Daughter of God

Rating:
Summary: Poorly Written Novel
Review: Daughter of God is one of the most poorly written books I have read in a long time. The plot was choppy, the characters unrealistic, the grammar confusing, and the thesis anti-religion. I did not find it intellectually stimulating due to the author's obviously overt efforts to bend his readers to a certain point of view through awkward conversations between his characters and through character developments throughout the plot. Such conversations and such developments would not take place in real life the way the author depicts them in his book. The ultimate problem is that his book becomes an awkward cross between a theological essay and a fictional novel - leaving the reader confused as to whether he or she should be trying to enjoy the plot or trying to seriously consider the thesis. And where were the editors?

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating concept, BUT...
Review: A fascinating concept that fell flat. The plot in this novel was great. A couple "discover" secret documents that the Catholic Church has been hiding for over a thousand years. About another messiah that was born 300 odd years after Christ. It was absolutley intriguing. The religous discussions were interesting. I was excited to see that the author discussed the Goddess religion. Intellectually this novel could have been a winner.

However, the writing was so horrible that I couldn't get into this book and enjoy the potential intellectual stimulation. The characterizations were hideous. The attempts at making the characters seem deep were awkward and annoying. The twists and turns of the plot exhausting. I kept hoping that one of the main characters would just die and end this book. The dialogue was stiff and unnatural. There were several contradictions that were annoying and I couldn't believe that with all the editing nobody caught them. Actually, I am only assuming this book was edited. There were Nazi's involved and so many people were trying to kill the main characters and find the documents that at times it was confusing. Anyone could tell who the "bad guy" was. The ending was completely predictable.

If you are a person that loves the idea of religious secrets, the finding of new documents and a crazy chase and are able to forgive bad writing, then buy this book. If you think that bad writing is a crime that should be punishable by death, avoid this book like the plague. If you want to be a writer, then read this book. The lessons on what not to do are incredibly valuable.

However, under no circumstances should we give up on this writer. His plot and the ideas behind it had so much potential. Given time and more experience with the actual mechanics of writing, which is not hard to learn....Lewis Perdue could really take us places.

Rating:
Summary: Daughter of God
Review: I work at Bible research. Sometimes we have to "stretch" our mind to learn new things. "Daughter of God" is an exceptional book. I could not put it down.

Okay, so some of the thoughts are not what we were raised to believe (me a Baptist), but the story line is great and the historical information was even better. The author comments and explanations in the back of the book made it even more exciting. This much research into writing a book, I can only say is without a doubt a superior work of art.

One of the best books this year.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling Story, Just Poorly Written
Review: [...] This book is poorly written, and chock full of tired cliches (his favorite being the character who walks into the story, divulges a ton of information, and then is killed by an unseen assailant.) The dialogue is stilted and, at times, downright painful.
This is too bad, because I liked the basis of the plot, and it appears that Perdue did a good amount of research. If only he had taken some of that time and invested it in a writing course...


Rating:
Summary: Not Very Good
Review: [...] I was very disappointed. Although I can appreciate the author's imagination and ideas, he is just not a good enough writer to turn his ideas into interesting reading. "Daughter of God" started with a great premise which promised an exciting thriller but the writing was just terrible, the situations were ridiculous, the characters were wooden, and the cliches were many. I kept with this book just hoping that the story would get better and live up to its promise. It didn't. If this subject matter sounds interesting you would be well advised to try "Angels and Demons" or "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown instead.


Rating:
Summary: Suspicious
Review: I am deeply suspicious of the reviews that give this book 1 or 2 stars...I don't believe the reviewers actually read the book. They seem to be people with an axe to grind because it has been suggested that The DaVinci Code borrowed from this book and another by Lewis Perdue, The DaVinci Legacy.
This book is actually far better than The DaVinci Code: better researched, more plausible and, most of all, far better written.
The central relationship and the principal female character in The DaVinci Code is a total rehash of Angels and Demons (In other words, it appears that Dan Brown may have plagiarized from himself.)
From the first pages of Daughter of God I was engaged. Literate, erudite...and exciting. A very good book indeed.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, complex and exciting
Review: The plot and background of "Daughter of God" are very interesting in and of themselves, and I would have been interested in reading this as non-fiction. However, the way Perdue takes the material and creates a believable and exciting thriller around them makes it even more fun to read. The characters Zoie and her husband Seth are complex, believable and interesting, whereas some mystery/thriller authors don't seem to concern themselves much with developing characters any more than necessary to further the plot. This thriller, incorporating well-researched events in history that have been covered up and are now being brought to light, has everything I like in a novel. I learn something new, I get to meet interesting characters and peek in on their relationships, and I'm taken for on a twisting, exciting journey along the way.

Rating:
Summary: THIS DAUGHTER ROCKS!
Review: I was blown away that the author could maintain such suspense, action and pure emotional movement while giving me so much incredible information, all of it with a writing style that bordered on lyrical.

I have never before read a book that engaged every bit of my brain and satisfied the need for speed and the desire for knowledge. It fed my soul and still keeps me thinking about what might have been and what it all means.

I was prepared not to like this book, especially with some of the recent anonymous reviews from "A reader" but I came away with a profound respect for this author. I can't wait to read Slatewiper.

Rating:
Summary: not as good as it could have been
Review: The premise of this book should have led to a stunning and gripping read. Imagine that there was a second Messiah born around the time of Constantine, that this Messiah was destroyed by collaboration of the Pope and Constantine, that this Messiah was a girl, and that the Catholic Church, KGB and the US NSA will all do anything to get hold of the documentation and shroud of this Messiah.

Sounds like the start of a great thriller, and should have been. Unfortunately it isn't. The writer gets so caught up in giving unnecessary details that the reader is tempted to skim read to get through it. Do we really need over 15 different descriptions of what it looks like when someone's head is blown off? Of what it looks and smells like when someone is gutted by a knife or Uzi while still alive? Perdue put so much killing in this story, it seems he ran out of ways to describe them.

Overall, the book was purely dissatisfying.

Rating:
Summary: Astounding research, even better writing
Review: I was astounded at the depth of historical research presented in Perdue's book. Rather that just hitting a glancing blow at the facts, he presents us with a great deal to digest. It is often thought-provoking and always interesting.

I was impressed with the depth of the characters presented here, not the usual one-dimensional treatment frequently found in thrillers.

Finally, I found the writing almost lyrical with a style and deft handling of the language rarely found in the thriller form.