Rating: 
Summary: nice start - lousy finish
Review: A typical Perez-Reverte novel. The premise draws you in. The characters are just interesting enough to keep you reading. Then he springs the ending on you and you realize that none of his characters have anything remotely resembling plausible motive. When the identities of certain mystery-personas are revealed in the last chapter absolutely nothing in the entire rest of the book has laid the groundwork for it. The problem is not that the choices are unexpected or unconventional, but that the reader is given no real insights into the characters to make their actions seem believable. It's almost as if the writer himself has no idea what motivates them. This book has one of the most unsatisfactory conclusions I've ever read.
Rating: 
Summary: Hackers and The Vatican do not mix
Review: A hacker cracks Vatican security and sends an urgent plea directly to the Pope: Save Our Lady of the Tears. The crumbling Baroque church, located in the heart of Seville, is slated for demolition, and two of its defenders have recently died. Accidents - or murders? The Vatican promptly dispatches Father Lorenzo Quart, their worldly and enormously attractive emissary, to investigate the situation and track down the hacker, known to the Vatican only as Vespers. Father Quart's search for Vespers leads him to Father Priamo Ferro, the coarse and zealous parish priest, who has the full devotion of his small flock; Sister Gris Marsala, a former nun from California who is determined to restore the church; Pencho Gavira, the ambitious young vice-chairman of the Cartujano Bank; his estranged wife, Macarena, a perfect Andalusian beauty whose aristocratic family is closely linked to the church's history; Macarena's mother, the Duchess of El Nuevo Extremo, an elegant insomniac with a taste for Coca-Cola; and Honorato Bonafe, a tabloid reporter bent on getting the dirt on everyone. Father Quart is slowly seduced by the splendor of Seville - and the beauty of Macarena. As time runs out on the church, he is caught between powerful developers who have a stake in Our Lady of the Tears and his loyalty to the Vatican and his own vows.
Rating:
Summary: The Plot is Wafer-Thin
Review: it is perhaps appropriate that the bulk of this novel takes place in a musty old Spanish church in the act of being restored, as the writing a plotting here are as musty as the material. It pains me to say this, as I loved Perez-Reverte's "Flander's Panel" and "The Club Dumas". But what those two books carried in flair and style, this one replaces with dull characters and a plodding pace.
Rating:
Summary: A Few Laughs Maybe, But Basically Boring
Review: This book's strong point, if any, is humor, something I would not have guessed from its advertising. Because of its extravagant characters and dialog it is occasionally reminiscent of The Confederacy of Dunces. But it is also humorous in a way Perez-Reverte may not have intended -- because of its mistakes about the practice and language of a Catholicism he is trying to lampoon, the improbability of his action and dialog, and the number of times that the translator (also not sufficiently acquainted with the Catholic jargon) gets almost but not quite the right word. When someone thinks there are 3000 archbishops in the world (page 21) you can hardly believe him when he talks about the faith life of priests or the sexual fantasies of nuns. The characters are unreal, and so they and their deeds and consequently what there is of a plot are not believable. The cover touts it as a novel of suspense, a thriller, a whodunit, but it is in no way any of those; it is not until after page 300 that we even have a bona fide murder. I found the book boring, and when the surprise endings finally came, I was just glad the book was over.
Rating:
Summary: A o.k read but not a suspense or mystery
Review: I read this with great anticipation and was let down. The characters are trite, a little sterotypical and the interaction between the two main characters was laughable at times. This novel plods and moves but never really engrosses you. In fact you begin to forget the mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Same old, Same old
Review: For a suspense novel the ending was delightful. That said, one can scarcely call it a cliff-hanger; it rather plods, though in a strangely addictive way.
My problem with this work is that it is very poorly researched. Not only does the author appear to have a very unrealistic view of Catholic clergy (not a single one comes across as someone you would want to have as a regular guest in your home), but even his description of Catholic positions on liturgy and doctrine are inaccurate as well as prejudicial. Even his references to the crusades, the inquisition, the officials, etc., are grounded in interpretations no serious scholar would find acceptable. Yes, I did enjoy the book, and I grew progressively disappointed in the author's failure to have done his homework.
Rating: 
Summary: steady pace, great setting
Review: Several strengths to this book: The pace is steady all the way through and keeps you turning pages in interest. The descriptions of Seville are really good, turning into a character as much as a location. The church-as-an-organization theme is interesting. The characters are intersting, as well as a 350 year old church which itself is a suspect in multiple murders. And there is a Perez-Reverte style ending. I found this book entertaing, and once I started it just kept me going almost non-stop.
Rating:
Summary: Good to the last sentence
Review: From Pérez-Reverte i've only read The Flanders Panel, but i've already got an idea of why he is such a popular author. His strong point is the detail with which he describes his characters. It is easy to get to know them, they become flesh and bone, and as a consequence, the reader develops empathy with them, even with the evil ones. This novel has the advantage of having a main character that becomes lovable right off the start. Maybe lovable is not the right word, but Quart is tormented by his past and present circumstances, and these put his role in perspective. The main objection i have with the book is with the identity of the hacker. I know in this day and age everything is possible, but my willing suspension of disbelief has a limit... One thing i cannot stand in a book is when the author gives you obvious clues as to what is going to happen next. I want a book that makes me work. I want to be surprised and i want to be right every so often. In the case of this book, i guessed certain things, and i was surprised by others. I am partial to this book because it takes place in my favorite country and my favorite city. This book reads so much better in Spanish! The nuances of the language, the beautiful, sometimes archaic words that the author uses under the excuse of describing archaic things and people... This is one of the most enjoyable books i've read in the year 2000.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: I found this book entertaining and as usual, full of detailed descriptions. I did like the book, even thought I may not share the portrait the author is writing about the Catholic Church. Not all Catholics are going through a crisis of faith! As for an earlier comment on the name of Macarena and the anoying song... I jut want to say that Macarena is a very common name in the South of Spain, specially in Sevilla.
Rating:
Summary: The Divine Is In The Details
Review: I've found in reading the works of Arturo Perez-Reverte that, often times, the characters that most resonate are the supporting ones. Such is the case with "The Seville Communion." Rather than recount the plot of the book, which is never the key to enjoying his works, I will simply alert potential readers that Reverte's gift is in making one feel for those whom one might not ordinarily be predisposed; the saint is anything but, and the nominal villains, perhaps, display a greater depth of humanity than all. Sometimes the main points are the fine ones, and in this entertaining work, I believe that to be true.
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