Rating: Summary: A major disappointment Review: I had high hopes for this book. I'm usually a soft touch for books that jump between the present and historical settings (with the notable exception of Michael Crichton's Timeline). But Kate Morgan is totally unbelievable as a character, and is apparently the exaggerated alter-ego (with the emphasis on ego) of the Harvard-educated private-eye author. I found the portrayal of 16th Century London to be interesting, but that's about it. That was five hours that could have been better spent rereading The Time Traveler's Wife or Jack Finney's Time and Again.
Rating: Summary: a major disappointment Review: i love historical fiction and was eagerly looking forward to reading this book. boy, was i let down. save your money.
Rating: Summary: Glamour and Suspense Review: I loved this book - it's Sex and the City for the thinking girl and intrigues the reader with a fast-moving, twisting plot. I was rooting for the main character as I followed her glamorous adventures and found myself learning lots too...I'm giving this as a gift to several friends!
Rating: Summary: Great spy novel Review: I read a lot of thrillers, and this one was one of my favorites so far this year. I've always been interested in Christopher Marlowe, particularly the widely held belief that he was a spy as well as a playwright. So encountering him in a thriller was a delight. I'm also a sucker for up to the minute espionage--today's conflicts, today's politics, etc, usually reading authors like John Le Carre, Frederick Forsyth, and Daniel Silva. That's why The Intelligencer's blend of sixteenth century and present-day espionage was perfect for me. I recommend it highly. The England of Queen Elizabeth I, Marlowe and Shakespeare comes to life, vividly, in the historical chapters, and I liked the way the story moved back and forth between those and a linked modern story. You see a twenty-first century PI investigate a break-in involving a collection of Elizabethan intelligence reports, which, as I'm sure you'll guess, will reveal info about Marlowe's demise. There's also a subplot involving a rogue Iranian intelligence officer. I like the author's theory about how Iran meddled with our espionage activities in Iraq, in an attempt to provoke us into today's war. I don't know more than what I read in the papers, but from what I've read, it's quite possible that she's right.
Rating: Summary: Could not put this down!!! Review: I really loved this book. I started on Saturday and finished in three days. So much better than the Da Vinci Code - the characters, the plot, absolutely compelling. Loved the parallels between sixteenth-century London and today. Can't wait to see more from her!
Rating: Summary: Can't wait for more from Silbert! Review: I was so excited to stumble upon this new author and her new powerful character, Kate Morgan. (I understand they may be one and the same?) But I found this to be one of those rare books that you really don't want to put down so you end up carrying it everywhere, hoping to find a minute or two to catch up on the story. Fascinating historical fiction, richly developed characters, intelligent background, this book really does have everything.
Rating: Summary: I liked it Review: I wasn't sure about this book when I first started it. I really wasn't interested that much in the parts about Kit Marlowe. But after a while, I actually wanted to know more about Marlowe! I liked also how the author weaved the different parts of the story. It flowed well from present to past. The only part I had difficulty with was the extra story about the missing spy. That seemed like way too many coincidences. But still very good story.
Rating: Summary: Interesting Book Review: I would say the novel is intelligently written. However, I was not intrigued by the subject matter. I also feel that there were too many characters which compromised development of the most important ones. Although, telling 2 stories was a good idea but the fact they were at different times made it a little hard to follow if you didn't read the book in a short period of time. But in the end, it was interestingly written and there was a bit of humor involved as well.
Rating: Summary: Best of both worlds Review: I'm not typically a huge fan of historical fiction. But this book's changed my mind. Really liked the energy of the twin stories, separated by four hundred years. You sometimes hear people praise authors saying "he made the past come alive." Silbert does that saying one better. This book makes the past AND the present come alive. Each story ratchets up the intensity of the other. You can't get enough of either. I highly recommend.
Rating: Summary: Better than The Da Vinci Code Review: If you liked The Da Vinci Code, you will love this novel. Though I'm a lifelong fan of the English theater, I had no knowledge of Christopher Marlowe's secret life, and so I read this novel with such great interest that I simply could not put it down. I'm amazed that this is Silbert's first novel.
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