cajeck's review
1.0
I started reading this book on the recommendation of a co-worker. He said, "It's like Da Vinci Code meets National Treasure", to which I thought, "So it's like a gremlin riding on a giant's coat tails?" But I didn't say anything. Understand, I didn't LIKE Da Vinci Code OR National Treasure. Even then, I only saw the Da Vinci Code film, never read the book. But there's something about characters rubbing their chins and throwing me hooks about "how clever they are" that just leaves me rolling my eyes.
I digress. I'm supposed to be talking about The Book of Lies. Be prepared, my comments will be much the same:
I didn't like this book at all. The exposition is like a man hitting you with a giant metal mallet--a mallet that's like a stamp, so that when it comes away, what's left on your poor skull are the characters roles in the story, as well as their motivations. Serena--sometime comedy relief (if you call her naive, new age nonsense funny) sometime love interest. Naomi--contagonist and apparently the writer's idea of a badass woman. Ellis--antagonist filled with an obsession for his dog and a contrived sense of holy destiny that doesn't create awe, but annoyance. Calvin--protagonist, and nauseatingly good, despite the writer's attempt at creating inner conflict about his father. This story is so unbelievably predictable, I marveled at how it could call itself a thriller. The dialogue tried to be witty, and failed miserably. It isn't so much stupid lines, but just weak ones. Like the character Roosevelt, a former pastor, who resorts to Yo Momma jokes for no reason other than a situation is becoming awkward. Unrealistic. Lame. There is one that stands out for me, though. This one comes from Naomi, talking about her seven-year-old(?) son.
"No, Ma....why would you--? I don't care what he says, don't buy him any more Hot Wheels cars, okay? He's lying. Treat him like a little junkie stripper on blow: He'll say anything to get more."
So charming. I don't care if she's a struggling mother with a rough past and a tough attitude. This was a mother talking about her KID. Ew.
The constant scene changes and the withholding of information is an attempt by Meltzer to create suspense. It doesn't work. Especially since the characters make great and stupid leaps of logic, discovering things that apparently are just up on the internet for EVERYONE to find, and with no real explanation how certain feats are managed given their constraints of time and environment. There was one instance where Calvin manages to swipe someone's keys, though I can't imagine how he could've seeing as how neither he, nor Serena, nor his dad are master pickpockets. Or how Naomi knew what Calvin was looking for when she first arrived in Cleveland, despite not knowing that the rental car they were using was rented in Serena's name, and not knowing any of the nonsense with Superman they were looking up.
And the ending...well. Let's just say it was a silly blockbuster ending, all smiles and accomplishment. I don't care if they didn't EXACTLY say that Calvin and his dad patch things up, it's easy enough to see that Meltzer wants us to infer that. The sappy nonsense with the Book of Truth just kills me. Clearly, Meltzer wanted this to be made into a film. The maddening fact that this nightmarish story even got published leaves me despairing over the possibility that it COULD happen, if only they could just work out the details with DC over their use of Superman.
Till that terrible day, I'm just going to try and forget I ever read something this bad.
I digress. I'm supposed to be talking about The Book of Lies. Be prepared, my comments will be much the same:
I didn't like this book at all. The exposition is like a man hitting you with a giant metal mallet--a mallet that's like a stamp, so that when it comes away, what's left on your poor skull are the characters roles in the story, as well as their motivations. Serena--sometime comedy relief (if you call her naive, new age nonsense funny) sometime love interest. Naomi--contagonist and apparently the writer's idea of a badass woman. Ellis--antagonist filled with an obsession for his dog and a contrived sense of holy destiny that doesn't create awe, but annoyance. Calvin--protagonist, and nauseatingly good, despite the writer's attempt at creating inner conflict about his father. This story is so unbelievably predictable, I marveled at how it could call itself a thriller. The dialogue tried to be witty, and failed miserably. It isn't so much stupid lines, but just weak ones. Like the character Roosevelt, a former pastor, who resorts to Yo Momma jokes for no reason other than a situation is becoming awkward. Unrealistic. Lame. There is one that stands out for me, though. This one comes from Naomi, talking about her seven-year-old(?) son.
"No, Ma....why would you--? I don't care what he says, don't buy him any more Hot Wheels cars, okay? He's lying. Treat him like a little junkie stripper on blow: He'll say anything to get more."
So charming. I don't care if she's a struggling mother with a rough past and a tough attitude. This was a mother talking about her KID. Ew.
The constant scene changes and the withholding of information is an attempt by Meltzer to create suspense. It doesn't work. Especially since the characters make great and stupid leaps of logic, discovering things that apparently are just up on the internet for EVERYONE to find, and with no real explanation how certain feats are managed given their constraints of time and environment. There was one instance where Calvin manages to swipe someone's keys, though I can't imagine how he could've seeing as how neither he, nor Serena, nor his dad are master pickpockets. Or how Naomi knew what Calvin was looking for when she first arrived in Cleveland, despite not knowing that the rental car they were using was rented in Serena's name, and not knowing any of the nonsense with Superman they were looking up.
And the ending...well. Let's just say it was a silly blockbuster ending, all smiles and accomplishment. I don't care if they didn't EXACTLY say that Calvin and his dad patch things up, it's easy enough to see that Meltzer wants us to infer that. The sappy nonsense with the Book of Truth just kills me. Clearly, Meltzer wanted this to be made into a film. The maddening fact that this nightmarish story even got published leaves me despairing over the possibility that it COULD happen, if only they could just work out the details with DC over their use of Superman.
Till that terrible day, I'm just going to try and forget I ever read something this bad.
calinda24's review
5.0
This book had me on the edge of my seats...as did all of Brad Meltzer's other books. This book, along with the others, reminds me of Dan Brown's books, so if you like one of these authors you'll probably like the other. It's very fast-paced and it's exciting trying to fit all the pieces of the puzzle together. And on a completely different subject Brad Meltzer has a show on the History channel called Decoded that is very interesting.
stephanie_turner1983's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
chri5ti's review
3.0
I enjoyed it. It moved past and an interesting story. The characters were a little shallow and I think it would have been better with a little more character development. I was glad with the ending. It had potential to be way out there but he reigned it back in to have a good ending. Overall, an enjoyable, fast, light read.
tcoale's review
3.0
One of the best he's written since "First Counsel." The ending is a little flat, but otherwise it is a great page turner that tapped into the mythology of comic books via the creation of Superman.
alexmall029's review against another edition
slow-paced
1.0
This book is the worst. I never rate books lower than a 3 because they usually have redeeming features. It started slow and didn't get good until page 300. Then it was amazing......but the end was confusing and left a lot to be desired. The book had heavy religious themes which I'm not super into. The back of the book was so intriguing but this book was a waste of time. Felt like a copycat of "The DaVinci Code" but worse. Also, the author kept wanting to swear but would put the kiddie version (i.e. what the heck, fudge, crap) and it was kind of distracting.
real_life_reading's review
2.0
Meh. It was an easy read, so I finished it, but it wasn't nearly as captivating or compelling as all the reviews said.
sarahlchaps's review
2.0
I had high hopes for this book, the first one of Meltzer's that I've read. I love his show Decoded so I wanted to check out his books too. This was all right, but I found it really hard to care about the characters. I also didn't care much for the story line. I knew it was important but the shocking revelations just didn't seem very shocking for me, which means I just wasn't really into the story. The biblical part was really interesting, but I just didn't get into the whole Superman bit. I dunno... I will probably try another one of his books before I completely write them off.
disconightwing's review against another edition
5.0
This book is everything that The Da Vinci Code should have been. It all came together well in the end and none of it seemed too fantastic or unbelievable. I can't speak about the credibility of the Bible stories, but they were at least believable in the context. It had an interesting ending--the problems were resolved, but everything didn't suddenly start going perfectly. Very interesting, would love to read more by this author!
bibliophilelinda's review
2.0
Mind-numbingly boring and utterly predictable. I wanted to stop reading this book after the first 100 pages, but it was short enough that I simply endured. Now, I feel like I've wasted a few hours of my life that can never be recaptured. It's apparent Meltzer's obsession with Superman lead him to write this fiction story about the murder of Jerry Siegal's father. (Siegal is the creator of Superman) Using the story of Cain and Abel as the backdrop, he tries to evoke a crime-thriller tale of betrayal, lost legends and father/son redemptions, but just miserably unshoots the mark. The writing style is okay, but not engaging. The supposed plot twist was so obvious as to be ridiculous. And the characters are all so annoying, the reader cannot sympathize with any of them. Not recommended.