Customer Reviews

The Charlemagne Pursuit

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I love a good thriller, and there just aren't enough of them around. So I was thrilled to discover Steve Berry's early novels. I enjoyed the first one or two of his Cotton Malone books as well. But as he has moved from one book to the next, the body count seems to rise, the characterizations have become more stilted, the action choppier, and the plots have tumbled into territory that become laugh-out-loud implausible. (Sure, Berry provides detailed author's notes showing exactly how he develops his plots, and the historical clues that he relies on, but the real test isn't whether he can make a case for it in the author's note, but whether it feels 'natural' to someone reading.)

I would probably have given this book a 3.5 star rating if the system allowed it. But the core plot device -- the quest in Antarctica for a mysterious superior civilization that preceeded the Mayans, the ancient Egyptians, et. al., that had a connection with Charlemagne, and that evil forces (in the person of a manipulative U.S. Admiral, Langord Ramsey) want to keep secret for their own reasons -- is just too strained for four stars.

Nor is the writing good enough to carry the book over the four-star rating threshold. It's choppy, a la James Patterson, with 94 chapters in only 500 pages, a lot of one-sentence paragraphs, and 8-word long sentences. The perspective keeps jumping back and forth between antiquarian book dealer Cotton Malone and his former intelligence boss, Stephanie Nelle. Each time a gun fires in one location, the action immediately jumps back to the other protagonist. These are all tools that all suspense writers employ, but again, they work best when the reader doesn't realize that they are being used at all. The only times where the reader can really settle into the action are those during which Berry's protagonists settle down to some serious exposition. "Early Sumerian texts... talk repeatedly of tall, god-like people who lived among them," says one professor (the target of an assassin hired by the evil admiral).

Sometimes, less is more in a good thriller. Cramming Charlemagne, the Nazis, a vanished experimental submarine, a quest for a mysterious lost civilization, a competition between two twin sisters for the truth behind their father's death (he and hero Cotton Malone's father died in the same submarine accident) and the homicidal admiral in a single book left me limp with exhaustion. I was so distracted that I kept having to page back to remind myself of some fact or plot twist. I even lost track of the body count (which is pretty substantial.)

Berry, early in his writing, focused on more plausible but still exotic quests: for the Amber Room, for the great library of Alexandria, the secrets of the Templars. In his last outing, the quest was for a magical spring that could cure HIV/AIDs, and the evil character was a female dictator of a central Asian nation. Don't ask me to swallow too many implausible plot/character twists in a single book...

All this said... I have still given the book three stars because Berry has a knack for what makes a good thriller. When Malone finally heads off to Antarctica, you can't close the book up. You want to know how all the pieces link together. And it's a good enough yarn to keep you occupied on a long plane ride, or when there's nothing you want to watch on television. So it fills a certain niche -- the kind of book you can pick up, read and then forget about. But only a Steve Berry devotee should be ready to pay the full cover price.

A final note about the final pages (I don't view it as a spoiler because it has nothing to do with the main plot); to my mind, it's kind of tacky to start the next book (which will probably not come out for another year) in the closing pages of the current one by having your hero creep out, Beretta in hand, to investigate a possible intruder. Since when did the TV cliffhanger phenomenon show up in books??

Steve Berry has the formula for interesting books.

1- His main character, Cotton Malone, is complex and interesting with the plausible background of having once worked for the government but has decided to retire to the life of a bookseller in Europe (good so far);

2- Malone has as a reoccurring circle of friends who seem to have endless connections and unimaginable wealth, all of which he seems to have access to at his beck and call (well, it is fiction);

3- Berry's books are historically-based and often revealing, giving credence to his stories and making the storyline more interesting (it's amazing what you can discover from his books);

4- He makes his stories even more interesting by situating them in fascinating, actual surroundings with great detail and explanation (at least most of the time);

So what the problem?

Although I look forward to reading each of his books based upon the features above, I know I'm going to be disappointed at the end. Berry seems to take one step too many. His leaps from the realm of possibility into the circle of absurdity...not much, but just enough to deflate me.

His character, his supporting cast, his locations, even the situations and premises are all outstanding, but he takes a well-created human character with human skills and human frailties and moves the plot into

abnormal, absurd situations. I, for one, would be far more interested in having Mather seek a long-lost copy of Shakespeare's plays (a plausable notion) rather than a long-lost civilization (okay, if we must).

Steve Berry's books are always fun, enjoyable reads, if for nothing more than the interesting, historical facts that surrounds the situation. But the final chapters are flawed. Are the endings satisfactory? Well, kinda. They would be far more interesting to me if they were far less grand.

The shelves are full of wonderful, interesting characters... Cotton Malone is certainly one. For my sake, I would like Berry to keep him human, and away from far-reaching premises.

This was my first novel by Steve Berry, and I was impressed with it as a stand-alone book. There were occasional references to events and characters of the past, but only when it was relevant to the story. You do not need to read the previous books in the series to follow what's going on, though I'm sure they would give you extra insight into some of the characters.

The story itself was excellent. I love history and historical fiction, and all of the "history" that is unearthed by the characters was plausible. The action and dialogue were well written and paced... something I was not expecting after having read Dan Brown and (mistakenly) presuming that this novel would also require some serious eye-rolling. I connected with most of the characters, and spent most of the time wondering who were the good guys and who were the bad guys.

Not only was I very pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing in this book, but it was also quite an action-packed page turner. I had a hard time putting it down! I am, however, knocking off a star for some slight character incongruities I noticed. So it's not a perfect literary masterpiece, but it is far and above the typical "historical thriller" genre and a very fun read.

Of all the successful contemporary purveyors of this genre: "thriller/historical/'mystical'/with Nazis etc.", Steve Berry has to be the very worst writer. His prose style is workmanlike at best, but more often crude, graceless and mundane, unimaginative and on occasion breathtakingly banal. Even the dreadful but addictive Clive Cussler seems a polished technician of English compared to Berry.

Yet I've read all his books, and look forward to the next one, knowing full well that it will be no better. Because if you are a sucker for these absurd potboilers, as I am, Berry delivers the goods. The Charlemagne Pursuit (awful title) is stuffed with the intrigue, conspiracy, treachery in high places, extreme violence, twisted characters and New Age historical hokum that characterize the genre, and for the most part Berry keeps things moving along vigorously enough. However, he never really connects the two parallel and interrelated plots in a satisfying way that advances the action...and the last 50 pages feel rushed and incomplete as he ties up loose ends. The telegraphically short chapters can be irritating. Characterizations are shallow across the board, and motivations often either murky or blatantly obvious. A major flaw in this book: the lead villain turns out merely to be a paper tiger, disposed of almost as an afterthought.

James Rollins remains the gold standard for this kind of novel. But most fans of the genre will enjoy this book despite its shortcomings.

Picked this one up and couldn't put it down. Other than a few Navy related gaffs (rank and insignia) his description of Antarctica was on point. Brought closure to Malone and his mother. Descriptions of Antarctica brought back memories of living on the ice. Wondering what comes next; cryptic ending leading to Berry's next book. Definitely would recommend.

I've read his other books, most of which probably rate a 4 stars or better. This one had characters and plots wandering in different directions after little or no introduction. Yes, they do follow on in some cases from other books, but I didn't read those books yesterday or even last week. Others have stated most of my ho-hums so will it suffice to say: Mr Berry, you have the talent to do better - please, we need good books, not books with lots of filler ????

Steve Berry has a truly marvelous imagination. I really enjoyed The Third Secret, The Amber Room and the Templar Legacy. The premise of each of these books was based on just enough fact to be plausible, and each contained a nice mix of really smart characters, both good and evil. It seemed to me that his more recent books have been a tad forced and I've had difficulty in persevering to the last page.

Charlemagne was the worst, and I doubt I'll be reading any more of them. It seems lately when writers run out of ideas they head on down to Antarctica, though sometimes with more success (Blood and Ice being an example). The cardboard characters were uninteresting and colorless, the contrived and exhausting plot that smacked faintly of Clive Cussler was dull and I didn't much care what happened to either. Despite glimpses of what made Mr. Berry's earlier books so good (the description of the excavation of Charlemagne's tomb by Otto was riveting), this whole effort was pretty hackneyed. I thought the last page when Cotton Malone is roused by an intruder in the night was especially cheesy and will happily go through life ignorant as to the intruder's significance.

I enjoyed Mr. Berry's earler books, and think he is a gifted writer, so will keep an eye on reviews of new ones. Undoubtedly there will be more, but unless Mr. Berry writes up to the potential of those earlier books, I've read my last one. There are too many good books in the world to waste valuable reading time.

I think that this book may be the best that Mr. Berry has written to date. Even though the plot is rather incredible (but who cares, it's fiction after all!) it certainly speeds along quite quickly and on parallel tracks. In one paragraph you're following Cotton Malone, in another a nasty Navy admiral with high ambitions, and in another Cotton's former boss and an aide to the President. Everything eventually comes together and the quest is ended, but the ending is quite enigmatic and appears to be preparing the reader for the next book in this series. I, for one, will be eagerly awaiting it!

In this fourth novel featuring the one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, Cotton Malone, Cotton sets out to discover the full story behind his father's death thirty-eight years ago. Cashing in a favor with his ex-boss Stephanie Nelle, Cotton learns a shocking the shocking secret that the Navy covered up. His father died in a top-secret submarine mission beneath the ice shelves of Antarctica.

Within minutes of receiving the highly classified file Cotton finds himself in danger. In order to save himself and learn the truth behind the cover-up he teams up with twin sisters Dorothea Lindauer and Christl Falk whose father also died on the submarine. Filled with unease about working with the twins Cotton cautiously embarks on a perilous journey by solving clues left in a diary found in Charlemagne's tomb.

Filled with non-stop action, The Charlemagne Pursuit kept me on the edge of my seat the entire book. Berry threw curve balls left and right that kept me second guessing who was a good guy and who was just plain up to no good. I actually cried at the end and even though the book is 528 pages I wished it would have gone on for 500 more. Having read all three of the previous Cotton Malone books I can honestly say that this book is the best one yet but if you've haven't read the previous three this one does stand alone. I HIGHLY recommend this book to all thriller and suspense lovers.

While I have previously enjoyed all of the author's books, this one was definitely not one that I would consider a keeper. While it has its moments, they are few and far between. Only because I am a fan, did I get a modicum of enjoyment from the book.

The main character, Cotton Malone, is a recurring one. He is definitely a likable character. A former government agent, he is currently retired from service and living in Denmark, where he is a bookseller. Then he learns that his beloved father, who died when Cotton was a child, had not perished is a submarine disaster in the North Atlantic as originally thought, but, instead had died while on a classified secret mission in a submarine lost beneath the ice shelves of Antarctica

Cotton joins forces with twin sisters, German by birth, whose own father had also disappeared on that same submarine. They each want to discover the truth about their father's death. There are journals written in a previously unknown language, clues found in the tomb of Charlemagne, and other revelations. Adding to the problems of the quest is the enmity between the sisters, making the quest a do or die situation.

Unlike the author's other books, this one dragged. It also hit an all time high on the implausibility scale. While I am still a fan, this simply was not one of his better books. While it picked up some steam towards the end, it did not compensate for all of the moments of inertia one felt while reading this book. If you have never before read a book by this author, do not make this one your first, or you may never pick up another of this author's books again. Fans will stay the course and hope that the next one will have the author back on track.