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piratekingalex's review against another edition
Just bounced off it. Will try again later
choochewtoy's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed it, but it was perhaps just a bit long.
The mix of myth, magic, and history was really interesting and engaging.
The mix of myth, magic, and history was really interesting and engaging.
cristian_m's review against another edition
3.0
original mix of spy thriller and supernatural elements. Felt very realistic and the research shows.
the reason for the low rating is mostly the length. Would've been much better at half its word count
the reason for the low rating is mostly the length. Would've been much better at half its word count
jhouses's review against another edition
3.0
Una buena novela de espías con elementos sobrenaturales construida sobre los hechos reales de la vida de Kim Philby y que alcanza su climax alrededor de su fuga y definitiva deserción a la Unión Soviética.
Decepciona un poco el elemento sobrenatural basado en la iconografía judeocristiana y en los djinn de las narraciones árabes que carece de la potencia de un buen Primigenio pero logra su objetivo imitando las novelas de espías grises y reales de LeCarré.
No puedo dejar pasar la coincdencia de que dos novelas que leo a la vez coincidan en situar su trama en el monte Ararat y lo que pudiran ser los restos del Arca.
Como me suele pasar con las novelas de Powers, me encanta su planteamiento, culto, trabajado y profundamente meditado pero me dejan un poco frio en la realizacion, les falta algo de intensidad narrativa y emocional.
Decepciona un poco el elemento sobrenatural basado en la iconografía judeocristiana y en los djinn de las narraciones árabes que carece de la potencia de un buen Primigenio pero logra su objetivo imitando las novelas de espías grises y reales de LeCarré.
No puedo dejar pasar la coincdencia de que dos novelas que leo a la vez coincidan en situar su trama en el monte Ararat y lo que pudiran ser los restos del Arca.
Como me suele pasar con las novelas de Powers, me encanta su planteamiento, culto, trabajado y profundamente meditado pero me dejan un poco frio en la realizacion, les falta algo de intensidad narrativa y emocional.
ddmckenna's review against another edition
3.0
It was a fun story, but very... man-centric, I guess? Weirdly I never “felt” for the whole romantic interest portion of the story - it was there and obvious, but not compelling. Elena seemed an interesting character but always kind of distant and never very intimate. Mostly just an object for the protagonist to pursue.
I enjoyed the story and the magic, and the alternate history was a lot of fun - especially that he took pains to nest it into real historical events.
But I think the skipping around in time made some of it hard to get invested in, and it was confusing sometimes trying to think through what happened when. I had to pause and repeatedly run through the timeline in my head to think “wait, did x happen before y or after?” “Was z in the past or the current time?”
There was a LOT of detail that I didn’t think was necessary to the plot. Sometimes it dragged the story down.
I liked Hale’s familiarity with and affection for the Bedouins. That was probably the most “real” thing about the character Andrew Hale. Other than that I felt like he was kind of blindly following what he was told to do without even knowing who he was serving or understanding why he was doing what he was doing. I’m puzzled how he could be sure he was actually helping his country. After kind of getting the explanation for the “why” of all this I’m not sure *I* am convinced his work actually helped his country.
I enjoyed the story and the magic, and the alternate history was a lot of fun - especially that he took pains to nest it into real historical events.
But I think the skipping around in time made some of it hard to get invested in, and it was confusing sometimes trying to think through what happened when. I had to pause and repeatedly run through the timeline in my head to think “wait, did x happen before y or after?” “Was z in the past or the current time?”
There was a LOT of detail that I didn’t think was necessary to the plot. Sometimes it dragged the story down.
I liked Hale’s familiarity with and affection for the Bedouins. That was probably the most “real” thing about the character Andrew Hale. Other than that I felt like he was kind of blindly following what he was told to do without even knowing who he was serving or understanding why he was doing what he was doing. I’m puzzled how he could be sure he was actually helping his country. After kind of getting the explanation for the “why” of all this I’m not sure *I* am convinced his work actually helped his country.
redcatamount's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-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
4.25
kalldimma's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-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
3.0