Customer Reviews

The Book of Spies

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are a lot of smart, educated people in this story. Unfortunately, almost all of the movement in the story seems to happen because of those smart people doing unbelievably dumb things.

Sadly, this seems to be the state of thriller writing today. Create a lot of cliff hanging and make sure the action never stops and it must be a great read, right? Well, no. Not when you constantly find yourself shaking your head and saying "no way that would happen." It's kind of sad, really, because the concept of the book isn't bad, but the execution definitely is (bad, that is).

Over and over again in the story there are "why would they do that?" incidents and "not a chance that would work" moments. Most of the time the heroes seem incapable of thinking of anything, and then--when they need a miracle--they seem positively clairvoyant. It's a weird combination.

I'll grant that the book isn't boring. I almost stopped on it three or four times because of the number of ridiculous elements, but I wasn't ever bored. It's just not very good. There are better ways to spend your time.

The Book of Spies is Gayle Lynds' spy/thriller novel, and it is an enjoyable read. The story is based on the Library of Gold which was Ivan the Terrible's collection of original works dating back throughout history which disappeared after his death. The Book of Spies is one of the manuscripts, and it has turned up in Lynds' novel that bears its name. The two central characters of the story are Eva Blake (a library/museum curator specializing in ancient manuscripts) and Judd Blake (a former military intelligence officer). The CIA is interested in The Book of Spies as there is thought to be a link to funding of terrorists, and they need the expertise of someone such as Eva to help them find the connection. They also bring in Blake to help as he has personal reasons to pursue the Library of Gold. The story that unfolds takes readers from North American to Europe and various parts of Asia. The story of the Library of Gold is one that conspiracy theory lovers will enjoy greatly. Using short chapters averaging about 5 pages each Lynds paces the story at a quick pace while walking the fine line between giving too much information and frustrating the reader. At times the plot twists were predictable, but overall I found the story compelling. The thing that I found with this novel that I haven't in a lot of others was that I felt strongly about the good guys and the bad guys. While the characters are not overly developed (but this isn't a character study), there weren't many that I was lukewarm about. Even though there are ties to terrorists, the primary focus of the story is the Library of Gold. The two things that keep this from being outstanding to me are the beginning and the end. The first three chapters covered three years in fifteen pages. The remainder of the main story takes place over a matter of weeks. It would have been nice to smooth this out a little bit as the first chapters form an impression in the reader's mind what to expect. I also thought the end of the story was a little anti-climactic and played out "by the book". All in all, though, The Book of Spies is a very enjoyable read. If you like espionage and conspiracy thrillers, give this a try.

Overall: B

This is my kind of book, an exciting thriller. Constant action, gun fights, evil genius, secret passageways, twists and turns, corrupt officials, innocent civilians, international travel, spies and a bit of romance. A few things felt unfinished and confusing, but the book as a whole was good and fast to read. I would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could; it was a hard choice between 3 and 4.

Slight Dan Brown, Robert Ludlum, type writing. Spies galore and a bit of 24, no one trusts anyone else. If you like action packed thrillers, this is the book for you.

I had the misfortune of trying to endure this writer by audiobook. Audiobooks are particularly unforgiving- if you write a like a teenager, it becomes apparent quickly. The unbelievable 2 dimensional characters, the long winded efforts to impress the reader with technical jargon (Really? You think a character is thinking of the Kung Fu term for a solar plexus punch while she's doing it?) or with ridiculous use of arcane languages (c'mon, who in the middle of normal conversation whips out Latin phrases 'just for fun'?). Utterly ridiculous, written below the level of a Twilight readership, I couldn't stomach past page 50.

Gayle Lynds can write a good thriller but this is not one of them. The characters are so wooden I have splinters in my eyes. This should really be 2.5 Stars. What Library of Gold? Ivan the Terrible's. Secretly buried under the Kremlin and no one can find it? Gggeeezz. She sure slings alot of hash in this story--reminds be of a very bad version of a Steve Barry novel. At least Steve uses real history...mostly. The set-up is looking all over for The Library of Gold, you know Ivan The Terribles book collection of ancient golden and be-jeweled illuminated books and we have the CIA and the evil Book Club grappling for power of this imaginary book collection. The guys in the Book Club are so wicked and evil and rich that I couldn't stop laughing at how hokey they are. I really expected a better read from this after reading all these 5 star reviews? There are so many "facts" which are not researched at all. Like Mahmud and Ghazni and Mahmud's diamond mines in Khost, Afghanistan. Mahmud got his diamonds conquering parts of India--not mines in Khost. Gggeeezzz and these are supposed to be $100 Trillon Dollar diamond mines? And the Book Club guys are supposed to be financially intelligent? I like ficton but this is pure fantasy. No thrills here and very predictible with a rushed ending.

There are so many holes in this story, but the biggest hole is The Library of Gold itself which consists of books which are gold and jewel encrusted and very rare and some dating back to the Ancient Library of Alexandria. Priceless. Books that survived he destruction of Alexandria's Library??? Supposedly Ivan's Library of Gold (800 books) has some of the works of Homer and Aristophanes and Archemides etc etc etc from Alexandria and Homer's bookcover is covered in a dazzling gold as are most of the books. This is all wrong. They wrote on papyrus, animal skins or parchment scrolls--not books like we have today. The concept of books like we know today, called a codex (pages with covers) did not come about until 300AD +/-, let alone gold and jewel encrusted covers or illuminated manuscripts. Scrolls didn't have covers. The book codex, pages, cover, format began in 300AD as papyrus became unavailable for scrolls. So the books Gayle describes are just IMPOSSIBLE. Ivan's Library should have been papyrus, parchment or animal skin scrolls...not books. No gold. No jewels. No Illuminated Manuscripts.

Next. Myth: The myth says that Ivan had all of the Library of Gold translated by Monks into Russian working beneath the Kremlin. So after all these centuries there should have been some of these books found written in Russian somewhere. Fact: Absolutely not one single book in Russian has ever been found.

Of course I just can't believe she has characters who are being pursued using their personal cell phones and not throwaways. Duh. Talk about stupid spies?

Eva and Judd are the two main characters and they are solid wood and poorly developed and they run from one mini-mayhem to the next quickly. It gets tedious. Almost monotonous...predictable. I never felt very involved with this story. No sitting on the edge of my seat...no suspense.

Here is a piece of sappy narrative LOL, "She remembered how he had pulled her to him after she had almost pitched off the yacht, how he had wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, how he had kissed her hair...the wonderful sound of his pounding heart. His musky, wet smell." This is almost Harlequin quality.

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS! DON'T READ. The Carnivore makes another appearance at the end and he is there because he is pissed that Chapmann has put out a hit on him with contract killers. The Carnivore is a killer with principles and a man of his word and he is at the island to kill Chapmann for trying fo have him killed. But, after drugging the book club for some strange reason he doesn't kill Chapmann? The story ends with the military suddenly invading the island and killing scads of the bad guys was clumsy. They must have killed 30 of them and our heroes killing another dozen. You get to the end and we have the evil Chapmann and the book clubbers who have arranged for all the murder and mayhem they don't even get a day in jail because their lawyers get them off the hook? C'mon Chapmann deserved killing, not a free pass.

All in all it is an Ok read for the thriller genre but nothing special. I'm sure she follows some thriller formula which might please some readers but it didn't work for me and I wish it did. It does take a skilled writer to have so many story holes and yet still sell a million copies.

I wasted my time reading this. Read at your own peril. Ludlum was the master of this genre, re-read one of his.

Personally I am very pleased, I very much enjoyed the book. It is my first Gayle Lynds, It will not be my last. I read to enjoy and forget everything else. It did both very well..

Gayle Lynds was an author unfamiliar to me, but I was intrigued by the subject and description of this novel. To be honest, had I not ordered this book sight unseen, I'm not sure I would have opened it in a book store. Regardless, as I began the read, I soon realized that I needed to disperse notions which were 100% believable and let my imagination go as it did with Indiana Jones. Many historical references were made as the "hunters" traveled the globe and as a reader of fiction, I chose to accept and not question the facts. I read this book as an escape and not an education, so it was a really good experience for me. I didn't need to obtain visas or even have my passport stamped while I moved from place to place with the overly defined characters, in and out of danger. Although bogged down at times, I found The Book of Spies to be worth the time I invested and I'd recommend it to readers who enjoy non-formulaic thrillers which move at a quick pace. This is not a book that will remain in my memory for years to come, but it was one which allowed me to become immersed for the few days it took me to complete the novel.

It would be incorrect to say that Gayle Lynds is back. While it has been some time since THE LAST SPYMASTER first graced bookshelves, Lynds has been working with the International Thriller Writers Organization (which she conceptualized), participating on panels at writers' workshops to show potential authors how the job is properly done, and writing. Always writing. The result is THE BOOK OF SPIES, a combination of history, spy craft and grand concept that takes readers by the hand for a literary romp that is instructional, hair-raising, and most of all, entertaining.

The Book of Spies is but one volume contained in the legendary Library of Gold, a priceless collection of books compiled by Ivan the Terrible and lost for hundreds of years. In fact, a small and secretive group known as the Book Club controls the Library, which also appears to be linked to an international bank account with ties to Islamic terrorism. When The Book of Spies is stolen from the Library, the group attempts to retrieve it. Meanwhile, a shadowy CIA counterintelligence unit known as Catapult is drawn into the chase due to the Club's jihadist connection. The two people charged with tracking the volume --- in the hope that it will lead them to the Book Club --- are drawn together by tragedy.

Eva Blake is a world-renowned expert on the subject of ancient documents whose career is abruptly cut short when she is sentenced to prison for involuntary manslaughter in the death of her husband, who is also highly regarded in the field. Judd Ryder is the son of a pharmaceutical CEO who may or may not have been involved with the Book Club and who was assassinated just as he was about to reveal the secrets of the Library of Gold and its jihadist ties to Tucker Andersen, his lifelong friend who is also second-in-command at Catapult. Ryder, an expert in military counterintelligence, joins Blake, who is released from prison at the request of Catapult, to follow the minions of the Book Club as they pursue The Book of Spies, hoping the trail will lead back to the Library and the terrorist plot that appears to be coming to fruition. The trail leads from New York to Rome, then from Istanbul to Athens and beyond.

The goal would be worth pursuing in and of itself, but it's the journey that's the star of THE BOOK OF SPIES. Lynds begins dropping historical nuggets within the first few paragraphs and does not stop until literally the final paragraph, saving one of the best for last. This is not, however, a book that relies solely on historical events to propel current ones. Lynds also begins dropping bombshells on the reader within the first fifth or so of the novel and keeps them coming, even as she makes a complex plot simple and compelling to follow. By the time one reaches the end, one feels both exhausted by the adrenalin drain and satiated in a way that only the best thrillers can provide.

The wait for THE BOOK OF SPIES was a long one but worth every minute. Fans of history, thrillers, and most of all, Lynds will hail this one a classic. Strongly recommended.

Fascinating plot, characters with a mysterious past, plenty of action and suspense to keep one up late into the night, these elements rightly frame this multi-dimensional thriller from seasoned author, Gayle Lynds. True to her style, Book of Spies is well-researched and fun to read and I relished it as I have many of her other novels (Masquerade, Mosaic and The Last Spymaster). Don't miss this smartly written book!

The Book of Spies is a great read. And I was impressed with the author's research on the Library of Gold and many other classical references. If you're a lover of books and like a fast paced ride into the world of espionage you'll love this novel.