Saturday 24 October 2009

Steve Berry Bah!

Having read and (broadly speaking) enjoyed Dan Brown, I thought I would give Steve Berry a go. The local library had three of his books, including his latest "The Alexandria Link", which I'd seen advertised on the back of buses, so they seemed to be the goer.

Oh dear. Dan Brown he ain't. He does have some puzzles and mysteries and connecting many ancient world object but he also tries to mix in action and doesn't manage to pull it off.

The first one I read was The Third Secret. It's about how one man goes on a journey to find out a secret, unraveling clues, until he comes across something that will shake the very foundations of Christianity. At the same time, there's a power play for an institution (the Papacy in this case) of a clearly bad man trying to get to the top.

The second one I read was The Templar Legacy. It's about how one man goes on a journey to find out a secret, unraveling clues, until he comes across something that will shake the very foundations of Christianity. At the same time, there's a power play for an institution (the Templars in this case) of a clearly bad man trying to get to the top.

See what I did there? Yep, they are basically the same book. The second one introduces his hero du author of Cotton Malone. However, there was a problem which started in the first book, and got worse in the second. I got bored. By the end of the first book I was scanning pages. By the second I was skimming them.

The third book was The Alexandria Link, which was about Cotton Malone finding out something that will shake the very foundations of Christianity. And there was also a power play. At least, I think so. I really wasn't paying too much attention as I flipped the pages. Never has a book been read so fast, and by 'read' I meant 'had the pages flipped while pretending to take it in'.

He looks to be a very popular author, with much acclaim and many books to his name, but can't say I'm waiting for his next blockbuster...

[END]

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