A fire destroys a New York City rare bookstore--and reveals clues to a treasure worth killing for. . . . A disgraced scholar is found tortured to death. . . . And those pursuing the most valuable literary find in history are about to cross from the harmless mundane into inescapable nightmare.
From the acclaimed, bestselling author of Tropic of Night comes a breathtaking thriller that twists, shocks, and surprises at every turn as it crisscrosses centuries, from the glaring violence of today into the dark shadows of truth and lies surrounding the greatest writer the world has ever known.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Fast Ride with Plenty of Chills and Thrills:
While not as literary as The Name of the Rose or Possession, this mystery has action, antique book sellers, travel, a big cast of characters and contemporary New York City love stories. Surely it will become a major motion picture, make stars of the young book geeks, and give a few older actors a good role. I'm glad I read the book first. There is nothing this good on T.V.
A feast of meaty fiction:
This book is like a seven-course literary feast for the starving reader. It is my first book by Mr. Gruber, and having finished it about 10 minutes ago, I'll be ordering the rest of his catalog immediately. It absolutely soars on so many levels: a superbly plotted thriller with a deft, energetic plot full of intricate, dark twists; an existential meditation of the roots of personal identity and growing up; a good-natured, deconstructionist poke at fiction and metafiction; a biting, anecdotal familial drama... more info
Gripping but requires endurance:
Michael Gruber paints vivid portraits of all the characters, down to the details about them that are filthy (and necessary to the story). It transports you back in time to Shakespeare's day. You will find yourself caught up in all of the different character's individual scenarios and wondering if they could possibly be linked. I found myself in a marathon session of reading in order to find out how everthing was linked, if at all, and to discover if all had really been air and shadows.
If you... more info
A Book of Substance:
Who is this guy and how does he know so much about people, Shakespeare, arcane ciphers, and have the ability to spill it all out on a page full of sharp and intelligent prose? I bought this book because I had read Gruber's voodoo trilogy starting with Tropic of Night. I remember those books for their attention to plot and the depth of the characters caught up in it. The books were fascinating because Gruber's bizarre story lines were driven by the personalities living the story and not the other way... more info
