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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Devil in the details, 4 Aug 2006
I'm writing this review in response to the one above it, although erudite it might put some people off that would take great pleasure from this novel.
I must confess that I only looked into reading this after seeing the film that's based on it, The Ninth Gate, which captures the atmosphere created in the novel brilliantly, that of a fevered, devoted set of uber-collectors of demonic texts - and the lengths that they will go to obtain others.
In my opinion if you are a lover of books, have a smattering of knowledge of the occult and can suspend your disbelief for a couple of hours then this is one of the most rewarding literary experiences that I've had recently. Like the reviewer sharing the page with me, I too am a bibliophile.
For best results, I recommend reading this whilst listening to the film soundtrack by the immensely talented Wojciech Kilar, or indeed anything by him.
My only complaint is that there is a dearth of similar material of sufficient quality to go on to once you have finished.....
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thinking man's mystery noir combined with Sherlockian elan, 31 Oct 1997
By A Customer
This book is a true book lover's treat. An intelligent mystery noir set in both the drawing rooms of rich Spanish book collectors, and in their back alleys where some deals need to be consummated. Enter Corso, a reluctant Indiana Jones of the literary set, and erudite mercenary of the written word. Corso is hired to verify the bona fides of a text attributed to Dumas, and becomes involved with the search for a Satanic manuscript. The manuscripts themselves are mysteries, as is the beautiful young girl who acts as his guardian (angel?)... well, at any rate, guardian. Then there's the buxom blonde and the dark stranger with the dueling scar, and the three musketeers, the friend who may or may not betray him, and all the dead book collectors, and; anyway, you get the picture. As I said, this is an intelligently written book and is not written for mystery fans per se; it was written to raise the genre to the level of literature, and here it succeeds on many levels. One of my favorite parts is a rewrite of Moby Dick that begins "Call me Queequeeg" and refutes Ishmael's flowery view of whaling. This is a great book, but one I could only recommend to those with a love of literature as well as mystery.
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3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as I had hoped., 23 July 2007
I purchased this book after having seen it compared with The Name of the Rose - a novel I had thoroughly enjoyed.
It is set in the world of book collecting and dealing. The protagonist is Lucas Corso (a somewhat stereotypical 'shady' dealer) who is entrusted with the task of discovering whether part of a manuscript by Dumas and a copy of the exceedingly rare book "The Book of the Nine Doors" (supposedly containing the secret knowledge required to summon Lucifer himself) are authentic.
In so doing, Corso becomes embroiled in a sinister plot involving murders, the occult, fallen angels and is harried by characters bearing a strong resemblance to those in Dumas' "The Three Musketeers"
As I stated before, I bought this book because of its supposed resemblance to other "literary thrillers" such as "The Name of the Rose". The comparisons are fair enough and the reader will certainly get his fix of obscure bibliographic material (both real and fictional). However, it lacks the wit and humour of the former, and pales in comparison in its "thriller" aspect.
The plot is engaging and manages to hold one's interest throughout, however, towards the end it becomes overly ludicrous and the denouement is anticlimactic.
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