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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
I didn't care for the writing style. It kept feeling to me as though the author was hoping that his novel would be made into a movie, and he was formatting both the plot and the presentation for a screen play.
I say this based on (at least) 3 things:
1- I'm always wary when an author begins with the designer names of a character's clothing.
2- Jumping from one character to another within the chapter felt like the author didn't even have an attention span.
3- I would have liked the ending better if the Marcus and Travia hadn't reconnected after she told him no; the ending felt completely staged.
I say this based on (at least) 3 things:
1- I'm always wary when an author begins with the designer names of a character's clothing.
2- Jumping from one character to another within the chapter felt like the author didn't even have an attention span.
3- I would have liked the ending better if the Marcus and Travia hadn't reconnected after she told him no; the ending felt completely staged.
This book was very much in the Dan Brown vein, just pulled off as well. Really, probably closer to 3 stars based on quality of writing, depth of plot. I was a little disappointed that I was right about the majority of the twists. Slow starter because of multiple characters/scenarios introduced at the same time. The second half snowballed and was much faster paced. Solid archeological thriller.
Ok, it's official, I am so addicted to these archaeological thrillers! I love how the author takes real people in history and creates this story. It is exciting for me to read about a person, whether the whole story is real or not, and then google them online to see what part is real and what is a story. I like getting to know about people I have not heard of before and these type of books help me learn more history. I was addicted to this book and read large chunks of the book in one sitting because I could not put it down. There was a twist in the ending that I didn't see coming and that just made it better. One of the things I didn't really care for was the romance between the 2 main characters. It is probably a strategy to bring in more female readers who want the romance part but it is typical and boring to me. It wasn't too overbearing but I could definitely do without it and I think it would have made it different from other books. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book!
A couple of people recommended The Last Ember to me after I blogged about enjoying The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Both described the book as a "Jewish Dan Brown mystery." After having read it, my response to that recommendation is yes and no.
Yes
There's an ancient mystery that surfaces when a very well preserved body is found. Jonathan Marcus, an archeologist studying at the American Academy in Rome is called into help. The discovery gives clues that leads him and others on a race to find the Tabernacle Menorah.
So on the surface, The Last Ember shares a similar set up and plot structure. There's a lot of racing around famous spots in Italy. There are rival factions who want the same treasure for their own nefarious reasons. And there's a lot of tangential discussion of ancient facts.
No
Dan Brown's books are silly. Although they are just as predictable as The Last Ember ended up being, they are over the top and fun to read. I figured out the location of the treasure and the person who would end up being the most knowledgeable and important character of the ensemble when he first showed up. In the case of The Last Ember, it made reading the remainder of the book (about 2/3) tedious to read.
I don't read Dan Brown's books because they are serious mysteries. I read them because they're like Hardy Boys books for grown ups. They start with a real place, a real piece of art and then they throw in madcap adventures, ridiculous pseudo-science and all sorts of other malarkey. The Last Ember was presented much too seriously to be any fun even though the basic mystery was just as simplistic and cheesy as a typical Dan Brown book.
Yes
There's an ancient mystery that surfaces when a very well preserved body is found. Jonathan Marcus, an archeologist studying at the American Academy in Rome is called into help. The discovery gives clues that leads him and others on a race to find the Tabernacle Menorah.
So on the surface, The Last Ember shares a similar set up and plot structure. There's a lot of racing around famous spots in Italy. There are rival factions who want the same treasure for their own nefarious reasons. And there's a lot of tangential discussion of ancient facts.
No
Dan Brown's books are silly. Although they are just as predictable as The Last Ember ended up being, they are over the top and fun to read. I figured out the location of the treasure and the person who would end up being the most knowledgeable and important character of the ensemble when he first showed up. In the case of The Last Ember, it made reading the remainder of the book (about 2/3) tedious to read.
I don't read Dan Brown's books because they are serious mysteries. I read them because they're like Hardy Boys books for grown ups. They start with a real place, a real piece of art and then they throw in madcap adventures, ridiculous pseudo-science and all sorts of other malarkey. The Last Ember was presented much too seriously to be any fun even though the basic mystery was just as simplistic and cheesy as a typical Dan Brown book.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
My Review (tread lightly, spoilers abound):
I love “historical mystery thrillers,” despite the bad rap they get. They’re a little fluffy, and there’s some historical substance that sustains the History major in me (even if it just to do my own research and discover the various controversial interpretations). This book is very plot-driven, and there were a couple of twists that I saw coming. I was not familiar with the subject matter, and I think that kept me engaged in the novel.
Now, the downside: the book is really plot-driven, so…the characters kind of suffer. I didn’t find any of them particularly compelling, and I didn’t see any kind of growth. Our protagonist, Jonathan Marcus, suffers from the Grisham “twist”: the lawyer always does the right thing in the end. Some of the character developments are a little cliche, and I was disappointed by the overall lack of depth. However, it is an action-driven novel, so I’m a little willing to let that slide. I’d be interested to try another book by Levin, if only for the popcorn-y nature of the novel.
The Bottom Line:
Think National Treasure, but as a book.
Review: http://cheapblackpens.tumblr.com/post/18082577919/book-the-last-ember-author-daniel-levin-my
I love “historical mystery thrillers,” despite the bad rap they get. They’re a little fluffy, and there’s some historical substance that sustains the History major in me (even if it just to do my own research and discover the various controversial interpretations). This book is very plot-driven, and there were a couple of twists that I saw coming. I was not familiar with the subject matter, and I think that kept me engaged in the novel.
Now, the downside: the book is really plot-driven, so…the characters kind of suffer. I didn’t find any of them particularly compelling, and I didn’t see any kind of growth. Our protagonist, Jonathan Marcus, suffers from the Grisham “twist”: the lawyer always does the right thing in the end. Some of the character developments are a little cliche, and I was disappointed by the overall lack of depth. However, it is an action-driven novel, so I’m a little willing to let that slide. I’d be interested to try another book by Levin, if only for the popcorn-y nature of the novel.
The Bottom Line:
Think National Treasure, but as a book.
Review: http://cheapblackpens.tumblr.com/post/18082577919/book-the-last-ember-author-daniel-levin-my
It's an overwritten, non-thrilling thriller. It reminded me of a book I read once that was horrible in the summer, but much more interesting when I got back into school and was reading only textbooks. Maybe if I had less choice in what I was reading, it would be interesting.
Not bad...obviously heavily influenced by the Da Vinci Code. A few too many characters, and the usual implausibilities of a historical thriller like this. Only a couple of things annoyed me.
1. One of the characters, who was supposedly familiar with classical civilization (as in, studied Classics in graduate school), assumed that ancient Greek and Roman scientists thought the world was flat. No, they didn't. They thought the sun and planets obited the earth (and some of them even got it right, and believed in a heliocentric system), but they knew the earth was round. Geocentric and flat are not the same thing.
2. Another character, who had lived in Rome, and should have been very familar with the city and its history, didn't realize that there would be two American embassies in Rome, one to Italy and one to Vatican City.
There were a few other little instances like this, where someone didn't know something they should have, but not as bad. It was pretty predictable, but the characters were likable enough, if somewhat stereotypical. All in all, it's nice to see books where Classical scholars and historians get to be the heroes, and a story that calls attention the illegal excavations going on in the world today. If the author writes another, I might read it, depending on the story, since I think a lot of the problems were due to this being a debut novel.
1. One of the characters, who was supposedly familiar with classical civilization (as in, studied Classics in graduate school), assumed that ancient Greek and Roman scientists thought the world was flat. No, they didn't. They thought the sun and planets obited the earth (and some of them even got it right, and believed in a heliocentric system), but they knew the earth was round. Geocentric and flat are not the same thing.
2. Another character, who had lived in Rome, and should have been very familar with the city and its history, didn't realize that there would be two American embassies in Rome, one to Italy and one to Vatican City.
There were a few other little instances like this, where someone didn't know something they should have, but not as bad. It was pretty predictable, but the characters were likable enough, if somewhat stereotypical. All in all, it's nice to see books where Classical scholars and historians get to be the heroes, and a story that calls attention the illegal excavations going on in the world today. If the author writes another, I might read it, depending on the story, since I think a lot of the problems were due to this being a debut novel.