Rating: 
Summary: Ludlum's getting better, but...
Review: Despite a few over-the-top reactions in the reviews so far (including the New Yorker; where on earth did THAT come from?), there does seem to be a general consensus, and that consensus is on target: Prometheus Deception is indeed better than most of the author's recent works (and certainly better than the hack "collaboration" for which he sold his name last year), but it clearly isn't up to the level of the great, early Ludlums.In this book (which is shorter than most of his others), Ludlum once again returns to his patented formula of the lone boy scout versus the evil, all-powerful, multi-national conspiracy. But while the issue of electronic surveillance is certainly a valid one to take on, and while I'm sure that Bill Gates does have friends in high places, the plot points in Prometheus require just too much suspension of disbelief to keep the suspense going. In his greatest works in this forumla (Chancellor Manuscript, Matarese, the first Bourne) Ludlum's heroes are just the right mixture of superman and human. But in Prometheus, Nick Bryson is just too much, dashing deliberately into the lion's den time after time after time, for no logical reason. He's got more lives than Bond...and almost as many as Dirk Pitt, but one never truly feels for the character. Despite these disappointments, Robert Ludlum really is a very, very good writer, and although this is far from his strongest work, his natural talent is good enough to keep him high on my reading list. I rated Prometheus Deception three stars, but if it had been another author, it might have gotten a fourth.
Rating: 
Summary: prometheus Deception
Review: Having read everything Ludlam has written, he appears back to writing in his typical way. Even though somewhat predicatable, he is still entertaining. I am glad he's back after a few yawners. Still worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: Another Anxiety Dream by Ludlum
Review: Robert Ludlum is the master of novels which contribute to conspiracy theory and anxiety dreams. He has combined these elements again in The Prometheus Deception, his twenty-third novel. His formula, which has been so successful, takes a character who has or is about to retire from spying, or who doesn't know who he is, or who does not suspect who he really is, and places him in a dangerous mission to penetrate an international cabal which is about to destroy or enslave the world. No one is better than Ludlum in creating a cabal: "Inver Brass"; the "Sicillian Shepherd Boy"; and now "The Directorate" which becomes "Prometheus." And these cabals all have tentacles into all of the halls of power. Wandering through the anxiety dream of The Prometheus Deception is Nicholas Bryson, a career spy for the Directorate put out to pasture five years ago. He is approached by the grand old man of the CIA and informed that his former employer was not the super-secret off-the-books US spy agency he thought it was. In fact, it was a deep-cover KGB operation for which Bryson had not helped save the world for democracy but had almost won the cold war for the Soviets by subverting many key CIA operations. Convinced that there may be something to the story, Bryson tries to recontact the Directorate and its head man, his old mentor. There is an immediate attempt on his life, which he barely escapes. Then he is off on his adventure: destroying ships at sea, evading terrorist attacks in crowded European cities, and evading old colleagues out to get his head. It seems that his old agency has become Prometheus and is about to conquer the world, and the world won't even know it! In formula fashion Bryson meets and is assisted by a beautiful female agent. Ludlum provides an interesting twist in the standard formula with the roles of Layla, the beautiful Mossad agent, and Byson's wife, Elena, who left him just before he was "retired" by the Directorate. Turning many suspenseful pages, the reader helps Bryson foil the dastards and once again retire, knowing that the world is safe again and Prometheus has been consigned to the flames. Or has it? The ending sets up a good premise for a sequel. The Prometheus Deception is classic Ludlum which will be enjoyed by his many fans-and maybe even create a few new ones.
Rating: 
Summary: Good read
Review: A true international thriller, that incorporates business and politics and the military and espionage. A good read. Maybe the best thriller since Craig Furnas' THE SHAPE.
Rating: 
Summary: Mr. Ludlum,
Review: Okay, you had me hooked. And fooled. Batman is back, and Robin too. Think I'll go back and re-read Bourne Identity.
Rating:
Summary: More Deception for you Dollar
Review: This is the first of Ludlum's novels that I have read and I am impressed. The book keeps a quick pace and is action packed. Nicholas Bryson, an ex-directorate agent, unravels a complex and world altering plot to destroy privacy in a way that makes Orson Wells seem optimistic. As to the true nature of the directorate, it is a phantom-like organization whose loyalties are unknown to nearly all. The plot twists are so profuse that after a while it is nearly predictable- but there is always one more around the corner. If you are looking for an adventure novel, you can't go wrong with Prometheus.
Rating:
Summary: The best book i've ever read!
Review: This intruging tale of action is thoroughly shouded in colossal mystery... it will keep readers guessing throughout this incredible novel. Nicolas Bryson is involved in an immense deception involving a powerful group called the directorate and a mysterious organization called prometheus with roots all the way up into the president's Cabinet. The directorate is so incredibly dark and clandestine, it seems that Ludlum himself is unsure about some of the more cryptic details
Rating: 
Summary: Ludlum's spy like Robocop
Review: Our Superspy in this book keeps jumping from acting very smart to rather retarded. In one minute he pulls together obscure facts to solve a problem and the next he accepts statements of others that any Ludlum reader would seriously question. We all expect our Superspy's to be able to get out of seemingly inexcapable traps, but in this story he comes across more like Robocop rising from a nuclear attack. As a reader of Ludlum since the very beginnings, I expect my heros to use their brains and reasoning to solve the case with clues, facts and information in the story, even though those clues may be well hidden, and not pull solutions out of thin air. Sorry I spent the money for the hardback.
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.
|
