The Prometheus Deception

Rating:
Summary: Amazingly bad
Review: Dear me. This was the first Ludlum book I have read and I am afraid to say it will definitely also be the last. This book would probably make a good film, in much the same way as "The Bourne Identity", however the book quickly becomes tiring as Bryson careers from one ultra violent setpiece to the next. He also seems to be both the stupidest and the luckiest man alive as time and again some unbelievably lucky occurance saves his back-side at the last minute, rather like those old black and white Saturday morning flicks when the hero was last seen plumetting over a cliff - only to find out the following Saturday that he had in fact, unseen by the camera, jumped out of the doomed car at the last minute.

Another BIG problem with this book is Ludlum's insistence on having two characters elaborately explain things to each other (on subjects that they would already know inside out - rather like two car mechanics elaborately explaining to each other the reasons and benefits of putting oil into a car engine) just for the sake of informing the reader. This makes for pathetically unrealistic dialogue, is extremely tiring and is the mark of a very bad writer. There are several very tedious examples of this littered throughout the book and they quickly grind you down.

This is simply not a good book. It may be exciting in so far as it is little more than action scene after action scene however if this is what you want then your time would be much better spent watching a "Die Hard" movie or even "The Bourne Identity". As far as a demonstration of writing skills go this book is an absolute turkey of the highest order. If you still don't believe me fair enough, but do yourself a favour and borrow this book from a public library before buying.

Rating:
Summary: Whoever edited this book should be spanked.
Review: In Austin Powers, Scotty says "You've got a time machine, why don't you just go back and shoot him when he's on the crapper!" That's how I felt after reading this book.

--SPOILER ALERT-- Can someone please explain to me why Manning and Waller allowed Bryson to set up and trigger the disruptor that caused Manning's estate to burn and foil their plans? The scene where Bryson's learns he's been under surveillance for the past 10 years negates the whole plot! The bad guys not only know everything he's done, but everything he's planned to do.

And this is just one of many inconsistencies in the book. I give it two stars because finding so many inconsistencies in a best-seller it made me feel so superior.

Rating:
Summary: The Prometheus Deception's Deceptions
Review: Robert Ludlum's Prometheus Deception is vintage Robert Ludlum. Which is not necessary a good thing. The conspiracies are getting a little too obvious and the one glaring plot hole is too large to completely ignore. The central message of the book remains popular in the last few years: where is the balance between personnel privacy and society's right for security. The events of 11 Sept and the recent anthrax attacks have forced many people to reexamine those questions and for some in a unexpected manner.

Aside from that little comment, the novel moves along at a brisk pace that only a master artist can sustain. It doesn't suffer from the traces of awkwardness that less prolific authors usually fall prey to.

The story itself shows Ludlum's in-depth knowledge of the world. His locations are top-notch. His characters aren't. Most of them are two-dimensional and the three that are well developed are introduced and used more as plot gimmicks then fully realized characters. If the Prometheus Deception were a movie, it would be a little too intellectual for the summer crowd. As a book, it is both a little too predictable and unbelievable to be anything more then an escapist fair. The questions it brings up are drowned in a sea of plot holes and unrealized characters.