adambwriter's review against another edition
2.0
Plot/Story:
3 – Plot/Story is interesting & believable.
The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard is a supernatural mystery thriller, written especially for book lovers. John Campelli, a promising young lawyer in Copenhagen, is brought back to his family’s home town and his father’s elegant, antique book store, Libri di Luca, after his father, Luca, dies under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly, despite John’s better judgment, he is drawn into a vast, dangerous war between factions of “Lectors” – persons who have magical reading or receiving abilities. These Lectors can enhance a story’s potential, simply by reading it aloud. Scenes come to life – imagery blazes in the mind, blurring the lines between reality and imagination. The more powerful Lectors can influence others’ actions, simply by reading aloud to them – from planting subliminal messages to causing one to commit suicide. All of this is news to John but, as it turns out, there is even more to the story, as the two factions of Lectors soon discover. John’s latent abilities are awoken and he proves to be one of the most powerful Lectors in history. In short time, a deep, hidden cult, as old as the ancient Library of Alexandria, seeks him out and hopes to use his powers to super-amplify their own, in hopes of taking over the world by controlling its leaders. John and his colleagues from Libri di Luca must find a way to stop this powerful shadow organization, without knowing who they are, what they want, or where they come from.
Read the complete review at www.roofbeamreader.net
3 – Plot/Story is interesting & believable.
The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard is a supernatural mystery thriller, written especially for book lovers. John Campelli, a promising young lawyer in Copenhagen, is brought back to his family’s home town and his father’s elegant, antique book store, Libri di Luca, after his father, Luca, dies under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly, despite John’s better judgment, he is drawn into a vast, dangerous war between factions of “Lectors” – persons who have magical reading or receiving abilities. These Lectors can enhance a story’s potential, simply by reading it aloud. Scenes come to life – imagery blazes in the mind, blurring the lines between reality and imagination. The more powerful Lectors can influence others’ actions, simply by reading aloud to them – from planting subliminal messages to causing one to commit suicide. All of this is news to John but, as it turns out, there is even more to the story, as the two factions of Lectors soon discover. John’s latent abilities are awoken and he proves to be one of the most powerful Lectors in history. In short time, a deep, hidden cult, as old as the ancient Library of Alexandria, seeks him out and hopes to use his powers to super-amplify their own, in hopes of taking over the world by controlling its leaders. John and his colleagues from Libri di Luca must find a way to stop this powerful shadow organization, without knowing who they are, what they want, or where they come from.
Read the complete review at www.roofbeamreader.net
dlmoldovan's review against another edition
4.0
A really good mix of mystery and fantasy that reads like literature. A very interesting and original concept. A must read for bibliophiles and anyone else that loves reading. Reading something in translation is never the ideal way of learning about an author's style, and there were some things that the author could improve on, i.e. some scenes where plans were put in motion were a little superfluous-they tended to drag a little for me, and the storyline was a little simple. These are minor concerns though, and did not take anything away from my enjoyment.
iina's review against another edition
2.0
I don't quite know what I expected from this book; but whatever it was, after finishing I felt my expectations hadn't quite been met. Birkegaard's book has an intriguing setting, but somehow it feels as though the book never quite reaches the level of greatness it perhaps could have potential for.
The prose felt a bit clumsy to me, but as I read a translated work I can never judge if it's the author's or the translator's gawky language I detected. The plot, as good as it seems during the first few pages, falls a bit flat towards the end - don't get me wrong, the book has it's moments, but it never quite gets me as excited as I'd wish a literary thriller would. While I enjoyed some of the characters (mainly Katherina), some felt quite one-sided, which was a bit of a shame. Overall, if I ignore the plotholes and the other oddities, this book was a decent read; would love to read it in the original language if I just could, though.
The prose felt a bit clumsy to me, but as I read a translated work I can never judge if it's the author's or the translator's gawky language I detected. The plot, as good as it seems during the first few pages, falls a bit flat towards the end - don't get me wrong, the book has it's moments, but it never quite gets me as excited as I'd wish a literary thriller would. While I enjoyed some of the characters (mainly Katherina), some felt quite one-sided, which was a bit of a shame. Overall, if I ignore the plotholes and the other oddities, this book was a decent read; would love to read it in the original language if I just could, though.
imzadirose's review against another edition
3.0
A good book, different. Took a while for me to wade through but overall it was quite good. 3.5 stars
hildegard's review against another edition
3.0
Fun read. Some awkward plot development, but I wanted escape, and this worked just fine.
curiosityp's review against another edition
5.0
The first book of the year and I would actually rate it 6 out of 5! It is highly unlikely that I will read a book as amazing as this. I loved it so much I couldn't put it down and read it all in one sitting. It's now on my wishlist to add to my personal library!
al_capwned's review against another edition
3.0
The concept is good and it could have been used for a great story (kind of meta, too). Unfortunately, there are a lot of cliché and predictability. It's a pity.
jfcc's review against another edition
4.0
Com um enredo interessante e apelativo para qualquer bibliófilo, um livro merecido de ser folheado.
Fica apenas o desejo se as personagens terem sido mais desenvolvidas nas entrelinhas e que o mistério que envolve a história tivesse sido igualmente aprofundado!
Recomendo ;)
Fica apenas o desejo se as personagens terem sido mais desenvolvidas nas entrelinhas e que o mistério que envolve a história tivesse sido igualmente aprofundado!
Recomendo ;)
diperedo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
indistilling's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5