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coley_w_porter's review against another edition
5.0
Love the way this unfolds. Well written and never a full moment
pachypedia's review against another edition
4.0
Un nuevo thriller del Padre Fowler, rápido y ágil. No le tengo mucho aprecio al personaje de Andrea Otero, pero he disfrutado del libro en general.
jorgefernandez's review against another edition
2.0
Siento mucho haber descubierto a Juan Gómez-Jurado con Cicatriz, y no haber podido ver la evolución libro a libro. Pasar de Cicatriz y El Paciente al padre Fowler es muy duro.
kaillem's review against another edition
2.0
I received this book in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway, which was definitely cool. :o)
The Moses Expedition by Juan Gómez-Jurado combines archaeology and conspiracy theory with the Holocaust. Overall, it's a fun yarn with decent pacing (though it's a wee bit slow for my liking at the beginning), multiple POVs, and a somewhat complex plot. I have never read the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, but I should imagine that if you liked that book, you would like this one, too.
Unfortunately, I had a number of issues with the book that prevented me from enjoying it.
First, the prose, especially the dialogue, didn't flow for me. It felt stilted. This is probably an issue with the translation, though, and not the author. I'm sure his books read great in spanish. But I kept tripping over the phrasing and dialogue, thinking "that just doesn't sound quite right." The writing itself kept distracting me from engaging with the story.
Another translation issue. One of the characters gets stabbed "at the bottom of his spinal column" and dies. Later, the doctor character remarks, "He has a knife wound at the base of his spine, which is by definition fatal." Uh ... most people, at least in North America, consider the "base of the spine" to be where the lumbar vertebrae meet the sacrum. A knife wound there wouldn't kill you outright, though it would seriously injure you. I think the author probably meant the base of the skull. Big difference.
As far as I know, scorpions have an exoskeleton made of chitin, not keratin. (See chapter 45, and for info on the difference between chitin and keratin: http://www.askabiologist.org.uk/answers/viewtopic.php?id=1315) This is getting into the realm of nitpicking, but for a reader like me, it jerks me out of the story and makes me scratch my head. Probably another bad translation or something.
Another issue that jerked me out of the story multiple times was that there were a large number of long dialogue exchanges with no tags. Normally, if the dialogue is short, and the personalities of the characters talking comes through in their speech patterns, I don't have a problem identifying who's talking. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case here, and I had to go back to the beginning of the conversation to figure out who was saying what. Once again, this really distanced me from the story as a reader.
The key elements in the story are also very tired. Cliché, really. The expedition is going after the Ark of the Covenant (Indiana Jones, anyone?). The über bad guys are Islamic jihadists. (How many times have we seen that since 9/11?) The gentle priest is also a secret bad-ass working for a super top secret group associated with the Vatican. (There are a million conspiracy theories surrounding the Vatican.) Clichés in and of themselves aren't bad. What makes them bad is when the author does nothing new or unusual with them. Goméz-Jurado does accomplish some originality with the priest's personal aim--to destroy the Ark rather than recover it (going against his orders from the Vatican) ... but other than that ... it was fairly predictable.
I didn't care about the characters. At one point, a chapter ends with one of the main characters about to be chopped into bits by a giant propeller. I felt no compulsion or need to find out what happened next. In fact, when I reached this place in the book, I got distracted and didn't pick up the book again for a few days. This is a strong indicator that the author has failed to cause his reader (me) to emotionally connect with his characters.
I almost stopped reading the book at chapter 28. I had just lost interest. But, I decided to keep going and finished the rest of the book in one day. That does say something positive about the last two thirds of the book, but it shouldn't have taken that long to get into the book. All the previously mentioned problems remained throughout, and I really didn't care one way or another when certain characters--even main characters--died.
Every so often, I had to vent to my family at the horrendous depiction of "archaeology" and the idiotic archaeologists involved in the expedition, otherwise I would have strangled something in my frustration. They weren't doing archaeology. They were looting. I hate looting. It's a huge problem and irreparably damages sites for no good reason. So much information is lost when looting happens. It's maddening. I understand there's a whole other debate about archaeological ethics and whether any excavation is acceptable (whether conducted by professionals or not) but this isn't the place to get into that.
If I could give half stars, I would give this book 1.5. I can see why so many people seem to have enjoyed it. There's lots of danger, conspiracy, and it's fun to bounce around between points of view. Nothing is as it seems at the beginning. I like those things, too. There were just so many times that I was thrown out of the story and disengaged that this book really didn't work for me.
The Moses Expedition by Juan Gómez-Jurado combines archaeology and conspiracy theory with the Holocaust. Overall, it's a fun yarn with decent pacing (though it's a wee bit slow for my liking at the beginning), multiple POVs, and a somewhat complex plot. I have never read the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, but I should imagine that if you liked that book, you would like this one, too.
Unfortunately, I had a number of issues with the book that prevented me from enjoying it.
First, the prose, especially the dialogue, didn't flow for me. It felt stilted. This is probably an issue with the translation, though, and not the author. I'm sure his books read great in spanish. But I kept tripping over the phrasing and dialogue, thinking "that just doesn't sound quite right." The writing itself kept distracting me from engaging with the story.
Another translation issue. One of the characters gets stabbed "at the bottom of his spinal column" and dies. Later, the doctor character remarks, "He has a knife wound at the base of his spine, which is by definition fatal." Uh ... most people, at least in North America, consider the "base of the spine" to be where the lumbar vertebrae meet the sacrum. A knife wound there wouldn't kill you outright, though it would seriously injure you. I think the author probably meant the base of the skull. Big difference.
As far as I know, scorpions have an exoskeleton made of chitin, not keratin. (See chapter 45, and for info on the difference between chitin and keratin: http://www.askabiologist.org.uk/answers/viewtopic.php?id=1315) This is getting into the realm of nitpicking, but for a reader like me, it jerks me out of the story and makes me scratch my head. Probably another bad translation or something.
Another issue that jerked me out of the story multiple times was that there were a large number of long dialogue exchanges with no tags. Normally, if the dialogue is short, and the personalities of the characters talking comes through in their speech patterns, I don't have a problem identifying who's talking. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case here, and I had to go back to the beginning of the conversation to figure out who was saying what. Once again, this really distanced me from the story as a reader.
The key elements in the story are also very tired. Cliché, really. The expedition is going after the Ark of the Covenant (Indiana Jones, anyone?). The über bad guys are Islamic jihadists. (How many times have we seen that since 9/11?) The gentle priest is also a secret bad-ass working for a super top secret group associated with the Vatican. (There are a million conspiracy theories surrounding the Vatican.) Clichés in and of themselves aren't bad. What makes them bad is when the author does nothing new or unusual with them. Goméz-Jurado does accomplish some originality with the priest's personal aim--to destroy the Ark rather than recover it (going against his orders from the Vatican) ... but other than that ... it was fairly predictable.
I didn't care about the characters. At one point, a chapter ends with one of the main characters about to be chopped into bits by a giant propeller. I felt no compulsion or need to find out what happened next. In fact, when I reached this place in the book, I got distracted and didn't pick up the book again for a few days. This is a strong indicator that the author has failed to cause his reader (me) to emotionally connect with his characters.
I almost stopped reading the book at chapter 28. I had just lost interest. But, I decided to keep going and finished the rest of the book in one day. That does say something positive about the last two thirds of the book, but it shouldn't have taken that long to get into the book. All the previously mentioned problems remained throughout, and I really didn't care one way or another when certain characters--even main characters--died.
Every so often, I had to vent to my family at the horrendous depiction of "archaeology" and the idiotic archaeologists involved in the expedition, otherwise I would have strangled something in my frustration. They weren't doing archaeology. They were looting. I hate looting. It's a huge problem and irreparably damages sites for no good reason. So much information is lost when looting happens. It's maddening. I understand there's a whole other debate about archaeological ethics and whether any excavation is acceptable (whether conducted by professionals or not) but this isn't the place to get into that.
If I could give half stars, I would give this book 1.5. I can see why so many people seem to have enjoyed it. There's lots of danger, conspiracy, and it's fun to bounce around between points of view. Nothing is as it seems at the beginning. I like those things, too. There were just so many times that I was thrown out of the story and disengaged that this book really didn't work for me.
kipahni's review against another edition
2.0
Interesting story, stupid and not greatly developed characters though. But then if the author would take the time and make the character more three dementional, it would lose the fast pace that really drove the story. It's a good read for airplane rides and sitting by the beach or in the doctors office.
b_ruizmartin'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
joypouros's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
- 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
I enjoyed Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code and was hoping this would be similar.
It is similar, but worse all around. Less likeable characters, more plot holes.
The writing style was enjoyable. Easy to read, short chapters, good pace.
The main woman was wholly unlikable. And why was she even there?? The author tried to compensate for the fact that the leading woman's sole purpose was fo be bait by making her tough and and lesbian. But she wasn't tough, she was just an asshole.
Why did Netcatch fall for the clearly baited intel? And who gave it to them?
Why did Kahn reach out to Netcatch to ask who Fowler was in the first place?
That kicked everything off, yet makes no sense.
I hated the random romance with Doc.
Just extraneous fluff to make up for a weak premise.
It is similar, but worse all around. Less likeable characters, more plot holes.
The writing style was enjoyable. Easy to read, short chapters, good pace.
The main woman was wholly unlikable. And why was she even there?? The author tried to compensate for the fact that the leading woman's sole purpose was fo be bait by making her tough and and lesbian. But she wasn't tough, she was just an asshole.
Why did Netcatch fall for the clearly baited intel? And who gave it to them?
Why did Kahn reach out to Netcatch to ask who Fowler was in the first place?
That kicked everything off, yet makes no sense.
I hated the random romance with Doc.
Just extraneous fluff to make up for a weak premise.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
chicageek's review against another edition
4.0
Una historia de ritmo trepidante que te engancha desde el principio. La época actual, la Alemania nazi, Estados Unidos, Jordania... con este libro vas saltando de uno a otro guiado por un hilo conductor que mantiene la intriga en todo momento por saber qué pasará después. Otro detalle que me gusta, aunque parezca una tontería, es que los capítulos sean relativamente cortos: siempre dices "va, leo otro más, total sólo son 5 páginas" y así te tiras una hora y te has zampado un tercio del libro :)
Lo dicho, una lectura ligera y entretenida, que no te hace recordar mil nombres diferentes (como las sagas de fantasía que he leído últimamente), con elementos tan universales como el amor, la venganza o la lealtad, todo muy bien mezclado. Como una de esas pelis de aventuras que te hacen pasar un rato agradable en el cine, con unas palomitas y buena compañía :)
Lo dicho, una lectura ligera y entretenida, que no te hace recordar mil nombres diferentes (como las sagas de fantasía que he leído últimamente), con elementos tan universales como el amor, la venganza o la lealtad, todo muy bien mezclado. Como una de esas pelis de aventuras que te hacen pasar un rato agradable en el cine, con unas palomitas y buena compañía :)
fran_mosteiro's review against another edition
3.0
No es su mejor libro (pero ya lo dice el mismo en el prefacio), pero me ha resultado ameno la verdad. Nada pesado y fácil de leer si lees a pocos y de vez
en cuando.
en cuando.
karenangela_1's review against another edition
4.0
This book starts in Vienna in 1943, two parents are attempting to find out if their eldest son is still alive after he was taken to a hospital by the Nazis. To try and get information from the doctor they offer him a gold filigree covered candle, the doctor claims that the boy is already dead and then when the parents leave the hospital he informs the SS. The parents leave behind another young son.
The story then shifts to the present day, the doctor has been hunted down as a suspected war criminal and the candle has been recovered because of course this is no ordinary candle it contains a piece of the Copper Scroll which gives the supposed location of The Ark of The Covenant. With the backing of a multi-billionaire and the Vatican a group of archeologists,mercenaries,a couple of cooks, a doctor, a reporter and a priest head off to the Jordanian desert to find it. Nobody in this group is to be trusted, as well as operatives from the CIA and Mossad they have been infiltrated by a terrorist and the mutli-billionaire is hiding something as well. The identity of the CIA operative is given fairly early on in the story but while Jurado may be trying to keep you guessing as to the identity of both the Mossad operative and the terrorist plus the multi-billionaires secret all are far to obvious.
The reporter is the lead female character and while I think that the author was trying to create a strong character what he actually created was an unlikeable bitch. I don't think it's a good sign if you keep hoping for the lea character to be killed. I might be being unfair, maybe he did create a strong character and something got lost in translation.
Overall a quick read but far too predictable.
The story then shifts to the present day, the doctor has been hunted down as a suspected war criminal and the candle has been recovered because of course this is no ordinary candle it contains a piece of the Copper Scroll which gives the supposed location of The Ark of The Covenant. With the backing of a multi-billionaire and the Vatican a group of archeologists,mercenaries,a couple of cooks, a doctor, a reporter and a priest head off to the Jordanian desert to find it. Nobody in this group is to be trusted, as well as operatives from the CIA and Mossad they have been infiltrated by a terrorist and the mutli-billionaire is hiding something as well. The identity of the CIA operative is given fairly early on in the story but while Jurado may be trying to keep you guessing as to the identity of both the Mossad operative and the terrorist plus the multi-billionaires secret all are far to obvious.
The reporter is the lead female character and while I think that the author was trying to create a strong character what he actually created was an unlikeable bitch. I don't think it's a good sign if you keep hoping for the lea character to be killed. I might be being unfair, maybe he did create a strong character and something got lost in translation.
Overall a quick read but far too predictable.