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muddypuddle's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked the first part of this story, but it got more and more convoluted and complicated once the teenagers went to Prague. Relationships were explored nicely until Nora and Max were identified as a couple...and that's the problem. Their whole relationship was only identified, never really fleshed out, never SHOWN, only told about. It wasn't believable, though most of the rest of them were. Much of the book was letters written 400 years ago in Latin, translated by the protagonist. She was able to glean a lot of information without giving enough clues to the reader. It was just too sketchy in a lot of places, and left me with a ...what???.... feeling.
orangerful's review against another edition
2.0
You will notice that while this book does not have as many pages as the later Harry Potters or some other YA series, most reviewers comment that it is TOO LONG and I have to agree. The story lost steam for me as soon as the setting switched from Nora's hometown to Prague. At first it seemed like it would be a quick read but I quickly became annoyed with reading the letters that Nora was translating and such.
I am just not into these kinds of stories, the Da Vinci Code books that are too clever for their own good. I prefer action and adventure. So this might be a better fit for a different kind of reader...but it certainly was not a good fit for me.
I am just not into these kinds of stories, the Da Vinci Code books that are too clever for their own good. I prefer action and adventure. So this might be a better fit for a different kind of reader...but it certainly was not a good fit for me.
howattp's review against another edition
5.0
This is such a fantastic, intelligent book! It's fast-paced, bookish, dark, and dangerous at times. Everyone has said that this is YA Dan Brown, and they're right! Things are not as they seem, enemies lurk behind every shadow, and a world-changing artifact lies hidden somewhere in Prague. People will kill for it. People have killed for it--and they won't stop until their goal is complete.
There are a few small problems I have with it, but they're absolutely minor, and maybe I'm being nitpicky.it was only in bits of the characterization that I found problems. The plot was great, the mystery was delightfully tantalizing, and it's absolutely worth reading.
There are a few small problems I have with it, but they're absolutely minor, and maybe I'm being nitpicky.
Spoiler
I think that Nora is a bit too sure of herself, for someone so unceremoniously thrust into this situation. She's too confident at times. Max is SO obviously the bad guy, and Eli is clearly not, but there is a bit too much protesting on either side. And also, the parents. This has one of the consistent flaws in YA lit: utterly absent, apathetic parents. I can't decide if it's just a motif, or if there's a metaphor for teens learning to be independent, but YA lit has SO MANY absolutely absent, uncaring parents. There is not a single loving, even slightly caring parent to be found in the book. That being said,lisagray68's review against another edition
4.0
Oh my. This is a fantastic read, almost gave it 5 stars, but couldn't decide. Dubbed as a Young Adult Da Vinci Code...but you know what book it REALLY reminded me of? The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. If you liked that one, you'll really like this one. Yes, it's YA, but it's been awhile since I met a teenager who would be able to process this book. It's got a lot of complicated history, complex and interesting relationships, suspense - and yes, richly detailed descriptions of Prague and it's history. (I'm going there in two months, so particularly fascinated by that!) Anyway, what a GREAT read. The only reason I didn't give it 5 was because it reminded me so much of Da Vinci or the Historian. The basic storyline has been done....still, Wasserman does it again, and how.
bellatora's review against another edition
4.0
Kind of the perfect summer read. It's a YA thriller that hits all the necessary tropes of that genre: a centuries-old document (the Voynich manuscript), cryptic clues and ciphers (contained in the letters of Elizabeth Weston), a MacGuffin that could destroy (or at least change) the world, not one but TWO secret societies (one of religious fanatics trying to destroy the MacGuffin for being a crime against God & one trying to get its hands on the MacGuffin to use it) and an exotic locale (Prague). Add in a personal, grisly death (Nora's best friend gets murdered and his girlfriend goes briefly catatonic) and a mysterious protector (Eli, cousin to the murdered best friend) and it has all the ingredients for the perfect summer (literary) blockbuster.
I liked it for what it was. I think the pace could've been tightened - it takes about 100 pages for the murder to happen and for the real action to begin (Nora trying to prove her boyfriend wasn't the murderer, hunting down the MacGuffin, running from the Most Evil of the Secret Societies). I understand the need to establish how important Chris (the murdered best friend) meant to Nora and the relationship dimensions between Nora, Chris, Adriane (Chris' girlfriend and Nora's only other real friend) & Max (Chris' roommate, Nora's boyfriend and the police's number one suspect in Chris' murder). Plus, showing how these teenagers got involved with the manuscript in the first place (research assistants to a crazy college professor whose career stalled after becoming obsessed with the manuscript). But I still feel like the action should have kicked in sooner. The middle section was the best - after the real hunt had begun, but before it just got kind of silly.
This book suffers by not being quite clever enough. For instance, Nora and her pals sneak into the Most Evil Secret Society's headquarters by putting on robes and just getting inside. This is a ruthless, centuries-old secret society. And yet they can be tricked in the same fashion as a Scooby-Doo villain. I mean, seriously, ANYONE who can find the right color robe can enter their Fortress of Evil. It is just ridiculous and an obvious plot contrivance. I want to see these characters be smart but beyond solving a few puzzles and codes (and, I guess, knowing Latin) they aren't particularly brilliant. The whole ending had a feeling of wrapping up about it, since neither of the Secret Societies were particularly clever either and the heroes surviving had more to do with deus ex machina more than anything else.
Nora seems like she should be an unreliable narrator but the author treats her as a reliable narrator except for one key point. Mostly this involves what we learn about her relationship with Adriane.
Oh, and it is RIDICULOUS how much Nora's and the long-dead Elizabeth's lives parallel each other. I know that this was purposeful as a plot point for the most part and I'm cool with that, but I really think that having love interests who are incredibly similar is a little too much.
I liked it for what it was. I think the pace could've been tightened - it takes about 100 pages for the murder to happen and for the real action to begin (Nora trying to prove her boyfriend wasn't the murderer, hunting down the MacGuffin, running from the Most Evil of the Secret Societies). I understand the need to establish how important Chris (the murdered best friend) meant to Nora and the relationship dimensions between Nora, Chris, Adriane (Chris' girlfriend and Nora's only other real friend) & Max (Chris' roommate, Nora's boyfriend and the police's number one suspect in Chris' murder). Plus, showing how these teenagers got involved with the manuscript in the first place (research assistants to a crazy college professor whose career stalled after becoming obsessed with the manuscript). But I still feel like the action should have kicked in sooner. The middle section was the best - after the real hunt had begun, but before it just got kind of silly.
This book suffers by not being quite clever enough. For instance, Nora and her pals sneak into the Most Evil Secret Society's headquarters by putting on robes and just getting inside. This is a ruthless, centuries-old secret society. And yet they can be tricked in the same fashion as a Scooby-Doo villain. I mean, seriously, ANYONE who can find the right color robe can enter their Fortress of Evil. It is just ridiculous and an obvious plot contrivance. I want to see these characters be smart but beyond solving a few puzzles and codes (and, I guess, knowing Latin) they aren't particularly brilliant. The whole ending had a feeling of wrapping up about it, since neither of the Secret Societies were particularly clever either and the heroes surviving had more to do with deus ex machina more than anything else.
Nora seems like she should be an unreliable narrator but the author treats her as a reliable narrator except for one key point. Mostly this involves what we learn about her relationship with Adriane.
Spoiler
Nora claims that Adriane is one of her best friends, though she often feels like a third-wheel with Adriane/Chris. Then Adriane keeps dropping comments post-murders suggesting that SHE doesn't see herself as Nora's best friend, though Nora keeps claiming she is. THEN at the very end, Adriane was like "we weren't ever really friends" and Nora is like, "yeah." actual quote: "I'd thought she was spoiled and selfish and an excellent liar." Ummm....so they were frenemies??? Though it was clear throughout that Nora was jealous of Adriane, THIS level of dislike was never really evident. That's why I'm saying: unreliable narrator.Oh, and it is RIDICULOUS how much Nora's and the long-dead Elizabeth's lives parallel each other. I know that this was purposeful as a plot point for the most part and I'm cool with that, but I really think that having love interests who are incredibly similar is a little too much.
lecrockett's review against another edition
4.0
On the night Nora’s boyfriend disappears, her best friend is murdered, and his girlfriend is sent to an institution, she realizes the Latin translations of letters and manuscripts they worked on was not their crazy professor’s idea of torture but his truly sane quest to attempt to uncover an ancient, world-changing secret. Nora takes it upon herself to flee to Prague to exact revenge, but soon discovers she is key to centuries-old secrets, lies, and conspiracies.
Deeply intelligent and immensely witty, Nora is quite the protagonist to follow and a pleasure to read. Already a wounded character from the start — dead older brother, workaholic mother, and recluse father — she shares the slow-building and enriching friendship she forges with Chris, Adriane, and Max. They work together to translate Latin manuscripts their strange, presumably insane, professor claims will change the world, and constantly reminds them that someone is watching their progress. None of them believe it till the night all four are ripped apart.
Having been to Prague, I loved the descriptions of Old Town, and the wild history the city endured for centuries. The quest spent there was full of surprises, and it was difficult to know who to trust in this thriller. With two secret societies warring one another over an ancient machine that could potentially speak to God, Nora is dragged into making the discovery and destroying it. I had to remind myself there are no good guys in this story. One society aims to create the machine to speak to God, to know there is a Creator and we can communicate with Him; the other society aims to destroy the machine, to prove that God’s existence is in faith in Him, not in proof. In this sense, the book is quite realistic: there is no way to tell who is good and who is bad, and the decisions to be made have dire consequences either way.
Wasserman’s writing style is artistic, with long descriptive sentences that have the potential to become run-ons till she loops it back to the subject. In these descriptions, we learn Nora’s thoughts and feelings, what she sees and hears, what brings back memories and what can link us to a clue into the future. While overabundant, and some sections unnecessary, it was easy to get pulled into the descriptions and the vast historical references, and fall into the story, making this book incredibly difficult to put down.
Deeply intelligent and immensely witty, Nora is quite the protagonist to follow and a pleasure to read. Already a wounded character from the start — dead older brother, workaholic mother, and recluse father — she shares the slow-building and enriching friendship she forges with Chris, Adriane, and Max. They work together to translate Latin manuscripts their strange, presumably insane, professor claims will change the world, and constantly reminds them that someone is watching their progress. None of them believe it till the night all four are ripped apart.
Having been to Prague, I loved the descriptions of Old Town, and the wild history the city endured for centuries. The quest spent there was full of surprises, and it was difficult to know who to trust in this thriller. With two secret societies warring one another over an ancient machine that could potentially speak to God, Nora is dragged into making the discovery and destroying it. I had to remind myself there are no good guys in this story. One society aims to create the machine to speak to God, to know there is a Creator and we can communicate with Him; the other society aims to destroy the machine, to prove that God’s existence is in faith in Him, not in proof. In this sense, the book is quite realistic: there is no way to tell who is good and who is bad, and the decisions to be made have dire consequences either way.
Wasserman’s writing style is artistic, with long descriptive sentences that have the potential to become run-ons till she loops it back to the subject. In these descriptions, we learn Nora’s thoughts and feelings, what she sees and hears, what brings back memories and what can link us to a clue into the future. While overabundant, and some sections unnecessary, it was easy to get pulled into the descriptions and the vast historical references, and fall into the story, making this book incredibly difficult to put down.
caresays's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good adventure YA novel. Solid plot. It's pretty much like a better-written Da Vinci Code. Nothing will be terribly surprising, but I enjoyed the characters and the writing was decent.
kur9's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe I wasn't in the mood for this book, I had high hopes for this, expecting to be blown away with the way the premises sounded. But honestly I felt disappointed.
It follows our main character Nora, who discovers her best friend -Chris murder in cold blood and her boyfriend gone missing. He was also blamed for the death of her friend. In which she does not believe and would do anything to proof his innocent. Now our main character is a genius, she is very good at translating Latin. So when she’s given a centuries old manuscripts, it open her eyes to whole new world and discovery. Full of dark secrets and mystery, that linked to the murder of her best friend.
Like I said the premises sound interesting, however, we only got into the story, i.e. finding the death of Chris around 100 pages in to the book. Which felt really long for me. Also the uses of the Latin translation and the codes, really confused me at times, only later on when the text is been rephrased that I kind of understood. The story felt really flat and majority of the time the mystery or the way the plot was going was predictable. I don’t think I felt really surprised if a certain plot line has been revealed. Which is saying something, because I don’t read many mystery book, and if I do I tend to predict wrong.
The characters felt really blunt and unrealistic. They did not exactly annoy me. But at the same time I did not feel any connection to any of them. One major problem I had was the fact that many scholars and professional were desperate to try and find the ‘Luman Dei’ that they were looking for in the hundred years old Manuscripts but failed. However, was easily discovered by a high school girl in just short amount of time!
The pace of this book majority of the time was quite slow, the writing style is ok. But overall I did not like this book, which is a shame…
It follows our main character Nora, who discovers her best friend -Chris murder in cold blood and her boyfriend gone missing. He was also blamed for the death of her friend. In which she does not believe and would do anything to proof his innocent. Now our main character is a genius, she is very good at translating Latin. So when she’s given a centuries old manuscripts, it open her eyes to whole new world and discovery. Full of dark secrets and mystery, that linked to the murder of her best friend.
Like I said the premises sound interesting, however, we only got into the story, i.e. finding the death of Chris around 100 pages in to the book. Which felt really long for me. Also the uses of the Latin translation and the codes, really confused me at times, only later on when the text is been rephrased that I kind of understood. The story felt really flat and majority of the time the mystery or the way the plot was going was predictable. I don’t think I felt really surprised if a certain plot line has been revealed. Which is saying something, because I don’t read many mystery book, and if I do I tend to predict wrong.
The characters felt really blunt and unrealistic. They did not exactly annoy me. But at the same time I did not feel any connection to any of them. One major problem I had was the fact that many scholars and professional were desperate to try and find the ‘Luman Dei’ that they were looking for in the hundred years old Manuscripts but failed. However, was easily discovered by a high school girl in just short amount of time!
The pace of this book majority of the time was quite slow, the writing style is ok. But overall I did not like this book, which is a shame…
janeaustenjunkie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5