Customer Reviews

Mozart Conspiracy (Ben Hope 2)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This story is full of cliches. There is nothing novel or exciting about it. It had a very run-in-the-mill plot, and the dialogue was ****. These people aren't kidding about the ending either. It was like Mariani was trying to end it like the Bourne films(leaving you with a smile on your face), but really just left the reader unsatisfied. I was excited about the possibility of some interesting history on Mozart, even if it was going to be pseudo-history. But there again I was dissapointed. Just don't waste your time on this rubbish.

This book was marginally entertaining until I got to the end. The ending to the book was awful and I now wish that I had not spent my time reading it. Everything about the book is marginal -- character development, plot,etc. -- all ok and decent enough to keep you interested. I would have bought another book by the same author . . . until the ending. Now, why would I want to invest my time reading a book like this, only to come to this totally unsatisfactory ending? Not only did . . . well, I won't give that away . . . but there was nothing to suggest that the protagonist had any umph to continue on for another mission. He just sort of fades . . . .

Luckily I did not waste any money on this book.

I checked it out from the library suckered in by the "Jason Bourne meets 007" psuedo review on the cover.

And it would have been a tolerable if forgetable read except for the ending. The book had
already ended (so you think) and there is this sort of epilog where you expect him to wrap up a
few storylines. [spoiler alert] And, instead, there is this meaningless (and totally unbelievable)
resurrection of the villian (or one of them) from what seemed certain death. And he captures
one of the few likeable characters in the book and kills her by stabbing her in the stomach while the
"hero" watches helplessly.

At the end! Why would you do this at the end? Do you want your readers to hate you? Are you stupid?
Do you want to make sure no one ever buys another one of your books? Well you accomplished all that and
more in my case.

Rated: Do not buy or read!

Decent story line, but I found myself reading only 5-10 pages at a time and then putting it down, only to come back a week later and read a few more pages. The ending had a decent climactic build to it, but like many other reviewers say, the ending should have been cut short. The ending could have been great, but it was terrible and not satisfying and left me not wanting to read any of his future books.

I have to agree with those who give it only one star. There is much ado about Mozart who has so little to do with this tired story. Cliches and poor character development fill this book. While you see the author seeks to capitalize on the thirst for Dan Brown clones he fails to engage the reader. It just doesn't work and like others, I feel the end really sucks. It was totally unnecessary as was the implications of sordid sex and the ridiculous captivity of a young woman by the major villain. This is tired and awful. In contrast, I just started reading The School of Night. I don't know where it will go but the writing, after enduring The Mozart Conspiracy, is wonderful. Looking forward to enjoying the rest of it.

Scott Mariani's "The Mozart Conspiracy" is a movie-script in book form. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it means the characters are an inch deep and the plot is a twisting story with many arcane moments and the body count is very high.

Seriously, though, I read this book and pictured who was going to play each character on the big screen. Since Ben Hope - Oxford-educated former British SAS commando - is described as blonde and muscular, who else but Daniel Craig would be appropriate? And for his opera-singer girl-friend? Maybe Kiera Knightly might give it a go. The Austrian cop would be played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, from "Enigma". Could Tom Hulse reprise his role of Mozart - if they do a flashback from the current day - from the 1984 movie "Amadeus"? Well, he may have aged a bit but it might still work...What multitude of humanity would play all the brutally dispatched dead people? Maybe the producers could rent the extras from the last scene of "Day of the Locust"? Heavens, the casting choices are more fun to think about than the book!

But Mariani's book isn't that bad, it just isn't that good. Other reviewers complain about the ending, but I thought it was sort of brave of Mariani to write it as he did. And if you like fast-paced plots with plenty of screaming cars - hey, I see great product placement for Mercedes or BMW here - you'll like this book. It's fun.

I read a review of this book in a magazine several months ago and anxiously awaited its review. Boy was I disappointed. Too bad I didn't keep the sales receipt because this was a big waste of $. The jacket has a reviewer saying: "James Bond meets Jason Borne meets the Da Vinci Code"..............don't know what book she read but she definitely insulted Ian Flemming, Robert Ludlum and Dan Brown! This book was about as exciting and deep as a Steven Segal movie. Hollow characters. Slim plot. The only depth and detail surfaced during the climax which read like a crash the cars, blow it up, shoot lots of people Vin Diesel screenplay. Scott Mariani, after reading your bio on the jacket, I'd go back to one of your former careers.

This was a 3+ until the author felt the need to do the last bit, which I will not talk about, but was a lousy ending

Mariani uses the circumstances of Mozart's death as a springboard for a thriller that is darkly connected to political power and the efforts of a small group to hide their secrets and punish anyone who breaks the vow of silence. The book opens with a heinous ritual killing and the subsequent murder of Oliver Llewellyn, but the violence doesn't end there. Oliver's sister, Leigh, an opera star, becomes a target when she decides to finish Llewellyn's book on Mozart's death in his memory. Leigh turns to freelance agent Ben Hope to help her sort through the details of Oliver's supposed accidental death and the reason she is now being pursued. Mozart- and whether he died of natural causes or was poisoned for political reasons- takes a back seat to a fast-moving plot with more than a few unidentified cold-blooded killers, a Freemason-inspired secret society with political tentacles and the fanaticism of a psychopathic assassin for hire.

Leigh and Ben begin a quest that reaches from Oxford to Venice and Vienna in an international mystery that spans centuries and has troubling political ramifications, Mariani timing each near miss or explosion with precision and bone-jarring danger. The author is a skillful manipulator of this genre, villains and heroes clear cut, the peril ice-pick sharp. While Leigh often complicates Ben's ability to do his job on her behalf, he is unable to resist a relationship he thought relinquished fifteen years earlier. The Mozart Conspiracy is more than a credible thriller, sure-footed and laden with the odious intentions of cynical men who find pleasure in pain, their humanity long-annihilated by violence and self-interest. Maybe David won't really slay this Goliath, but he'll give it his best shot or die trying. Luan Gaines/2011.

I finished this book very quickly and enjoyed the way this author wrote the story - it had some very interesting history and there was plenty of description. I kept marveling at how Mariani was able to mesh everything together. However, that being said, two stars were deducted for the horrible ending and I wanted to throw the library book out the window, but of course I couldn't because it is not mine!!!