Customer Reviews

The Amber Room

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I'm a bit puzzled at all of the negative reviews of this book. It kept my interest and it's entertaining for what it is. The Nazi round up of art is an interesting topic, and I'm glad to see it touched upon in fiction. I'd never heard of the amber room, and I learned enough to make me search out more information. Granted, the writing is not exactly Dickens, but when I want to read Great Literature, I read the Greats.

People have a tendency to want to group novels rather than to take each story on its own merits. I've seen this book compared to "The DaVinci Code". I recognize the comparison, since its a mystery/thriller set in the art world, but that's where the similarities end. If you liked "The DaVinci Code," you might like this book, but if you're someone who has the need to compare everything and rank preferences, I can't say which is "better".

If I were required to complain about something, it might be that the bad guys (as in many stories) are more interesting than the good guys. I really didn't care too much about what happened to the protagonists, but I did find myself intrigued by the cat and mouse game played by the acquisitors. The concept of a group of Europeans sending operatives all over the world to obtain treasures that have already been stolen is intriguing. I'd like to see it explored further. Maybe in a future Berry book.

Steve Berry weaves a fictional thriller around the true saga of the famous Russian Amber Room, and provides a real treat for his readers.

Originally in the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, the Amber Room was a true wonder. The wall panels were made of amber, pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. During World War II, German soldiers made off with the panels and the decorative items inside (also made of amber). They have never been discovered, and their disappearance remains one of the great mysteries of the war.

Rachael Cutler is a judge in Atlanta, Georgia and her father, Karol Borya, was originally part of a Soviet group trying to find the Amber Room and other antiquities stolen by the Nazi's during the war. When her father dies under suspicious circumstances, he leaves her clues about the location of the Amber Room. Unfortunately, two unsavory characters are also involved in the search. Suzanne Danzer and Christian Knoll are "Acquisitors" who work for entrepreneurs who belong to a group called Retrievers of Lost Antiquities. The nine men who make up this group accumulate stolen treasures (with the help of their Acquisitors) for their private collections. Rachael and her ex-husband, Paul, take off for Germany to follow leads left by Borya. Unfortunately, Knoll and Danzer are following close behind, leaving many dead bodies in their wake. How this story plays out will have you quickly turning pages.

I like stories with Russian themes and also, books that weave true events into the story. Berry gives the reader both in The Amber Room. The history of the Amber Room is a fascinating one, as is the story of amber itself. Berry also gives us some history on the plundering of art by the Nazi's throughout Europe. With any thriller, you have to expect some liberties with the true story, as well as some incredulity. Berry gives us some of both, although I'm not sure I like the revisionist history at the end. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed The Amber Room and thought it was even better than The Romanov Prophecy.

Like many, I was (and remain) intrigued by the mystery of the Amber Room, but even that premise could not get me through this tedious, poorly-written "thriller." My disappointment has nothing to do with comparisons with the DaVinci Code. This book stinks entirely on its own merits.

First, and foremost, let's start with the characters. Either Steve Berry has never met a woman, or he's never met a woman he liked. In his book, they're all ball-breaking bitches. The only difference between the "heroine" and the villianess is which side of the law they happen to be on. Also, the heroine acts in ways which are unbelieveably stupid. For example, she suspects foul play in the death of her father and believes the Amber Room has something to do with it. In the next minute, she tells a total stranger everything he could ever want to know about the Amber Room, and worse yet, goes off with this total stranger in the middle of Europe to an abandoned mine in the mountains without telling anyone her whereabouts? And this woman is a Judge?!?! Ooookay. The husband does almost the same thing, showing every single letter related to the Amber Room to some random woman he's known for about 5 minutes. I hope this lawyer never practices anywhere near me!

And the villians? The villians are a shade or two slightly more interesting than the main protagonists, but their actions are too stupid to be believed. They want to find the Amber Room, right? They find the only two living people in the world who might know its whereabouts and what do they do almost immediately? That's right, kill them! Of course! That makes perfect sense. Or, you know, they might've maybe held them and tortured them for information. Just a little suggestion.

The plot is what it is, but even Green Eggs and Ham had more twists than this one did. And to add insult to injury, the writing style was just so unimaginative, dry, and choppy, with paragraph after paragraph of tedious descriptions of surroundings.

If it's been awhile since you've seen the back of your brain, give the Amber Room a read, because surely you will be rolling your eyes very far back into your head every other page or so.

There is much positive to be said of this work, and, as several reviewer's have pointed out, a few negatives also. This, for me was not one of those books I picked up expecting to be dazzled by the author's brilliant literary tallents. If I want to be bored out of my mind I will pick up some of James Joyce's work. I chose this one because I felt it would be a fun read, and it was. From a historical point, the author obviously did his home work. This was impressive. Yes, I agree with another reviewer's assessment that the author certainly has a problem with women and yet another, in that the few sex scenes were pretty poorly done and more than just a bit gratuitous, floating somewhere between silly and gross. On the other hand, this was a first novel, and I am sure his publisher wanted to get as much bang for the buck as they could...ergo, "lets throw in some sex."

The book did offer entertainment, held my interest, and I certainly did not regrete reading it. It was a good first try. I must admit to being a bit shocked at the apparent absolute venom injected into some of the reviews of this book. Hey, even at worse it was not all that bad. Perhaps it was because the author is a lawyer...hmmmm...just a thought. Anyway, I do recommend it as a pleasant way to drift through a weekend. Overall recommend. Just a note: Perhaps in future novels, the author could perhaps make at least one or two of his characters a bit more likeable. In this work, you really did not care if any or all of them made it alive through to the end, with the possible exception of the old man's cat.

After reading some of the amazon reviews of this book I almost didn't read it; I'm glad I followed my intuition and not some of the reviews found here.

Before reading this novel I had heard of the Amber Room, but only in passing. I now know much more because this book piqued my interested so a little research was in order. Contrary to some reviews, this book makes complete sense (even the murders that some found confusing), it doesn't telegraph coming events and is tightly woven for a first novel.

I throughly enjoyed it and can recommended it without hesitation. I can't understand those who found it sexy - though there is some discreet sex but it is far from erotic; those who found it overly violent - much less so than the DiVinci Code or the Scarpetta books to name a few; boring - did they really read the book; or poorly written - not every book can win a Pulitzer though this one is much better than some that receive accolades in these reviews. (To the reader who referenced Dickens, get real, he wrote the original pulp fiction. And talk about boring!)

This is a good mystery. I hope that you give it a chance. Me? I'm on my way to get another Steve Berry novel.

My family is East Prussian, and most folks on this side of the Atlantic have never heard of the Amber Room, so I was intrigued by the title. The first few chapters promise a good plot and implied sub-plots. Then, the book waivers. To enjoy a book, you need to know the characters and care about them. The principal characters are described in caricature. At one point, the principals disappear while the sub-plot takes over, and after several chapters they resurfaced. Truthfully, the principal characters were so annoying and predictable, I did not miss them from the story. Its not a great novel, but its not a bad read for a long Sunday afternoon and one wants a novel that is not going to tax the mind.

I bought this book in error. I thought it was another book I had seen months before (also titled The Amber Room). I noted my error within a few pages of opening the book but thought, "What the heck. It still looks good or I wouldn't have bought it."

As someone who loves reading (lives for it!) I had to stop reading this book, perhaps before it ever really got started. (I stopped even before the page numbers reached three digits.) It wasn't so much the writing (or was it?) as the lack of solid editing that annoyed me. If I can read a book just for pleasure and notice flaws in the little things without even trying, the publisher should be ashamed. The final straw for me was when one of the characters had an age that kept fluctuating (if you can't keep the age of your character right througout the first couple of chapters, *don't* mention it at all!)

The little flaws began to eat at me and I lost interest in continuing. Eventually I just gave up and decided to return it to the store (something I have never, ever done). It is so rare when I even stop reading a book without finishing it, but to return it is unheard of. (The only other book I can think of that I just couldn't keep grinding through was The Fig Eater - very long, very slow, with no end in sight even half way through the book.) It is against my nature to be defeated by a book, but this one did it.

There are other books out there I would rather spend my time enjoying. Sadly, I may think twice before buying one from Ballantine again.

I probably shouldn't even be writing a review because after reading part one I literally skimmed through the rest of the novel. Why do mystery/thriller writers do this-especially men-write these seemingly superhuman bitch female characters lacking a degree of humanness. And the male character is always kind, compassionate and for some unimaginative reason totally devoted/fascinated/in love/whatever and puts up, which if the shoe were on the other foot,would be charged with emotional abuse. Not only are they suppose to be in their forties but well educated legal eagles.

There is a basic thriller story which could have been so much more. Rachel irritated me so much I really didn't care what happened to her -with her treatment of just about everyone around her, dumping her two children on her dependable,good hearted ex,to go after an adventure defying her father's very last wish that she not and abandoning a political campaign to boot. Of course her ex husband, Dudley Do Right follows to save the day and in the final cell we are to assume they go off into the sunset to live happily ever after. Real fantasy-in real life-after a short honeymoon period-I am sure Rachel would once again become bored witht the ex-start the verbal battery again and they would be separated once again -although I am sure she would keep the happy family portraits decorating the house.

I almost bought Berry's lastest since the new subject,the Templars,is an interest of mine but I told myself I should read the one I had sitting around. I guess I saved myself $25.

The "Amber Room" of the Tsars is famous all over the world, but its story is not really known to many. This well-written book gives a concise history of the room, anf then goes into a taut drama of the search by several people for this "lost" treasure. There's action aplenty, of the page-turning variety, and the characters are very well-written and defined. Once you begin this book, you get immediately pulled into the plot, and spend many extra hours reading it, when you should probably be sleeping. You just can't help wondering what's going to happen on the next page, so you just keep going. Isn't that the best that can be said of a thriller?

If this doesn't make the NYT best sellers listing, I'll eat my hat. If Steve Berry's first book is any indication, he'll rise to stellar heights in the industry. If you haven't bought your "First Edition" yet, get it before it's too late. Those who bought J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book know what I mean. The book is informative, believable, and well-researched. Apart from the fascinating history lessons, I found the protagonists to be characters that will grow on you. I can't wait for the next book.