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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Finally made it to the end by sheer force of will. I wish the business dealings and espionage had more of a payoff by the end of the story, however it was likely always to pale to the twist Pears had planned for us. Parts 2 and 3 were more enjoyable as they had more likable narrators but all 3 parts could have used a healthy dose of red pen to cut unnecessary bits of plot and description that do little to serve the larger story. Although an interesting tale, the pace was way too slow for my taste.
A mystery that spans about 100 years. I listened to the audio book and the characters were all intriguing. When I was finished, I wanted to start listening all over again. It's wonderful historical fiction, with strong, interesting characters, and a complicated (but not over-complicated plot). I like David Liss a little better, just for the added humorous bits he throws in, but this is a good book to get lost in.
If I could, I'd give this 3.5 starts. Long with a strange, and for me, unsatisfactory ending. Solid writing and some interesting characters.
I enjoyed this book. Very well done. This is a multi-faceted story that, while some parts are dry, definitely warrants a re-read in order to catch clues from the beginning. What a great story.
This book seems to combine the devices of Instance of the Fingerpost where the story is told from different points of view and Dream of Scipio where the story is told in different time periods that all converge. While it's not as stunning or inventive as Fingerpost, it's much more engaging and exciting than Scipio. All three "stories" are thrilling on their own and the final twist (although somewhat predictable) is is a fine ending to the story. I'm glad to see Pears return to the thrills and mystery that made Fingerpost such a great read.
Enchanting, engrossing, deluding, witty, glorious - I could go on and on. It's like a matrioshka of a novel, layer after layer peels away and keeps you guessing right up until the absolutely brilliant end.
While not _quite_ as good as Instance of the Fingerpost, this is an intricate historical mystery told from three distinctive points of view that finally interlock at the end for a stunning revelatory ending. Spanning the years before WWI in Europe, the central figure in the mystery is a British financier/armaments dealer who may or may not be trying to build a battle fleet and provoke anarchist groups to assassinate a leader prominent enough to start the war that will cause someone to buy it, with the help of a wife who may or may not be a femme fatale, a shadowy Brit who may or may not be the head of Imperial Intelligence and some financial manipulation that is eerily familiar from Bernie Madoff.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
bit of a chore at times but story is good