The Prometheus Deception

Rating:
Summary: Too much Spy vs. Spy for me, but still a good read...
Review: I would have to agree that The Prometheus Deception is one of Ludlum's better works, certainly in the last decade. His knowledge of technology and his masterful incorporation of it in this novel are not only fantastic, but also frighteningly realistic. Unfortunately the "Big Brother" idea is carried too far and it almost feels as if Ludlum was writing about the Virginia-based company MicroStrategy and Michael Saylor (with an evil side.) I don't know, discount that because I happen to be from Northern Virginia.

The hero, Nicholas Bryson is a quasi secret agent (a la a hybrid of the KGB and CIA) and he is for all intents and purposes a superman who has come out of retirement to save the world. While the fantastic abilities Bryson possess' take away from the character (to the extent that he is unrealistic), Ludlum is able to put him through enough circumstances that the reader accepts Bryson as being just extraordinary and not superhuman. A James Bond who can get out of anything. Unfortunately the lack of realism led me to downgrade the book from a 4 star to a 3 star.

I found the twists and turns of the plot to be great and until the final twist (where "Ted Waller" turns out to be playing both sides against each other) the story was becoming a classic spy novel. Unfortunately that final twist was too much, one reader pointed out that this double dealing was too much too bear and added nothing but confusion and perhaps a chance to write a sequel down the road. The return of Elena too was just a bit too much for me, but I can see why other readers might like that romantic twist.

If you, like me, enjoyed the Holcroft Covenant and some of Ludlum's prior work, I would give this book a try. Just remember that you are going to be reading about a "James Bond" character with a couple of twists...

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: 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: skip it
Review: This book begins much better than it ends. I'm a longtime Ludlum fan (I've read every book he's ever done), and for awhile, I really thought the Ludlum of old was back. I thought MATARESE COUNTDOWN and APOCALYPSE WATCH were just bad dreams I could forget.

Nope. This one isn't much better. Ludlum does a great job hooking you with the premise, but then proceeds to go nowhere with it. The much vaunted "high tech" angle is rarely reflected in the plotline, which I thought got duller and duller as it went. It was a real struggle for me to finish the last 40 pages or so, because I just didn't care anymore.

Overall, it reads like a lukewarm rehash of Ludlum's earlier (and much better) book AQUITAINE PROGRESSION. The problem as I see it, is that the Ludlum of today no longer connects the twists and turns to the story. Instead, the characters just stagger around from city to city, country to country, with little rhyme or reason to be found.

Sigh. I think I'll go back now and re-read BOURNE IDENTITY.

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: 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: I'm trying so hard to like it.
Review: This has got to be one of the biggest disappointments. After reading Bourne Identity and Bourn Supremacy I thought Ludlum could be one of my favorite writers. I just finished reading The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and some how I'm comparing the two. I was blown away by the writing skills of Brown and now trying to force myself through this Prometheus Deception I ask myself if Bourn Identity was just as bad in comparison to Da Vinci Code.
I'm so disappointed with this book that I'm hoping it was written by someone else. You know, a guy finds Ludlum's unfinished manuscript and fills in the blanks then publishes it as a Ludlum book. This makes no sense, but that's what I'm praying is the case because this book sucks so bad.
Bryson is the biggest idiot. Johnny English probably has more skills than this guy. And the droning descriptions of things that aren't important make me want to skip paragraphs just to keep the story going. The long scenes of memories are tired and dull. They make no sense and are a waste of time to read. I'm not even half way through this book, but I refuse to put it down since I have faith. But it's quickly running out. I'm surprised so many people enjoyed this book. Maybe, like me, they want to like it for Ludlum's' sake.

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular!! Best since Bourne Identity..
Review: I keep waiting for something to spark my interest and make me feel my time has not been wasted. Finally!! This book has been the very best book I have read since "The Bourne Identity ".To me, he reached his peak with "The Bourne Identity". I consider "The Bourne Identity" to be the greatest "thriller" I ever read.
After some of his posthumous books have been a little shaky, but this really shines.
Having read almost all of Ludlum's work, "the Prometheus deception" is clearly among Ludlum's best. Ludlums ideas of interrogation, planning and confusion are really what makes this book great to read . I simply can't say enough positives about this fantastic read.

Rating:
Summary: Strong start, weak ending
Review: I usually enjoy Ludlum's novels for their fast-paced action and plot twists, even though he does occasionally leave some holes in the plot, and take a lot of writer's license with the time it take for events to occur.

The Prometheus Deception starts out great, with a lot of action and interesting plot twists, but Ludlum seems to run out of steam in the last few chapters as the story seems to become more and more implausible.

He ends up relying on a Deus ex Machina to save the protagonist at the end of the story, and then proceeds to tack on a rather silly coda in the epilogue, perhaps to set up a future sequel.

There were also some technical inaccuracies in the book, which surprised me given Ludlum's experience in writing this genre; for example, in one scene the protagonist is picked up by an Apache helicopter, though clearly he must have meant a Blackhawk, since Apache helicopters can't carry passengers.

Surprisingly, Ludlum also seems to be lacking in his knowledge of handguns, since he doesn't seem to understand the difference between a pistol and a revolver, or how pistols work (e.g. pistols don't go "click" when they are empty, because the slide locks back; and what is a "snub-nosed .45 pistol"?).

Rating:
Summary: It's so good that deserves another 5 star review!
Review: Once again Robert Ludlum delivers his usual mix of espionage action and excitement. As always he puts the readers on the edge of their seats. I read The Prometheus Deception a second time and it is one of the best written by this outstanding author.