Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Inventive, Intriguing and Involving, 21 Feb 2008
Like many others, I didn't read the reviews before I bought the book; however, having read some of these, I feel I have to add my own two-penny-worth.
For me, this was a last minute purchase at the airport en route to Spain for my Half term break - and not one that I regret at all. In fact, I have to say, I really enjoyed the book, finding it to be a thriller with an intriguing literary setting that left me wanting more!
The novel opens with a mystery - a fire at the globe on the same day and date as the original fire there; a murder and a puzzle.
The prize at the end - if they succeed - an invaluable manuscript of one of Shakespeare's lost plays. Factually, it is known that these existed - they are documented and were performed long ago in the past, adn have been missing for centuries. Various suggestions have been made for this - some of which are mentioned in the novel; and the conclusion the author comes up with is very plausible. (Try googling it - you'll soon find out that this is NOT made up!)
As a lover of Shakespeare, I enjoyed the context of this novel. (personal;y I find it hard to think that anyone who doesn't appreciate the works of the bard would be interested by it - surely the title would put them off!) I, also, noticed the 'error' in the quote; but put it down to 'contemporisation' - after all, 'glitters' is far more easily comprehensible than 'glisters' - and only those of us who know the play will notice the 'error'! For the majority of people, it is the quote that they would expect - so why not use it?
For me, one of the really intriguing elements of the novel was the abundance of theories as to who Shakespeare actully was! Some of these, I had already encountered and considered; but the author's final suggestion was an eye opener to me - and a very plausible suggestion! I now intend to search the web further to see how widely considered this view is! If that aspect interests you, try Bill Bryson's amazing book on Shakespeare as well for a more factual study.
Enjoy it - I certainly did! However I have to agree with many reviewers in their plee to publishers to stop comapring any vaguely Historical thriller with the work of Dan Brown. You do your authors no favour with this - in fact, you put a great many people off!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
OVER-COMPLICATED AND COMPLETELY UNBELIEVABLE, 8 Jan 2009
I have to agree with Anastasia Beaverhausen. This book is a complete mishmash and is totally improbable.
For example, the "heroine" is asked to help an old colleague. For some reason, it is never explained why said colleague didn't do the job herself. Why does the colleague leave mysterious notes when she could have jotted everything down on an email? Why aren't the police trusted? Why is it so easy for people to get into what normally are high-security buildings?
It seems that the author spent too much time showing her knowledge of Shakespeare and history (OK, this was actually interesting), and not enough time thinking about the plot. If you bother reading it you will see that there are so many unexplained things (who was the taxi driver for example?), that it just doesn't add up.
You'll probably guess who the bad guy is within about 50 pages!
Unless you like spotting mistakes, don't waste your money!
BTW, I only persevered because I had a rather nasty bug and couldn't be bothered to walk to my bookshelf!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
To Learn About Shakespeare, 14 May 2008
Sometimes the wealth of Shakespeare law is a little overpowering. Though the trick Carrell uses of Kate Stanley knowing virtually all there is to know about the Bard and explaining it in layman's terms to Ben Pearl, the British security expert, is a good plot continuation. It also explains it all to us as we're running to keep up with the characters when they jump from country to country and back again, trying to keep one step ahead of a serial killer, the FBI and the British Police.
Unfortunately for me though, the characters are not fleshed out enough, their histories, feelings etc., I wish there had been more background on them to compensate for the in-depth information on Shakespeare. Because of this the book felt a little uneven, though it is still a good read. I would describe it as an exciting whodunit with a Shakespeare lecture thrown in.
I learned a lot about Shakespeare that I wasn't aware of and a little about the old west and how popular Shakespeare was in the mining camps and western towns; definitely something that I'd like to find out more about.
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