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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I realized at the start of my reading that I already read this book. But I pushed through with it because I again got engrossed with the story. It was a good read the second time around. Mr Brown is a great and engaging novelist.
Decent. A little twist at the end that I didn't expect. Out of the Robert Langdon Series, I would put this after Angels & Demons but before The DaVinci Code in terms of what I enjoyed the most.
There were times that I was fighting to get through this book because it was a little boring. The interesting parts were the details about the city of Washington DC, but overall, snoozefest.
There were times that I was fighting to get through this book because it was a little boring. The interesting parts were the details about the city of Washington DC, but overall, snoozefest.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm such a sucker for Dan Brown-Robert Langdon, more specifically. The stories are so far fetched, but I really love the way he pulls you into the story with all the historical facts and theories. So good. Just like I enjoyed The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons, this one lived up to my expectations.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
As a fan of Mr. Brown's novels I've read every single one of it and though I'm still struggling with the last 20 % of this book, I doubt it will get any better.
No spoiler warning, though because I assume most people have read 'Angels and Demons' and the 'Da Vinci Code' and those two books are spoilers for this new novel anyway. Plus, I'm trying not to reveal any details.
And I can say: this is by far the most uninspired book by Dan Brown I've ever read. I'm not talking about the symbols and the puzzles, no. Those were fine. But the thing is, Dan Brown is not a story teller. Or, that is to say - he's telling the same story over and over.
If you've read the first two Robert Landon novels there is no need to read this one, because the plot is the same. We have Robert, we have the beautiful, intelligent, female scientist to help him, we have the friend-and-traitor, a grumpy member of the authorities hunting Langdon, we have the Langdon-is-confronted-with-his-fear-scenario...
It's so predictable that I got sick of reading it the very few chapters.
But well, I could deal with it if only the writing was good. There are a few scenes that were supposed to be emotional but Dan Brown is rushing through them (rather stating facts than describing) so it's impossible for the reader to be involved. I just didn't care.
And the chapters were really annoying, almost every new scene which is 2-7 pages is one chapter, so we get a novel with about 130 chapters. That's okay when you write a fanfiction, but a book?
And then - the villain. WTF?
It's like Brown wanted to create the most evil person ever but in the end he forgot that if the enemy is supposed to be more than a bogey man from an insane child's story, the readers have to believe a man like that might actually exist. I don't. Plus, the way how the villain found out about the ancient mysteries and his 'connection' to Peter Solomon it seems so random. It's a giant coincidence, okay, and as a CLAMP fan I would call it hitsuzen ('meant to be' or call it fate if you please) but for this novel, this fandom, it seems so out of place.
I don't like the book, which is why I can't rate three stars, but it was a bit more than okay. So 2,5 stars, I guess.
And a final note on the beautiful, intelligent, female scientist... is it just me or is Dan Brown trying so hard to avoid cliches that he's becoming a bit... sexist? There are all kinds of women and he decides to stick to this kind of super woman. Why? Does that mean that a less smart woman could not be useful as Langdons sidekick? Or do the characters live in some kind of parallel universe where everyone is smart? NO WONDER IT'S SO EASY TO REPLACE THEM!
*sigh*
I think I said enough. I just hope this was the last Robert Langdon novel.
No spoiler warning, though because I assume most people have read 'Angels and Demons' and the 'Da Vinci Code' and those two books are spoilers for this new novel anyway. Plus, I'm trying not to reveal any details.
And I can say: this is by far the most uninspired book by Dan Brown I've ever read. I'm not talking about the symbols and the puzzles, no. Those were fine. But the thing is, Dan Brown is not a story teller. Or, that is to say - he's telling the same story over and over.
If you've read the first two Robert Landon novels there is no need to read this one, because the plot is the same. We have Robert, we have the beautiful, intelligent, female scientist to help him, we have the friend-and-traitor, a grumpy member of the authorities hunting Langdon, we have the Langdon-is-confronted-with-his-fear-scenario...
It's so predictable that I got sick of reading it the very few chapters.
But well, I could deal with it if only the writing was good. There are a few scenes that were supposed to be emotional but Dan Brown is rushing through them (rather stating facts than describing) so it's impossible for the reader to be involved. I just didn't care.
And the chapters were really annoying, almost every new scene which is 2-7 pages is one chapter, so we get a novel with about 130 chapters. That's okay when you write a fanfiction, but a book?
And then - the villain. WTF?
It's like Brown wanted to create the most evil person ever but in the end he forgot that if the enemy is supposed to be more than a bogey man from an insane child's story, the readers have to believe a man like that might actually exist. I don't. Plus, the way how the villain found out about the ancient mysteries and his 'connection' to Peter Solomon it seems so random. It's a giant coincidence, okay, and as a CLAMP fan I would call it hitsuzen ('meant to be' or call it fate if you please) but for this novel, this fandom, it seems so out of place.
I don't like the book, which is why I can't rate three stars, but it was a bit more than okay. So 2,5 stars, I guess.
And a final note on the beautiful, intelligent, female scientist... is it just me or is Dan Brown trying so hard to avoid cliches that he's becoming a bit... sexist? There are all kinds of women and he decides to stick to this kind of super woman. Why? Does that mean that a less smart woman could not be useful as Langdons sidekick? Or do the characters live in some kind of parallel universe where everyone is smart? NO WONDER IT'S SO EASY TO REPLACE THEM!
*sigh*
I think I said enough. I just hope this was the last Robert Langdon novel.
So far the absolute SLOWEST of the series. I really really enjoyed 1,2, and 4, but 3? I had fun in certain part of this book, but about 1/3 just made me want to stop reading. The twist was good, but it also felt like every chapter was like the cliffhanger of an episode, when it wasn't really necessary to be like that.
Great story telling. Its Dan Brown. Not typically my type of story but enjoyed it completely.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No