Da Vinciesque
The Alexandria Link by Steve Berry caught my eye at the bookstore a couple weeks ago. Steve Berry seems to have ridden the shirt tails of the Dan Brownesque crowd of Da Vinci wannabees. It was a good but predictable read.
I read the The Da Vinci Code and enjoyed it immensely. I started reading his earlier book Angels and Demons and found it predictable. So much popular fiction that emanates out of “fiction factories” (where the writers pump out one or more books a year), seem to roll out the same format packaged in a different book. I usually look for fiction that has some unique quality that sets it apart somehow from the norm.
I picked up the the Alexandria Link out of interest in the potentially interesting story line concerning the lost library of ancient Alexandria. A thousand potential stories could emanate from the great library, its loss and the intellectual retrogression that shrouded the West for nearly 1,000 years. This is such fertile ground.
In this case, an interesting premise concerning the lost knowledge of the most famous lost library in history is boiled down to shallow paper thin characters engaging in predictable dialogue and action. 200 pages in, I stopped reading having already predicted the ending.
Steve Berry is a good writer of this type of fiction. I listened to his earlier book The Romanov Prophecy on audio and found it compelling. I think I would enjoy this one on audio as well. The primary issue with this book lies in the fact that when I am reading in paper format ,the investment in time warrants a greater return on investment. As the short lived Henry David Thoreau once wrote:"Read the best books first,or you may not have a chance to read them at all"
I read the The Da Vinci Code and enjoyed it immensely. I started reading his earlier book Angels and Demons and found it predictable. So much popular fiction that emanates out of “fiction factories” (where the writers pump out one or more books a year), seem to roll out the same format packaged in a different book. I usually look for fiction that has some unique quality that sets it apart somehow from the norm.
I picked up the the Alexandria Link out of interest in the potentially interesting story line concerning the lost library of ancient Alexandria. A thousand potential stories could emanate from the great library, its loss and the intellectual retrogression that shrouded the West for nearly 1,000 years. This is such fertile ground.
In this case, an interesting premise concerning the lost knowledge of the most famous lost library in history is boiled down to shallow paper thin characters engaging in predictable dialogue and action. 200 pages in, I stopped reading having already predicted the ending.
Steve Berry is a good writer of this type of fiction. I listened to his earlier book The Romanov Prophecy on audio and found it compelling. I think I would enjoy this one on audio as well. The primary issue with this book lies in the fact that when I am reading in paper format ,the investment in time warrants a greater return on investment. As the short lived Henry David Thoreau once wrote:"Read the best books first,or you may not have a chance to read them at all"
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