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kishbokai's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
For a Sidney Sheldon novel, it's pretty unique among the rest of his works I've read thus far.
It deals with politics, has a lot fewer pieces moving around, and actually ends with a chance to have a sequel.
So it resulted in me being intrigued by the whole book about what my thoughts would be.
Because it feels so different from his usual books, I didn't know what to think.
Then I reached the end and realised why this is still an amazing book written by an amazing author.
~~
The entire book revolves around politics; The nooks and crannies of it all along with the context for why it's so damn complicated. As you read through, it's simply because the things we desperately want come at costs far greater than what we could dream of. For instance, getting rid of a dictator.
If you want a simple solution for that, it's going to cause water effects that would destroy the country and its relations. I learned how difficult it really is, and that process does happen.
It's just slow and carters to everyone involved.
It also involves "necessary" losses. I write as such because politics seems to be an extreme game of high school drama. "Oh, the French ambassador didn't come to my party? Well FUCK YOU FRANCE," and conflict ensues.
This book helped break down my naive sense of the world to see the truth of it all: Who we vote for not only represents what we want to fix, but who we value as people.
Voting/allowing for a narcissistic person will allow narcissistic moves.
Voting/allowing a timid person will result in timid moves.
All of that might seem obvious, but this book really does open your eyes to the world of politics.
It kind of gives some logic to the hidden actions a government agency would do.
But none of that realization won't be possible without our protagonist, Mary Ashley.
She's a woman so closeted in her small world of Kansas that is bright, but not that bright; Beautiful, but not that beautiful.
Mary's plainness allows us, the reader, in a position where anything we know from our experience is pushed to the side as we read someone experiencing those very things.
Government cover-ups, secret groups, reactions to small things that make up a bigger picture and the like express how the world works. It's not a matter of being yourself, or sticking to your ideals, but how you apply those parts to get what you want.
Pieces of advice like, "Trust no one by yourself," make all the more sense when you come to realise people that have a mask to hide horrendous motives are really just manipulating themselves to a simple trait.
And Mary learns that while hating it. As we all do. But she knows deep inside that the path to protecting her country requires these superficial ways. Because, let's be honest, for politicians to have conversations and debates without acting like children would bring us harm. They can't agree to disagree like us because we don't go anyway from that.
Let's use a hypothetical situation: Putin and Zelenskyy finally sit down and talk about stopping the war.
There is no matter of agreeing to disagree or a level of understanding. These men have to fuck over the other person to do what they think is right. It's a matter of how clever you are in words to convince the other person to stop what they're doing. Whether morally right or wrong the person may be, that is the only thing that matters: Who wins and who loses.
You start to realise while reading, politics on that level means the ultimate self-sacrifice to become a body of self-serving ideas, pure or not.
That is why I love this book. I believe it has the power to make everyone understand that same level of insight into the world, and you'll walk away with a sombre feeling, but a feeling of determination in what you believe in. So, sure, it's slower than his usual books and not many pieces are in place, but all of that shows how politics works in real life.
And a final lesson at the end.
The difference between a child and an adult is how well you can twist your words and emotions. Not how good or bright of a person you are.
It deals with politics, has a lot fewer pieces moving around, and actually ends with a chance to have a sequel.
So it resulted in me being intrigued by the whole book about what my thoughts would be.
Because it feels so different from his usual books, I didn't know what to think.
Then I reached the end and realised why this is still an amazing book written by an amazing author.
~~
The entire book revolves around politics; The nooks and crannies of it all along with the context for why it's so damn complicated. As you read through, it's simply because the things we desperately want come at costs far greater than what we could dream of. For instance, getting rid of a dictator.
If you want a simple solution for that, it's going to cause water effects that would destroy the country and its relations. I learned how difficult it really is, and that process does happen.
It's just slow and carters to everyone involved.
It also involves "necessary" losses. I write as such because politics seems to be an extreme game of high school drama. "Oh, the French ambassador didn't come to my party? Well FUCK YOU FRANCE," and conflict ensues.
This book helped break down my naive sense of the world to see the truth of it all: Who we vote for not only represents what we want to fix, but who we value as people.
Voting/allowing for a narcissistic person will allow narcissistic moves.
Voting/allowing a timid person will result in timid moves.
All of that might seem obvious, but this book really does open your eyes to the world of politics.
It kind of gives some logic to the hidden actions a government agency would do.
But none of that realization won't be possible without our protagonist, Mary Ashley.
She's a woman so closeted in her small world of Kansas that is bright, but not that bright; Beautiful, but not that beautiful.
Mary's plainness allows us, the reader, in a position where anything we know from our experience is pushed to the side as we read someone experiencing those very things.
Government cover-ups, secret groups, reactions to small things that make up a bigger picture and the like express how the world works. It's not a matter of being yourself, or sticking to your ideals, but how you apply those parts to get what you want.
Pieces of advice like, "Trust no one by yourself," make all the more sense when you come to realise people that have a mask to hide horrendous motives are really just manipulating themselves to a simple trait.
And Mary learns that while hating it. As we all do. But she knows deep inside that the path to protecting her country requires these superficial ways. Because, let's be honest, for politicians to have conversations and debates without acting like children would bring us harm. They can't agree to disagree like us because we don't go anyway from that.
Let's use a hypothetical situation: Putin and Zelenskyy finally sit down and talk about stopping the war.
There is no matter of agreeing to disagree or a level of understanding. These men have to fuck over the other person to do what they think is right. It's a matter of how clever you are in words to convince the other person to stop what they're doing. Whether morally right or wrong the person may be, that is the only thing that matters: Who wins and who loses.
You start to realise while reading, politics on that level means the ultimate self-sacrifice to become a body of self-serving ideas, pure or not.
That is why I love this book. I believe it has the power to make everyone understand that same level of insight into the world, and you'll walk away with a sombre feeling, but a feeling of determination in what you believe in. So, sure, it's slower than his usual books and not many pieces are in place, but all of that shows how politics works in real life.
And a final lesson at the end.
The difference between a child and an adult is how well you can twist your words and emotions. Not how good or bright of a person you are.
luna545's review
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
armanbeer's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
bookxating's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
duchess_04's review against another edition
1.0
I never thought I will give a Sidney Sheldon book a 1 star. I have always enjoyed his book. But this one feels like it is dragging forever and only became exciting at the last part of the novel that it's almost anti climactic.
mebookgeeko's review against another edition
4.0
How a story is presented in the beginning, middle, & end is an essential factor that keeps the readers of into pages. Sidney Sheldon did it well on his Windmills of the Gods, & successfully placed a strong ingredient that surprises readers every now & then. The pacing is perfect. The plot is excellent. The story itself is well-researched. Windmills of the Gods is one of the greatest suspense stories I've had read, and Sidney Sheldon succeeded in hooking me up with such a breath-taking story, a fast-paced journey unto the world of politics & its darkest mysteries, the hidden risks behind intellect & fame, the roller coaster ride to the international secrets, sex & murder at their worst, a family at danger in every choice to take, and the survival amidst greedy interests and deceits in a game of life. There are only a few writers who can bring it on; and Sidney Sheldon is one worth to get such prestige.!!###
ibeforem's review
2.0
I didn’t like this one as much as The Sky is Falling. I wasn’t expecting it to be so heavy in the politics at the beginning, and I didn’t really find Mary to be a compelling character. I was expecting someone strong and smart, and once she got to Washington she was turned into, well, a naive hayseed. I didn’t buy it — you don’t get anywhere in academia by being naive. There were a couple of interesting twists, but if this were the first Sidney Sheldon I read, I wouldn’t seek out any more.
nainika27peralta's review
5.0
From the world of bureaucratic espionage and sabotage emerges yet another enthralling Sidney Sheldon heroine. Mary Ashley is a genuine, run of the mill American citizen that happens to have extensive knowledge on Romania and it's background and economy. It is this advantage (or as it proves to be, disadvantage) that makes her catch the eye of the President of the United States.
The President in order to ameliorate relations with countries beyond the Iron Curtain decides to send a likeable, simple teacher from Junction City, Kansas. Little does his know that his step has set some of the most orthodox and obstinate minds if the world into motion. While she is approached to be the Ambassador of the United States to Romania, she doesn't know that on her decision a multitude of lives are at stake. Voluntarily trapped in a communist, male chauvinist country, Mary finds herself challenged and condescended to at every turn.
She pushes through not knowing friend from foe - on the one hand is the devilish Mike Slade who Mary finds herself constantly at loggerheads with and on the other hand is Dr. Louis Desforges, a French doctor that Mary slowly finds herself falling for. Eventually it is seen that Mary is alone and an unsuspecting target for an underground organization, 'Patriots for Freedom', composed of men that don't want the Eastern and Western Blocs to merge. The only purpose of this setup, use Mary as a linchpin in world terror.
She pushes through to the other side of the mind games only to find an astounding plot, the sole purpose of which is to destroy her and everything she stands for. Will she be able to achieve her objective as an Ambassador or will she end up as a cautionary tale for a country trying to penetrate the Iron Curtain?
#thehungrymind2798
The President in order to ameliorate relations with countries beyond the Iron Curtain decides to send a likeable, simple teacher from Junction City, Kansas. Little does his know that his step has set some of the most orthodox and obstinate minds if the world into motion. While she is approached to be the Ambassador of the United States to Romania, she doesn't know that on her decision a multitude of lives are at stake. Voluntarily trapped in a communist, male chauvinist country, Mary finds herself challenged and condescended to at every turn.
She pushes through not knowing friend from foe - on the one hand is the devilish Mike Slade who Mary finds herself constantly at loggerheads with and on the other hand is Dr. Louis Desforges, a French doctor that Mary slowly finds herself falling for. Eventually it is seen that Mary is alone and an unsuspecting target for an underground organization, 'Patriots for Freedom', composed of men that don't want the Eastern and Western Blocs to merge. The only purpose of this setup, use Mary as a linchpin in world terror.
She pushes through to the other side of the mind games only to find an astounding plot, the sole purpose of which is to destroy her and everything she stands for. Will she be able to achieve her objective as an Ambassador or will she end up as a cautionary tale for a country trying to penetrate the Iron Curtain?
#thehungrymind2798
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