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acmarinho3's review against another edition
4.0
Arturo Pérez-Reverte foi uma descoberta totalmente inesperada, através de uma amiga que me emprestou os seus livros sem pronunciar uma única palavra sobre os mesmos. Ia por mim descobrir o talento deste autor e, admito, fui conquistada. Sabia que teria de ler mais livros dele e avancei com este. Ainda que o início seja um pouco lento e a história demore a desenrolar, quando as coisas começam a evoluir e o suspense aumenta, só queremos saber qual é o desfecho. Devido ao trabalho fiz muitas quebras nesta leitura, o que nunca me ajuda na compreensão do livro. Existem sempre coisas que escapam, que o cérebro com o cansaço já não memoriza. No entanto, apesar dessas minhas falhas, continuou a ser uma leitura prazerosa. Sobre o mar, a descoberta, lagostas verdes e esmeraldas, mas também sobre ambição, ganância e poder. Com personagens muito completas e diversificadas, senti que a procura pelo barco foi sempre bem sustentada por pensamentos e conversas, demonstrando uma harmonia entre as palavras e os acontecimentos.
timgrubbs's review against another edition
3.0
A treasure hunting noir…
The nautical chart by Arturo Pérez-Reverte is a nice little nautical mystery with a mix of characters pursuing some mythical lost treasure.
Like a modern day Maltese Falcon, the lead is a landlocked sailor with the chance to but his sailing knowledge to use for a mysterious beautiful woman with an alleged treasure map (a reputable nautical chart centuries old) leading to a long lost shipwreck full of emeralds.
Of course just as the seas change, locating the wreck based on written records and survivor testimonies won’t be that easy, with the adventure further complicated by fortune plunderers, half truths, and old political intrigue.
The most of his stories, the writer makes full used of a wide knowledge base on the subject of sailing, the history of sail, and assorted devices and publications on the matter…while also tossing in a range of ideas and stories he created from whole cloth, which is something I absolutely loved in his books like Club Dumas…creating things that have a sense of realism and populate the story to help push it onward like a strong dialing breeze.
There’s not a ton of excitement in this, and it seemed like large chunks of it were exposition with characters explaining various changes in nautical history (such as how meridians are tracked) which probably could have been condensed…but it’s still all very interesting…
Recommended for those who like modern treasure hunts, nautical history, and modern noir mysteries…
The nautical chart by Arturo Pérez-Reverte is a nice little nautical mystery with a mix of characters pursuing some mythical lost treasure.
Like a modern day Maltese Falcon, the lead is a landlocked sailor with the chance to but his sailing knowledge to use for a mysterious beautiful woman with an alleged treasure map (a reputable nautical chart centuries old) leading to a long lost shipwreck full of emeralds.
Of course just as the seas change, locating the wreck based on written records and survivor testimonies won’t be that easy, with the adventure further complicated by fortune plunderers, half truths, and old political intrigue.
The most of his stories, the writer makes full used of a wide knowledge base on the subject of sailing, the history of sail, and assorted devices and publications on the matter…while also tossing in a range of ideas and stories he created from whole cloth, which is something I absolutely loved in his books like Club Dumas…creating things that have a sense of realism and populate the story to help push it onward like a strong dialing breeze.
There’s not a ton of excitement in this, and it seemed like large chunks of it were exposition with characters explaining various changes in nautical history (such as how meridians are tracked) which probably could have been condensed…but it’s still all very interesting…
Recommended for those who like modern treasure hunts, nautical history, and modern noir mysteries…
mikkot's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
doritobabe's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
A few weeks ago, I decided to stop writing reviews and only log star listings for books because of some internal screaming and frustrations I had regarding the popularity contest that is the goodreads review system. However, I realize now I need to make a few notes to keep track of what I read because my memory is failing me... I am getting older.
~~
I started off loving this book - it was basically nouveau-literature. The main protagonist waxed poetical about jazz, women, and the sea. It was a perfect mood for me when I started it; however, when I realized that it wasn't going to rise to the climactic sea-faring voyage that I was hoping for, I quickly became distracted by something else: [b:Darkfever|112750|Darkfever (Fever, #1)|Karen Marie Moning|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392579949l/112750._SY75_.jpg|108558].
I was in the mood for an honest-ship wreck adventure story that started off as a slow burn. What I was getting instead was a quiet mystery (possibly a lite thriller?) that one may argue is in the vein of Patricia Highsmith (think: cat and mouse). I won't ever know if my guess is correct, though.
A few weeks ago, I decided to stop writing reviews and only log star listings for books because of some internal screaming and frustrations I had regarding the popularity contest that is the goodreads review system. However, I realize now I need to make a few notes to keep track of what I read because my memory is failing me... I am getting older.
~~
I started off loving this book - it was basically nouveau-literature. The main protagonist waxed poetical about jazz, women, and the sea. It was a perfect mood for me when I started it; however, when I realized that it wasn't going to rise to the climactic sea-faring voyage that I was hoping for, I quickly became distracted by something else: [b:Darkfever|112750|Darkfever (Fever, #1)|Karen Marie Moning|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1392579949l/112750._SY75_.jpg|108558].
I was in the mood for an honest-ship wreck adventure story that started off as a slow burn. What I was getting instead was a quiet mystery (possibly a lite thriller?) that one may argue is in the vein of Patricia Highsmith (think: cat and mouse). I won't ever know if my guess is correct, though.
branch_c's review against another edition
3.0
A fairly standard treasure hunt story, including a tight group of somewhat obsessed characters, except the protagonist, of course, who is pulled in against his better judgement. The characters deceive each other, but are open to forming alliances; they collaborate, but never truly trust each other; and of course there is the expected romantic tension, eventually resolved.
The writing in the English version is just okay; much of it strikes me as a bit tendentious and overly dramatic, in an attempt to be deeply philosophical. For example, "...no one would ever be able to draw the nautical chart that would allow a man to navigate a woman." (p. 401). I'm afraid it reads like a translation, which of course it is, but ideally it wouldn't be obvious. Only a couple of places seemed to be actual errors; for example, we have "...a hundred-yard line tied to a bowline..." (p. 328) instead of "with a bowline" or "in a bowline". Beyond that, much of the wording seems awkward, especially the dialog, though it's not clear whether that's entirely the fault of the translator. By chance I came across the Spanish version while halfway through this edition, so I picked it up, dusted off my college Spanish and read a couple of chapters that way, but it's clearly been too long since I read anything more complex than a menu or a street sign in Spanish, since I kept having to refer back to the English version for unfamiliar words and phrases. Anyway the elegance of the wording may indeed be a bit better in the original, but it still seemed a bit below average for me.
The nautical aspects are not bad - there are plenty of stories involving sailing in which it's all too apparent that the writer has never set foot on a boat - that's not the case here. However, there were a few too many references to "halyards" where the more generic "lines" would have been better. The historical story leading up to the sought-after shipwreck was the best part of the book for me.
All in all, not terrible, but I was less than impressed.
The writing in the English version is just okay; much of it strikes me as a bit tendentious and overly dramatic, in an attempt to be deeply philosophical. For example, "...no one would ever be able to draw the nautical chart that would allow a man to navigate a woman." (p. 401). I'm afraid it reads like a translation, which of course it is, but ideally it wouldn't be obvious. Only a couple of places seemed to be actual errors; for example, we have "...a hundred-yard line tied to a bowline..." (p. 328) instead of "with a bowline" or "in a bowline". Beyond that, much of the wording seems awkward, especially the dialog, though it's not clear whether that's entirely the fault of the translator. By chance I came across the Spanish version while halfway through this edition, so I picked it up, dusted off my college Spanish and read a couple of chapters that way, but it's clearly been too long since I read anything more complex than a menu or a street sign in Spanish, since I kept having to refer back to the English version for unfamiliar words and phrases. Anyway the elegance of the wording may indeed be a bit better in the original, but it still seemed a bit below average for me.
The nautical aspects are not bad - there are plenty of stories involving sailing in which it's all too apparent that the writer has never set foot on a boat - that's not the case here. However, there were a few too many references to "halyards" where the more generic "lines" would have been better. The historical story leading up to the sought-after shipwreck was the best part of the book for me.
All in all, not terrible, but I was less than impressed.
modernviking's review against another edition
5.0
It's been 20 years since I read this and had forgotten just how good it is. So well written and with the perfect conclusion.
bibliophile_04's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
gjmaupin's review against another edition
3.0
Not bad - I think I was just in the wrong mood for this one, so it ended up taking my almost 2 weeks to read. Always solid writing from Perez-Reverte (though I admit to a preference for his period work).