Customer Reviews

Oracle

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There is no editorial review for this one, so at first I will give very short info, without giving away any secrets, of course:
Three friends (Brit, French and Italian) are caught in the middle of student uprising in Nov 1973 in Athens. horrible things happen to them that night, that alter their lives forever... the same night when tanks storm Polytechnic an amazing archeological discovery is made that cost its maker (Greek professor) his life. Fate of three friends and the unearthed artifact intertwine and have to be resolved together 10 years later.
If you like thrillers and mysteries you will most likely like the rest of the story.

last year this time I had not even heard Manfredi's name. Then I came across his Alexander by chance (utterly disappointed with the OWFUL movie, I was looking for something to read about that unhappy bisexual person with Oedipus complex, who accidentally conquered the world)... I was hooked right away. The Oracle was the 8th Manfredi book I read.
I give other seven books 5 stars each. I guess that says enough about my attitude to the author. now 3 reasons why The Oracle got only 3 stars:
a) There are very many good thriller writers and very few good historical fiction writers. I wish Manfredi had written another Spartan or Tyrant instead. sorry, I know it is subjective.
b) If you read any of the 7 other books and The Oracle - you will see why Manfredi wrote 1 thriller and 7 historical fictions and not the other way around.
c) Most objectively: The Oracle has few holes in the story. not huge, nothing is going to fall through, but holes are there.

I am a big fun of Valerio Massimo Manfedi books . I have read most of his books which are all historical novels whith very accurate histrorical facts.
This books is his only book That is not based on ancient history but rather on modern Greek history .
This in fact is a thriller unfold in modern era but is seeking its answers back in ancient civilizations .
The book is well written as all of manfendis works .I've enjoyed reading his well-researched novels and this one fore sure is one great book .

Hard to put down,highly enjoyable ,Highly recommended

Greece, November 1973. A professor finds a wonderful golden vase with drawings of Ulysses last voyage of the odyssey. This happens while a riot is occurring at the local university.
The mystery of the death of the professor, the unexplained disappearance of the vase, a brutal rape and murder of a student is unraveled 10 years later when a couple of young men look for answers
It's a page turner easy to read and to follow.

I have read virtually all of Manfredi's novels sold on Amazon and this is the best. The author uses his extensive knowledge of history and classics of the ancient Mediterranean world and combines it with the modern history of the same area to create a great, suspenseful story. You won't figure out the ending until you get there. I wish Manfredi would write more novels like this. A great story to read and to pass on to your friends. Well written and unusual.

Few authors can be better equipped to write about the subject of Rome and its Legions than Manfredi. Professor of archaeology at the the university of Milan, he has carried out many excavations and expeditions in the Mediterranean region. He has produced many factual books on historical matters, mainly military and has still found the time to write several novels, although as far as I can recall this is the first time he has brought one his books almost to the modern day, give or take thirty or forty years..

1973 and a Professor is working alone and late into the night on an archaeological dig. He unearths a vase that contains many important images showing Ulysses' final voyage. Unfortunately the professor also sees something in the chamber in which he has made his important find, something that frightens him so much that within hours he is dead . . . Probably of fright . . . But not before he has ensured that the vase is safe.

A decade later and a series of brutal deaths that somehow seem interconnected with the death of the professor and his unique find. Who is behind the murders and how on earth can they be connected to events that occurred 10 years ago . . .

Maybe I've read too many racy thrillers but I found the story totally pedestrian and unexciting. A simple tale of revenge was dressed up with a lot of mystical elements and historical bits thrown in to complicate the plot. This is the first book I've read from the author and perhaps his historical epics are more impressive but I'm not motivated enough to find out from reading this book.

This is one of my favorite authors. My attention span is much too short to read from history books and this man is the perfect fix. He writes historical novels in such a way as to give depth and scope, making it interesting, clear, and so very captivating. The bonus is having conversations with friends who think I'm actually pretty smart!