Customer Reviews

Windmills of the Gods

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Sidney Sheldon is one of my favorite writers, so it is no wonder that Windmills of the Gods is such an excellent book. Like all his books, Windmills of the Gods is equipped with a silky yet entrancing writing style that makes it impossible to put down. In the story, Mary Ashley, a university professor in Kansas, is appointed ambassador to Romania, which had only recently ameliorated its relations with the West. Mary receives much acclaim and over night she becomes one of the most famous and influential people in the world. However, she finds herself in the middle of a treacherous web of conspiracy and corrupt power, and many parties are after her, including one of the most powerful assassins in the world. Even the reader does not know who Mary should trust as she tries unremittingly to vanquish the forces that are working against her. You are in for many shocking surprises as well as great joys and sorrows as you read this book. It is truly one of the best.

Really, this is the best book I've ever read after "The Best Laid Plans" again by Sidney Sheldon. If you are reading other reviews on this book, try to avoid ones telling you the synopsis, or else there will be no point, really, to read this book. I'm not going to tell you what it is about but I could possibly tell you that be prepared that the climax is not reached until the third book. Be sure to read till the end, or you'll regret! Now about Sheldon: He has the ability to frame an innocent person to look like the tyrant of the century and conceal so meticulously the deepest secret of an ordinary person. I guess that's what makes Sheldon's books so special and luridly intriguing!

This book defines the phrase "page-turner." I simply could not put it down. The minute I thought "okay, I'll stop here" there was another twist in the story and I had to keep reading to find out what happend next. Then, near the end of the book, EVERYTHING takes a crazy turn and mysteries unfold that make you say things out loud like, "NO WAY" and "OMIGOD." I am not much of a book reader, in fact this is the first book I've read since high school, and I am going on my 5th Sydney Sheldon book in 3 weeks. This guy is good!!!

He has written a book that is so close to real life that it will scare the pants off you! The newly elected president decides he wants to develop a better relationship with countries of the old cold war, Romania especially. Instead of a trained person for the ambassador job, he picks a teacher from a Kansas school, who specializes in that area in her studies. He read an article she had written and since what she had written was also his views, he asks her to take the job. At first she declines because of her family and her husband's commitments to his patients (he is a doctor), but after he dies in a mysterious car accident, she decides to take the job.

There are many who don't like the idea of Romania and the U.S. getting buddy buddy and a secret group from around the world, including those in the U.S., work to sabotage the presidents efforts. They hire an assassin, who has never been defeated to take out several key people.

Mary Ashley, the ambassador, is turning out to be quite successful at her job, and is the target of an assassination. She doesn't know who to trust.

This is interesting all the way to the end and keeps you guessing. Enjoy!

This was the first S.S book that I read, and now, after reading more of this books, this book is still my favorite. Very suspenful and interesting!!!!!

This book is a must to read if you haven't read it already. I've read this book six times and its just as good every time as it was when I read it for the first time. One of Sidney Sheldons best but I must admit I haven't read a dissapointing book by Sheldon yet

Sidney Sheldon's "Windmills of the Gods" is the first book I have read of the popular author, and I must say that Sheldon's reputation is not exaggerated. To compare his example with what they say about Shakespeare, "In spite of all the people who say he's good, he is indeed really good!"

The story is set in the changing world scenario of the late eighties. The Iron Curtain countries are just about opening up and the US has elected an idealistic new president whose dream is to create world peace, and the way to achieve that to open a dialogue with the communist states. For this endeavor, he chooses a bright professor of Eastern European Studies based in Kansas, named Mary Ashley. Ashley, a simple woman unaccustomed to life outside the farming community where she has been brought up, suddenly finds herself in the most coveted seat in all of US diplomacy: the ambassadorship of Romania, which is the first Iron Curtain country to have shown signs of opening up.

What follows is a very interesting account of how she copes with the drastic change in her life. Sheldon provides the reader with an excellent insight into Diplomatic Protocol (it's given a humorous touch as Ashley is shown slipping up and confused at how she should exactly behave as the ambassador). However, Ashley does manage to cope and gets some difficult jobs done, which earns her acclaim and respect at home and in Romania. All's going well, except that there are some powerful people from the Old Establishment who do not want to "sellout" to Communists and open the US to Socialist influence, and would rather maintain the status quo in the relations with the Iron Curtain. They see the President and the Ambassador as their prime enemies and resolve to kill Ashley before she succeeds in opening up Romania to the US, which would mean the other communist states falling in line in steady succession. The Old Establishment, to neutralize Ashley, hires the services of "Angel", a lethal assassin whose identity is shrouded in mystery. What's more, Ashley starts to fear that someone from her own staff is after her life. The narrative proceeds to a nail-biting climax on the American Independence Day being celebrated at Ashley's official residence in the Romanian capital.

The result is a wholly satisfying and totally recommendable book. An outstanding feature is the characterizations. Sheldon works hard at making his characters interesting, unique, and above all believable.

In all fairness, the novel does borrow its central theme from the most iconoclastic political thriller of all, "The Day of the Jackal" by Frederick Forsythe: a head of state whose most dangerous enemies are his own countrymen; an assassin at the top of his game; racy action set on two continents. You might say that Sheldon almost pulls it off, except for one serious mistake:

Sheldon tries to have two components in the book: Politics and Suspense, thus intending to produce the result of a political thriller. The first thirty pages are promising in this regard, but as the book moves on, the suspense and action is as livid and exciting as it can get, but the politics part takes a back seat in so much tension. Sheldon does not quite handle the two components judiciously, and does not succeed at making the book a memorable political thriller, in as much as the "Day of the Jackal" was, or, to a (much) lesser extent, that "The Brethren" (John Grisham) was.

Nevertheless, Sheldon does make the book move at a feverish pace unmatched by most thriller writers. It leaves you more than satisfied on having spent time and money on it.

"The Windmills of the Gods" is a legitimately good book, but I suspect that in time it will move into that corner shelf of my mind in which I store some very interesting novels I have read, but now do not remember them that well and only have a slight idea of what their plots were. There is another, a much more conspicuous shelf, which I never get tired of visiting. "The Day of the Jackal" occupies a pride of place there.

The newly-elected President has appointed beautiful Mary Ashley to be the new ambassador to Romania in his new people-to-people campaign. Trouble is, there are others in very high places that don't want this to happen. Ashley, who has never left Kansas, is swept onto the world stage to bring goodwill and hope to a country dominated by a tyrannical leader. She's guided by those who want to see her succeed, and those who want her dead.

Sheldon's novel is fast paced and fun to read, with enough twist and turns to keep it entertaining to the end. It's not terribly plausible (I mean, how many assassins do you know would call themselves "Angel?") yet has enough information to create a scene that could happen in any far-off locale. With global terrorsim at all levels continuing to take up so much of the headlines, this (now 23-year-old!) book still has relevance in today's global political climate.

If you're a Sheldon fan, or looking for a quick read to keep you from glossing over the newspapers all day, this is worth your weekend.

The newly elected president decides he wants to develop a better relationship with countries of the old cold war, Romania especially. Instead of a trained person for the ambassador job, he picks a teacher from a Kansas school, who specializes in that area in her studies. He read an article she had written and since what she had written was also his views, he asks her to take the job. At first she declines because of her family and her husband's commitments to his patients (he is a doctor), but after he dies in a mysterious car accident, she decides to take the job.
There are many who don't like the idea of Romania and the U.S. getting buddy buddy and a secret group from around the world, including those in the U.S., work to sabotage the presidents efforts. They hire an assassin, who has never been defeated to take out several key people.

Mary Ashley, the ambassador, is turning out to be quite successful at her job, and is the target of an assassination. She doesn't know who to trust.

This was the first Sydney Sheldon book I ever read. I had my appendix removed at age 33 and my colleagues from work gave me a book to pass time. It was what the doctor order: superficial, mindless but additively fun.

I'm still a sophomore in high school, and I've read alot of books before ofcourse, but this book is the best I've read so far! Mr.Sheldon's books are all really good, but this one is the one I recommend the most. The suspence, romance, etc. is so thrilling that you won't be able to leave the book alone. If you do choose to buy this, I'm definate that you'll enjoy it! Happy reading!