears after the 2nd chapter and is never heard from again. Second beef -- adolescent view of women and sex. Third beef -- plot gaps leave the main storylines crudely stuck together with a random paragraph rather than actually connected (two competing motives for the killings turn out to be unrelated). It's not completely horrible. But its close.
canada_matt's review
4.0
A great intro book to Finn Ryan and her character. i thoroughly enjoyed this my first Paul Christopher novel, although the premise was a little... shall I say, weak? I expected some grand Dan Brownsian adventure with information hidden in the notebook, but was left slightly.... unsure of how I felt about it all.
Christopher has built an interesting base on which Ryan can build and I hope she does, as red heads always have intrigued me.
Christopher has built an interesting base on which Ryan can build and I hope she does, as red heads always have intrigued me.
northcoastwanderer's review against another edition
1.0
Awful. Just bloody awful. Should have checked the reviews before buying a book on a whim. I know better. Sucked sucked sucked.