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bookbae96's review
4.0
The thing that I enjoyed the most about THE LAKE OF LEARNING, the second collaboration between authors Steve Berry and M.J. Rose, is how much attention to historical detail went into the writing of this book. Yes, liberties were taken, but they were few, and what emerged is a book chock full of interesting facts about the Cathars, along with another mystery to be solved. Given both authors' love of and involvement in history preservation, this book met my expectations, and then some.
As with THE MUSEUM OF MYSTERIES (Book 2), there is plenty of intrigue, which makes for a more interesting read for me. I would love to see more of Cotton Malone actually solving the mysteries with Cassiopeia, but she's a pretty intrepid sleuth on her own, and does a fine job of getting to the bottom of things.
As this is a novella, it is shorter, so more like an amuse bouche, leaving me wanting more, more, more. I look forward to further adventures for Cotton and Cassiopeia, and to learning more about history in the process. In the meantime, this is a fine addition to the series, and one that fans of both Steve Barry and M.J. Rose will enjoy.
canada_matt's review
4.0
Steve Berry and M.J. Rose return with another novella in which Cassiopeia Vitt is able to take centre stage. Exploring some of the older aspects of European based religions, the reader will learn much and be dazzled by the intricate detail. While excavating for her ongoing castle project, Cassiopeia Vitt and her team uncover an old book whose contents make it not only rare, but extremely valuable. When she is visited by an interested party, Cassiopeia gets a bad feeling about Roland Beláncourt, who insists that he needs this book. While Cassiopeia is able to dismiss him, Beláncourt persists, telling her all about the history of Catharism, something about which Vitt is familiar. It would seem this book not only speaks of the Cathars, but also speaks of an ancient relic and location that could be key to enlightened discoveries. As Vitt seeks some outside assistance to find this ‘Lake of Learning’, she continues to encounter trouble from Beláncourt, who will stop at nothing to ensure he gets his hands on the book. Vitt does not have Cotton Malone to help her, but she will need to find some way of staying ahead of the the trouble that awaits her. Berry and Rose have come up with an interesting tale here, mixing history with a female protagonist. Recommended to those who have long enjoyed Berry’s work (which includes Cassiopeia) and likely readers who are familiar with Rose’s style of writing.
I have long been a fan of Steve Berry’s writing, which has included minor roles for Cassiopeia Vitt. When I noticed that Berry had teamed up with M.J. Rose, I was interested to see how they would elevate this most interesting character without losing some of the intriguing history that is woven throughout each tale. This novella touches on an era that I suspect Rose uses regularly, which meshes well with some of what we know about Cassiopeia. This female protagonist does well guiding the story along. While she is away from the love of her life—Cotton Malone—she does well to keep the reader interested in her medieval building project, which spills into talk of the Cathars. She is by no means a damsel, but also does not seek conflict where she can help it. There are a few other characters whose presence add depth to the story, including the gritty Roland Beláncourt, whose determination helps fuel some clashes surrounding the possession of the book. The story gathers momentum in the early chapters and never loses its speed. I am happy to see an ongoing ability to mix history with action in yet another piece by these two authors. I can only hope that they continues an annual tradition of working together to develop some wonderful stories.
Kudos, Mr. Berry and Madam Rose, for an interesting piece that kept me curious throughout. This is a collaboration that is growing on me.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
I have long been a fan of Steve Berry’s writing, which has included minor roles for Cassiopeia Vitt. When I noticed that Berry had teamed up with M.J. Rose, I was interested to see how they would elevate this most interesting character without losing some of the intriguing history that is woven throughout each tale. This novella touches on an era that I suspect Rose uses regularly, which meshes well with some of what we know about Cassiopeia. This female protagonist does well guiding the story along. While she is away from the love of her life—Cotton Malone—she does well to keep the reader interested in her medieval building project, which spills into talk of the Cathars. She is by no means a damsel, but also does not seek conflict where she can help it. There are a few other characters whose presence add depth to the story, including the gritty Roland Beláncourt, whose determination helps fuel some clashes surrounding the possession of the book. The story gathers momentum in the early chapters and never loses its speed. I am happy to see an ongoing ability to mix history with action in yet another piece by these two authors. I can only hope that they continues an annual tradition of working together to develop some wonderful stories.
Kudos, Mr. Berry and Madam Rose, for an interesting piece that kept me curious throughout. This is a collaboration that is growing on me.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
sahibooknerd's review
4.0
I’ve loved Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone series for years now, but have always been fascinated by Cassiopeia as a character, always wishing that she play major roles in Malone’s stories. So, it’s been wonderful to see the author give her a series of her own.
While The Museum of Mysteries (my last encounter with Cassiopeia) was an okay read, I still wanted more adventures with her and this book didn’t disappoint. I’m always interested to know which historical aspect Berry would decide to dive into, so I was not surprised to be immersed into a new religion, the Cathars, which I knew nothing about. While it’s not possible for a newbie reader like me to discern fact from fiction in the story, I’m amazed by how seamless the incorporation of historical elements was in this book. And I was definitely intrigued by this religion which believed in duality (which is also the basis for the Dvaita school of thought in Hindu philosophy though a bit different) because it feels like such an antithesis to the beliefs of Christianity. Reading about the crusades is always painful, but getting to know that people of the same religion fought and slaughtered because of differences in the way they practiced it was even more horrifying. And as informative as the whole thing was, I also thought it worked wonderfully as the backdrop for this novel, and was exactly what I would usually expect from a full length Malone book.
I think the medieval religious historical find worked perfectly for Cassiopeia as well because of her intense respect for historical preservation. This was an adventure that I completely believed she would embark on and I enjoyed following her. She is also a very cool thinker and doesn’t go headlong into confrontations, unlike the heroes we read about in similar spy thrillers. She kept her wits about in every situation and acted at the right moment, only doing what was necessary. I also really liked seeing her as the owner of her family enterprise and how she handles the business, because that’s not a side of her we usually get to see when she is hanging out with Malone. I was also pretty amused by her thoughts about him, remembering his words when finding herself in a bit of a trouble, because he hardly seems to follow those words himself.
In the end, this is a short novella which thoroughly entertained me and I didn’t want it to be over. It also had a pretty abrupt ending and could have done with an epilogue or another chapter. If you have enjoyed the Cotton Malone series by Berry and always wanted to know more about Cassiopeia, then this series is perfect for you. It’s also perfect for fans of books which utilize the trope of archeological/historical mysteries being solved in contemporary settings. It is also possible to be read as a standalone, but I don’t know if the emotional connect will be the same as those of us who have known these characters for many books now. Now my only wish is that the author duo decide to make the next book a bit longer.
While The Museum of Mysteries (my last encounter with Cassiopeia) was an okay read, I still wanted more adventures with her and this book didn’t disappoint. I’m always interested to know which historical aspect Berry would decide to dive into, so I was not surprised to be immersed into a new religion, the Cathars, which I knew nothing about. While it’s not possible for a newbie reader like me to discern fact from fiction in the story, I’m amazed by how seamless the incorporation of historical elements was in this book. And I was definitely intrigued by this religion which believed in duality (which is also the basis for the Dvaita school of thought in Hindu philosophy though a bit different) because it feels like such an antithesis to the beliefs of Christianity. Reading about the crusades is always painful, but getting to know that people of the same religion fought and slaughtered because of differences in the way they practiced it was even more horrifying. And as informative as the whole thing was, I also thought it worked wonderfully as the backdrop for this novel, and was exactly what I would usually expect from a full length Malone book.
I think the medieval religious historical find worked perfectly for Cassiopeia as well because of her intense respect for historical preservation. This was an adventure that I completely believed she would embark on and I enjoyed following her. She is also a very cool thinker and doesn’t go headlong into confrontations, unlike the heroes we read about in similar spy thrillers. She kept her wits about in every situation and acted at the right moment, only doing what was necessary. I also really liked seeing her as the owner of her family enterprise and how she handles the business, because that’s not a side of her we usually get to see when she is hanging out with Malone. I was also pretty amused by her thoughts about him, remembering his words when finding herself in a bit of a trouble, because he hardly seems to follow those words himself.
In the end, this is a short novella which thoroughly entertained me and I didn’t want it to be over. It also had a pretty abrupt ending and could have done with an epilogue or another chapter. If you have enjoyed the Cotton Malone series by Berry and always wanted to know more about Cassiopeia, then this series is perfect for you. It’s also perfect for fans of books which utilize the trope of archeological/historical mysteries being solved in contemporary settings. It is also possible to be read as a standalone, but I don’t know if the emotional connect will be the same as those of us who have known these characters for many books now. Now my only wish is that the author duo decide to make the next book a bit longer.
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