|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
At the start of bestseller Berry's second thriller to feature Cotton Malone (after The Templar Legacy), Malone, a former employee of the covert branch of the U.S. Justice Department, is trying to lead a secluded life as a bookseller in Copenhagen. Unsurprisingly, that hope is short-lived when his son is kidnapped and his ex-wife, Pam, asks for his help in rescuing the boy. The abductors intend to force Malone to reveal what he knows about the survival of the legendary lost library of Alexandria, which may hold ancient texts that could undermine Israel's claim to biblical legitimacy. Malone and his allies get mixed up in Washington intrigue and double-dealing as they try to identify the high-level traitor seeking to use the secret sources to change the dynamics of the Middle East. Characters implausibly leave enemies unsecured, placing themselves in unnecessary jeopardy, while the notion that the texts could have the desired effect may strike some readers as too far-fetched. Predictable plots twists (like the growing rapprochement between Malone and Pam) and superficial treatment of the issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians are further minuses.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Berry, author of several big-selling high-concept thrillers, including The Templar Legacy (2006) and The Third Secret (2005), is back with another paranoid fantasy for fans who like their heroes to face unimaginable dangers in a variety of glamorous locations. Berry's hero, Cotton Malone (recently retired from the Department of Justice's Magellan Billet, which specializes in extra-sensitive international investigations), has reinvented himself as a seller of rare books in Copenhagen. Trouble, of course, finds him even in Denmark--first in the person of his ex-wife, who bears the news that their son has been kidnapped. Then the kidnappers convince Malone of their seriousness by torching his bookstore. The central conflict here comes from the fact that what the kidnappers want--"the Alexandria link," the key to locating the remains of the vanished library of Alexandria--is the one thing Malone, who knows the whereabouts of the link, cannot give them. So, with the conflict firmly established, and the villains showing their mettle, the plot is off and running across the globe, the story driven by a series of short chapters, each acting as a little time bomb. Trite characters and a formulaic plot (drawing, yet again, on The Da Vinci Code) get in the way, but Berry does make intriguing use of ancient history, and the action certainly zooms along. Fun reading if you keep moving and don't take time to digest. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another Daring Novel,
By
This review is from: The Alexandria Link: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
Book2 in the Cotton Malone seriesThis daring and thrilling novel opens with a confrontation between Malone and his ex-wife Pam over the handling of their teenage son's kidnapping and their narrow escape from the fire bombing of his bookstore. This has all the appearances of an attempt to blackmail Cotton into revealing a secret he sworn to never disclose...the existence of the Library of Alexandria. This sudden turn of events has Cotton returning to his roots as a secret agent and teaming up with wife Pam. They are lead from Amsterdam, on to Lisbon, England and to the Sinai desert as they follow a series of clues that will hopefully lead them to the Library and the safe release of their son. This is one fast paced and intriguing tale that intertwines facts with fiction beautifully. Pros and cons of different religious believes of the world are questioned and of course, like the last novel another secret society comes to light with its members of influence and power both political and financial. As usual some may find this controversial. Mr. Berry has resurrected his full cast from "The Templar Legacy" and provided another wild adventure full of double crossing to leave the reader breathless and quite entertained. I enjoyed the author's take on what I consider a James Bond -Indiana Jones type of thriller.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good story,
By
This review is from: The Alexandria Link: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
This is the second novel of Berry's I have read. This is better written than the Templar Legacy and renews our acquaintance with Cotton Malone. I enjoyed the story and found it fast paced. Those with very strong Judeo-Christian or Islamic beliefs may be offended by some of the premises, although I was not. It's a story and a good one. I particularly liked the premise that elements of the Library of Alexandria have survived although the plot elements for its maintenance are a bit stretched. Recommended
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
HARD TO PUT DOWN THRILLER...,
By
This review is from: The Alexandria Link: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
As with the other works that I have read by this author, this one is simply hard to put down. An interesting mélange of historical fiction and adventure, it makes for an engrossing thriller. The plot, which is centered on the search for the ancient lost library of Alexandria, is well-executed and has a number of clever and surprising twists and turns. While some of them may seem somewhat far-fetched, it does not diminish the entertainment value of the book.The book's central character is Cotton Malone, a former secret agent for the United States government, now retired and living in Copenhagen, Denmark. Malone operates a book store and is living in peace and tranquility, until his peace is shattered when his ex-wife, Pam, shows up on his doorstep with the news that their son has been kidnapped. This sets the plot in motion, as the kidnappers want information about the Alexandria Link, which is information that only Malone has. It is a link that could conceivably lead one to discovering the ancient lost library of Alexandria. It is information that the head of a secret organization of immensely wealthy business men, known as the Order of the Golden Fleece, wants very badly. To find it, he has sent his emissary, a killing machine known as the Talons of the Eagle, to get it by any means necessary. Intermixed with the action, is a novel theory involving the accepted translations of the Old and New Testaments, intra-governmental chicanery, and global conspiracies that have to do with the Middle East. It seems that the lost Library of Alexandria may contain information that could upset the current world order and the balance of power. There are, therefore, many who have an interest in keeping that information under a tight lid. It seems that only a privileged few are allowed access to that information. Who is to be allowed access is decided by gatekeepers known as the Guardians, and it is a strictly by invitation only proposition. This all makes for a fast-paced, exciting story that is wholly plot driven. The short shrift given to character development does not diminish the capacity of this book to grip the reader, so strong is the story line. It is quite ingenious, and I found myself riveted to the pages of this book until the very last one was turned. Those who enjoyed "The Da Vinci Code" will especially enjoy this book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
