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3.12 AVERAGE
3.12 AVERAGE
This book presented an interesting problem for me. I thought it was well set up, well thought out, and the premise is wonderful. The reason I didn't enjoy it more than I did was that I thought basically all of the characters were unappealing. I also thought that the "lesson" that one of the major characters came away from the experience with was a really troubling one if you look at it with any depth at all (vagueness to avoid spoiler).
I started this book about a month ago and got a little over half-way through it and didn't feel compelled to finish it. I was compelled by actual mystery of the story, but the narrator's personal life kept getting in the way of the story. His personal life isn't relevant to the story and the way he keeps going on about it is very annoying and it is what ruined the book for me.
Wanted to love this book but it was so slow and meandery
This is technically a DNF (did not finish).
I've been sitting on the hard cover for a while (since May 2007, actually) and the story seemed interesting. A lost Shakespeare manuscript ('tis the vogue for mysteries these days it seems), mobsters, creepy lawyers, paleography...seemed interesting.
Well, I forced myself to read the first 100 pages (through chapter 5) then did something I never do - I read the very last chapter. It was really more like an epilogue and I was completely unimpressed. There are two narrators (Jake-the-IP-lawyer narrates in the first person and there's a third-person narration for every scene not involving Jake) as well as the Bracegirdle "letters" which supposedly point toward the existence of a missing Shakespeare MS about Mary Queen of Scots. The story ping-pongs around and doesn't really go anywhere in those first 5 chapters to make me want to read more.
Also, those Bracegirdle letters don't seem very real to me. I've had to read letters from the English Civil War/Restoration period - those of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, John Dryen - as well as the work of Robert Boyle and John Milton and when I compare the letters to what I've read the "made-up" ones strike a false note.
I've been sitting on the hard cover for a while (since May 2007, actually) and the story seemed interesting. A lost Shakespeare manuscript ('tis the vogue for mysteries these days it seems), mobsters, creepy lawyers, paleography...seemed interesting.
Well, I forced myself to read the first 100 pages (through chapter 5) then did something I never do - I read the very last chapter. It was really more like an epilogue and I was completely unimpressed. There are two narrators (Jake-the-IP-lawyer narrates in the first person and there's a third-person narration for every scene not involving Jake) as well as the Bracegirdle "letters" which supposedly point toward the existence of a missing Shakespeare MS about Mary Queen of Scots. The story ping-pongs around and doesn't really go anywhere in those first 5 chapters to make me want to read more.
Also, those Bracegirdle letters don't seem very real to me. I've had to read letters from the English Civil War/Restoration period - those of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, John Dryen - as well as the work of Robert Boyle and John Milton and when I compare the letters to what I've read the "made-up" ones strike a false note.
So far, so good....I lived and visited a lot of places in this book in NYC, so it helped to imagine the context...Slow read, though.
Finished it...VERY slow going until the last 65 pages or so. Ending was good enough, but I will not read it again. While the characters were OK, I felt there was little story to justify the immense size of this book.
Skip it unless you want a surefire put-me-to-bed-time read.
Finished it...VERY slow going until the last 65 pages or so. Ending was good enough, but I will not read it again. While the characters were OK, I felt there was little story to justify the immense size of this book.
Skip it unless you want a surefire put-me-to-bed-time read.
What was an interesting concept (coded manuscripts discovered in an old book destroyed by fire that could lead to a new, never discovered Shakespeare play) was ruined by the pretentiousness of the author. He spent the entire book trying to prove how smart he was rather than focusing drawing readers into a good story. I don't really care how smart he thinks he is.
Four stars because it is a page turner but there are so many loose ends, some real head scratchers. But the author comes is with lots of pithy phrases and thoughts. It’s fun.
For me, it was just okay. I'm no Shakespearophile, so I'm sure some of it was lost on me. It wasn't bad, but I just wasn't all that into the subplot. I much preferred the character portraits and that was worth finishing the book.
Fun, twisting treasure hunt tale with excellent action and fantastic characters.
All-in-all: Well worth the read.
All-in-all: Well worth the read.
Good book. I especially enjoyed the passages in Old English, as it's not something one is often exposed to in non-academic modern literature. There were some predictable plot twists, as well as some not-so-predictable ones. The characters seemed to have decent depth for the most part, though there was a twinge of cookie-cutter-ishness to each of their archetypes. Some of the technology references seemed a little dated, but other than that, an enjoyable read.