Member Reviews

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  • Rated 0 stars

  “It was supposed to be a brief stop—one last piece of business in New York before a vacation, followed by a new job in London. Instead, investment banker Edward Wozny finds himself cataloging a quirky Duchess’s massive collection of antiquarian books, and surprising himself by getting completely wrapped up in the hunt for a fabled 14th century illuminated text. When Edward realizes that he is in over his head, he enlists the help of a beguilingly cold medievalist whose passion ignites at the prospect of uncovering one of literature’s biggest secrets. When events surrounding the search for the text begin to eerily mirror scenes from a computer game, Edward starts to wonder if he is playing the game, or if the game is actually playing him.”

  Heather B wrote this review Saturday, September 6 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 4 stars

  “If you like The Da Vinci Code and The Historian then you'll probably like this book. It's along the same lines.”

  Elizabeth D wrote this review Monday, July 14 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 0 stars

  “Underdeveloped and overrated, modern drivel
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  There's not much worse than drivel of the modern kind. Although the plot was novel the characters were uninhabitably shallow, the bulk of the text was unimaginative, and the ending dull. Grossman's attempt at character development, plot transitions, and a nouveau ending left me regretting the time I wasted.
  
  What I Didn't Like:
  Unimaginative, disappointing, shallow, and predictable. Not worth the time or the money.”

  Highflung wrote this review Tuesday, June 17 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “I really liked this book and only rate it low because I wanted more of the game itself. Those were the parts that interested me the most and seemed to have the most information about the overall story. Although there wasn't enough time in the game for me, I still read the book cover to cover at a breakneck pace.”

  mgverde wrote this review Monday, April 7 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 1 stars

  “Interesting, but a let-down in the end. Boooo on the ending!”

  sara k wrote this review Wednesday, March 5 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 2 stars

  “Makes for an interesting beach/train read. ”

  Jonathan B wrote this review Tuesday, January 29 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 2 stars

  “I nearly didn't get past the first few pages because the initial situation of a financier being hired to catalog rare books was so ridiculously unbelievable that it was irritating. Nonetheless, I tried to suspend my disbelief and see where Grossman was going with this story. Things actually picked up considerably with the introduction of Margaret, although how on earth a Medieval literay scholar also happens to be a knowledgeable conservator goes unexplained. I gather Grossman was trying to portray the search for the book and the cyber adventures as part of an allegorical journey as fantastical as the Gervase tale. Unfortunately, I don't think it was adequately pulled off. I kept waiting for all the disparate threads to be pulled together to make a sensible tapestry, but the end just left me feeling like I had wasted time along with Edward.
  
  The book also reminds me signifcantly of Michael Grubeer's The Book of Air and Shadows, and while I had some problems with the reality of that as well, at least it made sense by the end.”

  Jacqueline H wrote this review Saturday, December 8 2007. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “Interesting book. Nothing about any of the characters makes me care about them, however the pace is such that I didn't lose interest in the story, even if I didn't invest much in the characters. I was initially attracted to this because it reminded me of Club Dumas but it isn't as well drawn as that. Ian Pears (a writer I will become more familiar with this summer) is quoted on the cover of this book saying it is a thought-provoking read, and it is, but a bit too much computer game stuff thrown in for my taste. Fast read though, once I finally got to picking it up from the mountain of books.
  ”

  Zmrzlina wrote this review Tuesday, September 25 2007. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “This book had a lot of potential, but finished up with an unsatisfying ending. Still worth the read, especially if you like books about trailing after books.”

  OBSCURE wrote this review Tuesday, July 17 2007. ( reply | permalink )