Scan barcode
canada_matt's review against another edition
3.0
A stunning look at the poison evangelicals spew in the US political arena, with strong environmental undertones.
george_farrants's review against another edition
3.0
Fairly run-of-the mill thriller, but the analysis by Drucker in Chapter 71 of American society is memorable.
kant_stop_reading's review against another edition
3.0
Fast and fun but predictable. Fine for the beach
canadianbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
This is a fast-moving action-filled thriller. The sign itself is a large glowing sphere of light that appears in the sky. It first appears in Antarctica over an ice shelf that is breaking up. Because of the presence of a TV journalist, the image is broadcast all over the world and debate begins about the origin and meaning of the sign.
The sign appears again in the Arctic and then in Egypt, over a coptic monastery. As religions around the world try to decide whether to celebrate or denounce the sign, Grace Logan, the journalist also tries to figure out why she seems to be in the right place at the right time.
Meanwhile, in Boston, Matt Sherwood is told that the sign might have something to do with his brother, who might not be dead after all. As Matt fights to find the truth and to stay alive, this story really heats up.
Violence and mayhem are present, and things just keep carrying you on to the final scene. Not everything gets wrapped up nicely, but this is escape literature and it fulfills the need for entertainment. A good vacation read.
The sign appears again in the Arctic and then in Egypt, over a coptic monastery. As religions around the world try to decide whether to celebrate or denounce the sign, Grace Logan, the journalist also tries to figure out why she seems to be in the right place at the right time.
Meanwhile, in Boston, Matt Sherwood is told that the sign might have something to do with his brother, who might not be dead after all. As Matt fights to find the truth and to stay alive, this story really heats up.
Violence and mayhem are present, and things just keep carrying you on to the final scene. Not everything gets wrapped up nicely, but this is escape literature and it fulfills the need for entertainment. A good vacation read.
brettt's review against another edition
1.0
After his debut, The Last Templar, Raymond Khoury wrote two other books before returning to that book's main couple, Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin. The Sign, from 2009, was the second of those.
A mysterious sign appears in the air over Antarctica with no visible source or means of transmission. The television crew there to cover an ice shelf collapse captures it on film, and before too long learns of a connection to a desert-cave-dwelling priest. When the sign reappears in Greenland, people around the world begin wondering if it represents the arrival of extraterrestrial beings or maybe even a divine agent. The television crew, a man whose brother disappeared while working on a technologically advanced but secret project and the priest begin to learn not everything is as it seems. Powerful forces have an agenda for the sign's appearances, and they will guard it at the cost of the lives of anyone who gets in their way.
Khoury uses both his heroes and villains to highlight what he believes are flaws in how religious people have handled the modern world, paying particular attention to climate change issues. He does so about as subtly as a tip-toeing rhino and chokes his narrative with too many separate character threads that he does not have space to properly develop. Each lead gets his or her own chunk of personal historical background instead of the room to show us who they are, and Khoury makes the same mistake when it comes to the ideas he would like to get across.
Khoury is a good storyteller and above-average stylist with a handy way about an action scene. But he wants very much to Say Something Important, even though he is nowhere near a good enough novelist to do so. Of course authors since the dawn of papyrii have intended their work to comment somehow on the human condition. But a commentary invites reflection, engagement and perhaps even give-and-take discussion. Khoury doesn't comment in The Sign so much as he lectures, hectors and -- ironically given his presentation of religious people -- preaches. He does so with character speeches and expository passages that make an already complex narrative sludgy and slow.
Without taking the time to really novelize his ideas instead of narrating them, Khoury makes his case in The Sign a pretty much take-it-or-leave it proposition. And since that flaw also hampers the story's flow, you might be better off making the latter choice.
Original available here.
A mysterious sign appears in the air over Antarctica with no visible source or means of transmission. The television crew there to cover an ice shelf collapse captures it on film, and before too long learns of a connection to a desert-cave-dwelling priest. When the sign reappears in Greenland, people around the world begin wondering if it represents the arrival of extraterrestrial beings or maybe even a divine agent. The television crew, a man whose brother disappeared while working on a technologically advanced but secret project and the priest begin to learn not everything is as it seems. Powerful forces have an agenda for the sign's appearances, and they will guard it at the cost of the lives of anyone who gets in their way.
Khoury uses both his heroes and villains to highlight what he believes are flaws in how religious people have handled the modern world, paying particular attention to climate change issues. He does so about as subtly as a tip-toeing rhino and chokes his narrative with too many separate character threads that he does not have space to properly develop. Each lead gets his or her own chunk of personal historical background instead of the room to show us who they are, and Khoury makes the same mistake when it comes to the ideas he would like to get across.
Khoury is a good storyteller and above-average stylist with a handy way about an action scene. But he wants very much to Say Something Important, even though he is nowhere near a good enough novelist to do so. Of course authors since the dawn of papyrii have intended their work to comment somehow on the human condition. But a commentary invites reflection, engagement and perhaps even give-and-take discussion. Khoury doesn't comment in The Sign so much as he lectures, hectors and -- ironically given his presentation of religious people -- preaches. He does so with character speeches and expository passages that make an already complex narrative sludgy and slow.
Without taking the time to really novelize his ideas instead of narrating them, Khoury makes his case in The Sign a pretty much take-it-or-leave it proposition. And since that flaw also hampers the story's flow, you might be better off making the latter choice.
Original available here.
More...