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lynguy1's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a mixture of historical fiction and modern day thriller. It kept going back and forth so much that it disrupted the flow for me. As the title suggests, the historical fiction part focuses on Rasputin and is centered in the early 1900's. In modern times, several deaths occur and Sean Reilly is an FBI agent after answers.
This book tackles a lot of topics including Rasputin, family journals, relationships, corruption, assassins, hidden agendas, kidnapping, some early 20th century Russian history and brainwashing.
The latter part of the book did get much better, but I struggled through the first 200 pages. Maybe this was the mood I was in. Unfortunately, for me, it felt a little too disjointed and slow.
This book tackles a lot of topics including Rasputin, family journals, relationships, corruption, assassins, hidden agendas, kidnapping, some early 20th century Russian history and brainwashing.
The latter part of the book did get much better, but I struggled through the first 200 pages. Maybe this was the mood I was in. Unfortunately, for me, it felt a little too disjointed and slow.
rwrozell's review against another edition
4.0
A different point of view for this author, but a nice change. Really a good read. well though out and executed.
m3l89's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this at first, but started to lose the plot at about 200 pages. Despite the scientific evidence, it didn't seem like the most plausible plot which put me off a little.
jil_kar98's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
zephyrsilver's review against another edition
I'm torn. I've read all of Khoury's other novels and enjoyed all of them (except for Devil's Elixir). I didn't even finish this one. I gave up after 150 pages because I was so bored.
Maybe it's because I'm not a huge fan of Russian history. Rasputin himself does interest me, but I know so little of Russian history, nor do I have much interest in it, as compared to the Templars. That might be affecting my opinion of this book.
I also did not realize that this was another Sean Reilly book (I refuse to call this series the Templar series, considering half of the books have not been about Templars). I thought it was a stand alone, like The Sign and The Sanctuary. I enjoyed Reilly in the first book. In the second book, I was a tad bit confused at relationships I'd forgotten. The third book had left me very confused about who was whom in his life. This one? Forget it. It's been so long since I've read the other books that I completely forgot he had a kid - let alone who that kid was with. It was very difficult to remember what had happened in his life and with whom he was involved.
Maybe I never noticed this before, or it never bothered me, but I wish he had just used third-person the whole way around. I can't stand authors who use first person for just one character, but still use third person on other characters. Pick a POV and stick with it. It looks amateurish if you don't. Also, I found Reilly's voice to be very annoying. I did not want to be in his head.
The story seemed so dull to me. The Last Templar still stands out vividly to me, because Templars stormed a museum within the first few pages. It was epic. Things got going quickly, and boy was it strange. This one? A guy gets pushed out a window over a Russian gang war. I wanted a lot more of Rasputin's impact, straight from the start. That was what I was interested in.
I quickly lost track of who was who and how they knew each other. It was really difficult for some reason. On top of that, I didn't care about any of them. At all. I tried, I really did. But I couldn't care.
I'm devastated. The Last Templar had such an impact on me. I loved it - considering it lead me to read the rest of the books, it was friggin good. But Devil's Elixir was disappointing, and I couldn't even finish this one. It might be my tastes changing, since it has been a few years since I read his first novel. Which also makes me terrified of going back and re-reading The Last Templar and finding out that my tastes have changed. Or maybe it's just this one and The Devil's Elixir. I don't know. But I had to force myself to read this, and I just couldn't finish it.
Maybe it's because I'm not a huge fan of Russian history. Rasputin himself does interest me, but I know so little of Russian history, nor do I have much interest in it, as compared to the Templars. That might be affecting my opinion of this book.
I also did not realize that this was another Sean Reilly book (I refuse to call this series the Templar series, considering half of the books have not been about Templars). I thought it was a stand alone, like The Sign and The Sanctuary. I enjoyed Reilly in the first book. In the second book, I was a tad bit confused at relationships I'd forgotten. The third book had left me very confused about who was whom in his life. This one? Forget it. It's been so long since I've read the other books that I completely forgot he had a kid - let alone who that kid was with. It was very difficult to remember what had happened in his life and with whom he was involved.
Maybe I never noticed this before, or it never bothered me, but I wish he had just used third-person the whole way around. I can't stand authors who use first person for just one character, but still use third person on other characters. Pick a POV and stick with it. It looks amateurish if you don't. Also, I found Reilly's voice to be very annoying. I did not want to be in his head.
The story seemed so dull to me. The Last Templar still stands out vividly to me, because Templars stormed a museum within the first few pages. It was epic. Things got going quickly, and boy was it strange. This one? A guy gets pushed out a window over a Russian gang war. I wanted a lot more of Rasputin's impact, straight from the start. That was what I was interested in.
I quickly lost track of who was who and how they knew each other. It was really difficult for some reason. On top of that, I didn't care about any of them. At all. I tried, I really did. But I couldn't care.
I'm devastated. The Last Templar had such an impact on me. I loved it - considering it lead me to read the rest of the books, it was friggin good. But Devil's Elixir was disappointing, and I couldn't even finish this one. It might be my tastes changing, since it has been a few years since I read his first novel. Which also makes me terrified of going back and re-reading The Last Templar and finding out that my tastes have changed. Or maybe it's just this one and The Devil's Elixir. I don't know. But I had to force myself to read this, and I just couldn't finish it.
melissag3275's review against another edition
2.0
I like Raymond Khoury, but I had to let the book expire and then try to finish it when it was loaded back to the Kindle. It was a very jumpy book with a lot of story lines happening. It was definitely not my favorite in this series.
somanybooksineedmoretime's review against another edition
2.0
Method: audiobook
Rating: /5 stars
Drama: /5
Thoughts: I really need to stick to my romance - everything else just falls flat for me
claudiaswisher's review against another edition
4.0
Discovered Khoury during my Templar phase...and now, here's Rasputin, the man who had to be poisoned, shot, beaten, and then drowned to actually die.
But he's just the set-up, the hook. That's ok, because I have always liked Sean Reilly, but it's apparent I've missed a couple of his books...I don't remember reading about his son. In a way, that's ok with me. Children in danger make me queasy.
Russian technology, cold war that morphed into our present troubles, a conspiracy and rogue agents...all while Sean is pursuing his own personal need for revenge. Makes for a fast pace.
Lots of shifts of POV, with Sean's first person holding it all together.
The best fiction makes you shiver and worry that it could be real...I shivered.
But he's just the set-up, the hook. That's ok, because I have always liked Sean Reilly, but it's apparent I've missed a couple of his books...I don't remember reading about his son. In a way, that's ok with me. Children in danger make me queasy.
Russian technology, cold war that morphed into our present troubles, a conspiracy and rogue agents...all while Sean is pursuing his own personal need for revenge. Makes for a fast pace.
Lots of shifts of POV, with Sean's first person holding it all together.
The best fiction makes you shiver and worry that it could be real...I shivered.
5wamp_creature's review
4.0
I give extra notice for author's restraint: the ending in another writer's hands could have devolved into a drawn out sci-fi extravaganza of improbabilities; main characters could have a love interest and/or cheating spouses. The list goes on. I liked reading about Rasputin. Each aside was a little break in the story. There does seem to be a cliffhanger and I'm not sure how the prologue fits, but that might just be my brain.
mw2k's review
3.0
Entertaining though very predictable thriller. If you've read (and enjoyed) the previous Templar books featuring Sean Reilly, this won't fail to disappoint. Doesn't exactly break new ground though.