Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant use of flashback
Review: In The Parsifal Mosaic by Robert Ludlum, the literary device flashback was used very frequently and very effectively. Since it revealed many very essential plot elements, the novel was much strengthened by this device. And, Robert Ludlum brought much needed suspense and complexity to the plot by using flashback.
This literary device was used very much throughout this novel. And the reason it was used so much was to reveal essential and thrilling plot elements. Each flashback made by the main character, Michael Havelock, made the story more understandable and put plot puzzle pieces together. Without the use of this literary device by Robert Ludlum, there would be many gaps in the story and the book would not make sense at all.
Not only was the plot put together by the author's use of this literary device, the story was made more suspenseful and complex after these flashbacks by the main character. Each one of them blew you away by revealing something totally new and surprising that made the pages keep turning. It made the book intriguing from beginning to end.
Robert Ludlum's use of flashback in The Parsifal Mosaic ultimately strengthened the novel. In no way did it make it weak or uninteresting or bland, it actually held the plot together and made it suspenseful. This novel was as good as it was because of the literary device of flashback.
Rating:
Summary: Extremely entertaining!!!!
Review: Once again Ludlum doesn't dissapoint.This book starts off fairly slow but the action and intensity pick up.Add in some classic suspense,a deadly killer,a dissapeared genius and a hero whose lifes gone to pieces due to circumstances beyond his control and you have an acton packed thrilling joyride!!Definetly Ludlum at his best!!
Rating:
Summary: A guilty pleasure for the discerning reader
Review: One feels almost shame in enjoying the works of Robert Ludlum. The dialogue steps out of the Stone Age onto the paper (the phrases "my friend" and "spell it out" are used overgenerously), the melodrama is suffocating (ditto the words "madness" and "insanity", always in italics and always followed with an exclamation point), and the characters are photocopies of each other from book to book. Meanwhile, the good-guy spy is over-romanticized, the stuff of a fourteen year-old girl's wildest fantasies. The problem is, Ludlum is so darned fun to read. And, as his novels go, The Parsifal Mosaic is among the best. This might be directly related to the sky-high body count, but it's Ludlum: get used to it. I felt almost guilty the first time I acknowledged to myself that the bloodbath trick--someone getting killed every four pages or so--never gets old. No one said this guy was Tolstoy. He's not even John LeCarre or Frederick Forsyth. But nor are they Robert Ludlum. If you want pragmatism, realism, and a spy hero who gets his hands dirty, eats corn flakes, and drives a Taurus, then read LeCarre (the master of characterization) or Forsyth (the master of the political thriller). But none of their work gives you quite the same thrill as sitting down with Robert Ludlum......while he blows away five hundred people with machine guns.
Rating:
Summary: A guilty pleasure for the discerning reader
Review: One feels almost shame in enjoying the works of Robert Ludlum. The dialogue steps out of the Stone Age onto the paper (the phrases "my friend" and "spell it out" are used overgenerously), the melodrama is suffocating (ditto the words "madness" and "insanity", always in italics and always followed with an exclamation point), and the characters are photocopies of each other from book to book. Meanwhile, the good-guy spy is over-romanticized, the stuff of a fourteen year-old girl's wildest fantasies. The problem is, Ludlum is so darned fun to read. And, as his novels go, The Parsifal Mosaic is among the best. This might be directly related to the sky-high body count, but it's Ludlum: get used to it. I felt almost guilty the first time I acknowledged to myself that the bloodbath trick--someone getting killed every four pages or so--never gets old. No one said this guy was Tolstoy. He's not even John LeCarre or Frederick Forsyth. But nor are they Robert Ludlum. If you want pragmatism, realism, and a spy hero who gets his hands dirty, eats corn flakes, and drives a Taurus, then read LeCarre (the master of characterization) or Forsyth (the master of the political thriller). But none of their work gives you quite the same thrill as sitting down with Robert Ludlum... ...while he blows away five hundred people with machine guns.
Rating:
Summary: The cold war in one great succulent dollop .
Review: Parsifal Mosaic is a one great true read. It gives meaning to that misused phrase " could not put it down". It is Robert Ludlum weaving his web through the cold war error with the fascinating backdrops of Europe. At once there is an intermingling of passionate hatred, and of love to get to the truth at all costs. I loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Great book, with one twist to many
Review: The book was fun to read, entertaining and exciting to the end. Though it had one twist to many, just one, possibly two twist too many. Michael Havelock sees the woman that he thought was dead, alive and well, and his life is turned upside down, great book great plot.
Rating:
Summary: Vintage Ludlum
Review: The Parsifal Mosaic sets the style of many Ludlum classics that are to follow. Michael Havelock, a tragic hero makes a supreme sacrifice and want to leave the scene of action, only to be dragged back into it in order to protect his life, coupled with the juxtaposition of hope and deceipt at every corner. It takes a while to set the scenario of Havelock's character and past, but then it takes off like an F-14 launched from a Carrier's catapult. Superb reading and intense storyline make this one book that warrants thorough perusal.
Rating:
Summary: Intense!
Review: The Parsifal Mosaic was the first Ludlum book I read and I never regretted it. The plot was superbly woven: no loopholes, no loose ends. But I think the greatest thing about this book was the characters. Michael Havelock and Jenna Karas were portrayed as two human beings locked in an "immovable prison", as Ludlum termed it. I would say that this book is unsurpassed. Congratulations, Mr. Ludlum.
Rating:
Summary: The Best!!!!
Review: This book represents Ludlum at his best, bar none!!! My only problem with this book is the dialogue which strikes me as unrealistic. I found myself repeatedly thinking that people do not speak to each other as the characters do in this novel. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the plot development and, well, just about everything else. In fact, I have read this book at least ten times. For my money, I would strongly recommend this novel and the following: The Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, Scarlatti Inheritance, Aquitaine Progression, Matarese Circle, The Holcroft Covenant and The Gemini Contenders. Please, PLEASE, avoid the following: The Matarese Countdown, The Road to Omaha, The Scorpio Illusion and The Bourne Ultimatum.
Rating: 
Summary: complex and confusing
Review: This book starts out well with a simple objective, but by chapter 17 things became so complicated that I started to take notes to keep up with the flow. My interest waned about three quarters of the way through because I didn't like where the story was going and so many questions were not answered to my satisfaction. Also, I didn't care for all of the dialogue. Some of it seemed redundant.
I wouldn't recommend this book as a first Ludlum read because it's way too complex. You must be accustomed to Ludlum's style and or you must be a real big fan of cold war novels.
|
