Customer Reviews

Michelangelo's Notebook

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

After reading works like "Angels and Demons", this book looked great to me. I was very disappointed. The author (Christopher Hyde, using a psuedonym) has an interesting concept, based on truth. However, the story does not work. The book seems to drag. The story's main character, Finn, a twenty-something college student stumbles upon a drawing at the museum where she is employed. She recognizes it as Michelangelo's work. Her boss denies this and abruptly fires her. This leads to an attack on her life and propels her all over New York trying to find out why this incident has put her in jeopardy.
Again, a great premise, but a tedious book.

Instead of reading a thrilling and suspenseful story, I instead had to read numerous, graphic references to the main character's body. I lost count of how many times the author described her breasts. It was silly, distracting, and a waste of time.

I'm not usually so harsh when reviewing a book, but really, there was no point to this book. The plot dragged, it was simply not suspenseful, and the author came off sounding like an over sexed teenaged boy.

Horrible book. The story and sub-plots lack development and closure. The characters are undeveloped and act without motivation or reason, and make immense discoveries with unbelievably elementary ease.

The chapters bounce from boring sub-plot to boring sub-plot, yanking readers from one random storyline to the next without any end-of-chapter compelling twists to keep the reader even slightly interested in the next visitation. Those chapters which do capture the reader's interest invariably lead to even greater let-downs when the plot unravels at the hands of another new or randomly reintroduced, previously forgotten character. The end seems to be the collision of each subplot into the others, creating an explosion of unresolved nothingness.

Where a good story would draw each sub-plot together, tying each character inextricably to the others in such a way that the reader says, "oh, now THAT makes sense! I should have figured that out before!", this one leaves the reader going, "huh? He pulled this from that?"

Poorly contrived and poorly written, this book is decidedly a must-pass loser by a Dan Brown wannabe who never quite makes the grade.

Fortunately, this book was published in paperback, so I only wasted $8 on it. The plot is completely implausible with holes large enough to fly the shuttle through. There is no character development, the author's view toward women is sophomoric, and there are only about two pages of suspense at the end of the book. Take a pass on this one.

I don't know how many times I've paused while reading this book to complain about how bad the writing is. While the plot seems interesting, the characters act and do things for completely no reason at all. I gave up reading when the main character had sex with the librarian guy for no reason at all...there was no romance leading up to it...nothing. I don't think I have the stomach to finish this book.

This book is so stilted in its plot and character development you want to find its author and demand a refund. The male lead, Valentine, is so carbon-copied off of other novelists who actually take the time to develop a semi-coherent character that you can almost see the plageurism. The female lead is worse, and you become very creeped out by the sex scenes. Don't waste your time, money, or effort.

I understand that not all thriller authors can turn into the pop phenomenon that Dan Brown has become, but really I'm a simple woman to please. I just need a plot, preferably connected somewhat loosely to the title or--at the very least--vaguely related to the description given in the blurb on the back cover. Like some of my fellow reviewers, I was put off by the opening paragraphs of this novel, which describe for no apparent reason the absolute perfection of Finn, our heroine's, body. Now, I believe the naked human body is beautiful, and I do not usually shy away from descriptions thereof. There's a fine line, however, between revealing character details to the reader and writing a draft of one's next Penthouse Forum letter.

Throughout the rest of the book, she meets man after man after man, all of them falling hopelessly in smit with her in a matter of seconds, including our enigmatic hero, Michael Valentine. Valentine is described as looking like a cross between Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich with a "big sexy mouth." Perhaps it's meant to send women everywhere into throes of pleasure, but that description frightens me to my very core. I'm pretty sure that when Death comes for me, it will be in the form of Michael Valentine.

Horrible characterization and unintentionally hilarious dialogue aside, the plot is....simply abysmal. It is a convoluted, disconnected mass of improbable and illogical events, all leading to an unsatisfying conclusion. Had the denouement consisted of giant space monkeys invading, it would have been more enjoyable and made more sense.

It is rare that I am left with a feeling of lingering white-hot rage and frustration after reading a book. Congratulations, Mr. Christopher Hyde: you have succeeded.

Trying to be a read like the DaVinci Code - well, it isn't. It is boring and without substance.

If you like Dan Brown's books, or Niel Stephenson, this is a decent book to wast an afternoon on, but its not a masterpiece. Interesting story background, but fairl boring characters. Way too many pop-culture references are going to date this book quickly, including a reference to "how much this situation is like da Vinci' code" - at least he admits his source material.

Uninteresting twist thrown in on the last two pages, to tie the two plots together.

How often do you read negative reviews of a movie, BUT go see it anyway, and LOVE it?! Well, I read the negative reviews on this site, then read the book anyway and, you guessed it--I LOVED it!!! While not always convincing, neither was it "over the top"--You feel things COULD have happened as described!! (After all, it is FICTION, and, for those who care, it had only two brief sex scenes!!) This was almost as good a fast-paced page-turner as Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" (which I rate a 5-star plus!!). I believe most readers will find it an enjoyable read.