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Title: Ex Libris by Ross King ISBN: 0142000809 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 28 May, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.22
Rating: 3
Summary: Liked it rather than loved it!
Comment: I am very much a fan of this kind of historical/literary thriller, so I had high expectations for the book when I spotted it on a bookstore shelf. Without going over the parallel plotlines in depth, it concerns a book finder named Isaac Inchbold and another story of the book he is trying to find. The wealth of details might have put me off, but I had jury duty when I started (and finished) the book, so I had plenty of "quiet time" to go back and forth in the book. If you don't like going back to find details, this book may not be for you.
Ultimately, the stories do converge, and the ending does make sense, but it is deriative of many other similar tales. The final impact of the book is negligible, but still, if you are looking for a pleasurable historical mystery, this book will suffice.
There are three much superior books in this genre that I would, however, recommend first: The Name of the Rose by Eco; An Instance of the Fingerpost by Pears; and Club Dumas by Perez-Reverte. All are both wonderful novels, but Club Dumas is probably the most accessible.
Rating: 3
Summary: Ex-Libris
Comment: I stumbled upon this book and decided to try it out for a diversion. I found it stylistically to be rather roundabout and convoluted although i eventually came to enjoy his sentence structure. I did not enjoy the parallel stories although structurally they came together nicely at the end. I'm not one to balk at esoterica or historical overload, but i sometimes found the large amout of facts to be a bit much--although the majority of them were both interesting and relevant, i think some of it could have been condensed. Plotting was somewhat predicatable and the secret to the mystery was sadly disappointing. The shades of Eco's works throughout made the entire story a bit anticlimactic. I found it to be a quick enjoyable read, but not the something i would add to my personal library.
Rating: 3
Summary: In need to great revision
Comment: A fine tale too long told. Unfortunate that the editors at Penguin Books did not require King to reduce the text by another 40-60%. I have no doubt that King has a tremendous grasp of the politics of the 17th century, but he need not try to squeeze everything he knows into one novel. His characterizations are poor except for two major characters. He cites the greed and manipulations of political and eclesiacticl princes, but offers no personality traits; just his comdemdation. I struggled to finish the work. King could offer a revised and greatly reduced volume without losing anything except words.
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Title: Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King ISBN: 0802713955 Publisher: Walker & Co Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $28.00 |
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Title: Domino by Ross King ISBN: 0802733786 Publisher: Walker & Co Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture by Ross King ISBN: 0142000159 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 30 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Grand Complication: A Novel by Allen Kurzweil ISBN: 0786885181 Publisher: Theia Pub. Date: August, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Dante Club: A Novel by Matthew Pearl ISBN: 0375505296 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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