The Flanders Panel

Rating:
Summary: Very gifted Writer
Review: This book, in my opinion, was extremely well written and thoroughly researched. The author has the incredible ability to describe, in complete detail, the surrounding areas so well, that the reader actually feels like he/she is really there. The author describes the characters' emotions in such a way, that the reader can honestly feel what the character is feeling. I love that in a book! The theme of chess is woven throughout the entire novel and without a love for the game or, at the bare minimum, an understanding of how the game is played, there is a very good chance that this book will leave the reader confused. The characters (especially the "bad guys") base their every move on the position of the chess pieces and the "good guys" have to counteract with a move of their own. With all of that being said, I felt that this was a five star novel up until the last chapter. Although I felt that the ending was slightly far-fetched, it was still a plausible ending. However, I felt that the main character's response to the "solution" of her mystery was weak and unbelievable. There is a twist at the end and, in my opinion, the main character did not respond to that twist in a way that corresponded with her actions throughout the rest of the novel...she suddenly became signifigantly less emotional than she had been up until this point and for me, that was worth the reluctant removal of one star.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Introduction to Perez-Reverte
Review: This is the first book I have read by Arturo Perez-Reverte, and while I can certainly understand the criticisms I have read here, I still enjoyed it. Someone described this story as quirky, and I agree.

This is not a very long book, and there is no telling what might have been lost in the English translation, but I felt that the characters had become real enough, and that the story moved along quite well. I would have liked to learn more about the relationship between Julia and Cesar, and I think the story would have benefited if it had been drawn out a littler further, but overall I found it to be an entertaining piece of fiction with undertones that required some thought. If anything, The Flanders Panel makes me want to read more from Perez-Reverte. Judging by some of the reviews I've read on these pages, it seems as if his books will only get better.


Rating:
Summary: Very readable
Review: This is the first book I've read by Perez-Reverte. I found it very readable and enjoyed it. It started of a little slow but picked up nicely.

The character development of the three main characters was handled very well. The main character, Julia, an art restorer in Spain, is restoring a fictional painting depicting a chess game played in the 1500's. While doing so, she discovers a hidden message - Quis Necavit Equitem - Who killed the Knight? Julia is determined to solve a 500 year old mystery of who killed one of the players depicted in the painting.

Her two allies in the search, the wise Cesar and the quirky Munoz , are polar opposites that Perez-Reverte weaves together to form a very good murder mystery. I especially like the character Munoz.

Rating:
Summary: Great mystery, until the ending
Review: This is the second book that I have read from ARTURO PEREZ-REVERTE, and just like the first I was turning pages as quickly as I could read them (The Club Dumas). It's a great story which has the heroine figuring out a mystery from the past. I thought the character development was excellent and it really showed that there are good people and there are bad (even the people you don't suspect, have their own human flaws)in this world (even if they are fictional). I was particularly empressed with the twists and turns all the way up to the ending; which then kind of fizzeled my interest(reason for 4 stars - last chapter). Perhaps I didn't get it but I was completely let down when the final checkmate was discovered and the perptrator was revealed. Overall this book was worth the read and peaked my interest in art as well as in chess. A novice who is interested in the craft of chess should give this book a read.