The Prometheus Deception

Rating:
Summary: Getting better, finally
Review: I have been a Ludlum fan for many years but his past three or four books have not been up to his earlier ones. This one's better but still not up to snuff. Hope the next one is better yet. Oh yeah, I'll continue to buy them. He's still very good.

Rating:
Summary: Zero credibility
Review: I purchased this book based on a reviewer's comments that it was a return to Ludlum's earlier days of high quality, fast paced novels. Wrong. The book is very poorly written with contradictions in statements, logic and common sense occurring within paragraphs and in a never-ending stream throughout at least the first 125 pages of the novel. At that point I could no longer tolerate the lack of writing or editorial quality and quit reading. Save your time and money.

Rating:
Summary: Who wrote this?
Review: If it didn't say Ludlum on the cover, and if I hadn't advance ordered my copy, I'd think I had picked up a Gold Eagle paperback off the discount rack. This book has none of the richness and depth of a Ludlum novel. Not only are the characters quite flat, but the plot twists that are the hallmark of Ludlum aren't there. The story is too straightforward, with little in the way of surprise. Ludlum's best is full of "I didn't see that coming... but I guess I should have." This book is full of "He's going to end up doing this..." and ten pages later he does.

This saddens me. I've been a long time fan of Ludlum and was quite anxious to get this book. Now having read it, I'm not all that concerned about when the next Ludlum will come out. I know that Ludlum has done some "collaboration" on a men's adventure novel (series?). This book makes me wonder if a hack writer has rubbed off on Ludlum... or if some hack "ghosted" this novel.

Rating:
Summary: Typical good Ludlum
Review: See storyline above.

A bit of 007 mixed with some 'True Lies' gives you an idea of what the new Ludlum thriller will give you. The protaganist Bryson gets into so many life and death situations during his deep cover operations, which he obviously always escapes, that you don't worry about him dying when he gets into another one. Bryson is definitely one of those heroes that's almost impossible to kill. This does make for great thrills though, because, as quoted above this review, this is escapist fiction. Nonstop, blood pulsing, twisting, turning, highspeed, whos who, back stabbing and front stabbing Action! One heck of a ride. Sure there are some flaws. How can you make a simple mistake like not knowing that the previous nights weather was severe storms (when they were running old footage over live footage). This, personally, bothered me the most of the little things that didn't quite fit with the premise.

Overall an exceptional thriller.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Logic & Probability Impaired
Review: As a truly loyal Ludlum fan, from his first books, I was mezmerized by his attention to detail and his building of logical plot development. I read quickly to finish his books, and then read again to enjoy the prose and that "well turned phrase".

I'm disappointed the Prometheus Deception fails on all counts. Too many holes; too many "fits 'n' starts". While many of his involve impossible situations or revolve around almost super-human abilities that win out the day, it was nevertheless, somehow, believable because of Ludlum's skill in weaving a full & rich tale.

The heros "magically" escape every death-dealing situation with an abundance of weaponry without any thought to the "how", "when", and least of all - the "probability". Unfortunately these lapses are all too obvious and glaring; enough so that it prevents the reader from a continuous building of enjoyment and anticipation.

What makes this so personally dis-satisfying is remembering how so very much I enjoyed Ludlum's previous works, and how much I looked forward to "feeding the need" to relish a great "read".

Rating:
Summary: He's Back
Review: You simply must read this book. It is one of the most frigthening and accurate novels to address the overt excesses of the information age. I'll be the first to say that this is not Ludlum's best. It is, however, his best in quite some time. And, let's be realistic about this, Ludlum when he is only good, is better than virtually anyone else at their best. While, it is by far his best novel in ten years I consdidered only giveing the book four stars. But, I realized to do so would be to pusnish Ludlum for the extrodinary body of work during his first fifteen years of writing.

The book is topical, frightenly realistic and crafted masterfully. Few wirters of this genere tell a story and hold your interest in the manner that Ludlum repeatedly does. While I do miss some of the innocence of past Ludlum protagonists, he always makes his hero real. They try, they fail, they win, they lose, they hurt and they bleed. And, they almost always fall in love. Or in the case of this novel, they fall in love all over again.

While the villian of this novel bares a striking resemblance to Bill Gates, the evil that the book describes is layed out in layman language with striking accuracy and in a manner that should remind all of us that the remarkable technological age that we live in cuts both ways.

If you have never read Ludlum before, you will be blown away. If you are a long-time fan, his unique talent will be reinforced in your mind. This book will deliver everything that Ludlum is famous for.

Rating:
Summary: Ludlum at the top of his form
Review: I've been a fan of Robert Ludlum's ever since the publication of his first novel, more than twenty years ago. It's been a while since his last book, and it's clear that he's used his time well, for this work is a real "rip-snorter"! There doesn't appear to be a page that isn't crammed with action, and you just keep turning them to see how the plot is going. True, there 's a lot of exposition that we don't need, but some of the sidelights tend to be interesting, as is the guided tour around many interesting places in the world. The plot is convoluted enought for even the most hardened thriller mavens, and though you know the hero is going to prevail, it's still a very interesting ride along the way. The ending was satisfying, but somewhat enigmatic, seeming to point the way to a sequel, but that's fine with me, for I can never get enough of Ludlum!

Rating:
Summary: Ludlum's Genre is Not the Techno-Thriller
Review: The Prometheus Deception seems to be Ludlum's attempt to join Clancy and others in the realm of the techno-thriller.

Unfortunately, the book suffers from the hallmarks of bad science fiction -- i.e., a new geegaw always comes out of the bottomless sack to allow the hero to escape from the bad guys.

The technology is unconvincing, the plot is tired, the conclusion unsatisfying.

I hope that this was just an experiment and that Ludlum returns to his strengths of intricate plots and fundamental spycraft.

Rating:
Summary: Ludlum makes a welcomed return!
Review: For the legions of Robert Ludlum fans, "The Prometheus Deception" is a welcomed return (not his best, but still ala Ludlum, as it were!)! For years, Ludlum was at the top of his genre with untold millions of copies sold and even more read! This is vintage Ludlum, so his fans aren't going to be too disappointed. In fact, I suspect they will be elated.

As Macbeth said, "False face must hide what the false heart doth know" and in this story line, "there's no art to find the mind's construction in the face." Nicholas Bryson has been "retired" from The Service, but like Lazarus, now he finds himself resurrected; things were not as they had seemed. It appears that much of what he had been doing has been a falsehood, that those with whom he had worked--and loved--were, in actuality, "working for the other side." To cut to the chase, "the other side" now appears to be the insidious work of a Seattle billionaire (made rich through his computer empire) and a

puzzling, mysterious, perplexing unit called Prometheus! All this is familiar territory to Ludlum and his books, but no matter. He continues to be a master to hold the reader spellbound; his research (and certainly his geography!) is excellent (yes, Ludlum continues to see multi-national conglomerates as The Enemy), which makes his stories all the more believable. Lengthy as it is, "The Prometheus Deception" will hold your attention! (And he keeps to his three-word titles!) ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: The best Ludlum in at least a decade
Review: Maybe because I do so much flying for work, I've read a lot of Ludlum, but "The Prometheus Deception" really blew me away. For one thing, I happen to work in the tech sector, and the book was really smart in the way it touched on that world. I guess Ludlum's been writing books for three decades, but it turns out he really keeps up, the way a reality-based novelist ought to. Tom Clancy, watch your back! For another thing, the plot is incredibly inventive: the story elements in the first forty pages alone would have sufficed for a dozen run-of-the-mill thrillers. And then it just doesn't stop. Nobody's going to confuse Ludlum with Henry James, or Graham Greene for that matter. The writing is strong and vivid, but this is more of an amusement park ride than a wallow in existential despair. "Brighton Rock" it ain't, and thank god for that. I did have some complaints: the hero, Nicholas Bryson, is actually too skillful - hell, he's practically invincible, to the point that plausibility is a bit strained. I miss the slight cluelessness of some of Ludlum's earlier protagonists, like Noel Holcroft or Joel Converse. But these are minor misgivings. Overall, this novel--which I started on a plane from Seattle to New York and finished on the back again -- left me with a great buzz. As a Ludlum fan, I also found it heartening to think that there might be more like this one to come. This summer I read "The Hades Factor," or the first half of it anyway. It was shockingly bad. And since "The Apocalypse Watch" and "Matarese Countdown" were sort of lame, I'd begun to worry that Ludlum had run out of steam. "The Prometheus Deception" put that worry to rest. The guy's back, and at the top of this game.