The Silk Code

Rating:
Summary: detective with wild but believable ideas
Review: I loved this book. I lived for many years next to a detective in the New York City Police Department. Paul Levinson has these characters down pat. I also enjoyed the science fiction. The ideas are just on the other side of believable. Right on the border. Half the time I couldn't tell if the theories presented were true, and already proven scientifically. I like that in a science fiction novel. The day after tomorrow. Keeps you on the edge of your seat. I read this book in three evenings. I couldn't put it down. Grab it!

Rating:
Summary: a different kind of novel
Review: I read The Silk Code more than a month ago -- and I haven't stopped thinking about it. Bits and pieces pop into my head just about every day. When I was reading it, I was frustrated at times. Lots of loose ends throughout the book, and only some of them are resolved at the end. But maybe that's like life itself. And the ideas in this book, like the possibility that lots of our carbon-14 dating may be distorted, and why ... they just keep coming at you, and stay in your mind. I can't remember the last time a novel stayed with me so long. Thanks to my wife, who bought The Silk Code for me for the holidays.

Rating:
Summary: interesting
Review: I really enjoyed this book very much,i thought it showed new ideals with an interesting story and enough suspense and mystery to keep me interestred until the end.

Rating:
Summary: Bad read, no biscuit
Review: I suspect there is a decent book somewhere within this novel. And there's enough good writing that I would definitely try something else by Mr. Levinson, particularly his raved-about short stories. That's the good news. The bad news: little to no character development; you need an abacus to keep track of the body count (5 people killed off in the first 45 pages); dialog that feels pulled from a screen-play; and finally, choppy editing that must have removed the parts that made the story cohesive. I wanted a novel, a deftly written, detailed continuous story but there was so little information in this book about the people in it; there's just reports of what they were doing and no detail about what they looked like, no sensory detail about the places they were in or their memories. The section on the Silk Road has more of this but still lacks information about the characters and their personal stories. I'd love to read the real version of this novel. Paul, can you try again or let me see what it looked like before your editors sliced and diced?

Rating:
Summary: rich, complex, beguiling tapestry
Review: I think The Silk Code is really two books in one. One story is about a detective -- Phil D'Amato -- with a lot of heart and a great sense of humor. The other story is about a strange people who lived along the Silk Road over a thousand years ago. Paul Levinson weaves the two together in a very captivating way -- he goes so deeply into the Silk Road people that we almost forget about D'Amato, but then we're suddenly back in the present and it all ties together in a way at the end. As a graduate student in anthropology, I especially enjoyed the 750 AD part -- the thinking of the characters in that section seemed very real to me, and that's hard to do for an ancient culture. All in all, a *very* enjoyable book -- almost a new kind of science fiction.

Rating:
Summary: Farfetched ideas and immature writing style
Review: I thought the book was interesting but overall a disappointment. Firstly, the science was hard to believe. Maybe some parts of whats in here could be true but it just has too many elements that are a stretch of the imagination. There is no magic in DNA but this work would have you believe there is. This story would probably work better if it were all a dream filled with metaphors. Secondly, the writing just is a little off. The characters are one-dimensional and I didn't miss them all that much as they dropped like flies (or moths?). The beginning of the story starts abruptly as if some beginning chapter, developing the situation, was cut out for space. I concede that there is some hint of good mystery writing hidden in here but I wasn't gripped by the story. I got lost and bored when we went back to 750 AD. Credit must be given that are not the usual bunch of grammatical/spelling errors and typos I increasingly find with books these days. Read it if the topic interests you but don't pay too much for it nor expect too much from it.

Rating:
Summary: powerful hard-boiled detection meets scifi
Review: I'm usually a reader of 1940s detective fiction. Hammett and Chandler are my gods. A friend recommended The Silk Code. She said I might like it, because its hero had a similiar outlook on the world. I wasn't disappointed. Phil D'Amato, the forensic detective who is the hero of this book, is one of the most interesting characters to come along in years. I didn't even mind the scifi. D'Amato's beat is the history of the human race. Highly recommended. A truly off-beat, rewarding yarn. I'll be looking for more.

Rating:
Summary: Original, thought-provoking, compelling
Review: If you're fascinated by the potential of human genome research, as I am, you'll love Levinson's novel. I just read last month that scientists mapping the human genome have found much more DNA from lower organisms than anyone previously thought was in us. Well, The Silk Code makes that point -- and offers other fascinating possibilities about the relation of human beings to other organisms -- beautifully. I enjoyed every page. This is science fiction, history, biology, and philosophy all mixed into one exciting novel.

Rating:
Summary: Human genome bonanza
Review: If you're fascinated by the potential of human genome research, as I am, you'll love Levinson's novel. I just read last month that scientists mapping the human genome have found much more DNA from lower organisms than anyone previously thought was in us. Well, The Silk Code makes that point -- and offers other fascinating possibilities about the relation of human beings to other organisms -- beautifully. I enjoyed every page. This is science fiction, history, biology, and philosophy all mixed into one exciting novel.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling Mystery
Review: In The Silk Code, Paul Levinson has crafted a mystery that reaches back to the dawn of humanity for answers to an intriguing mystery. Investigation of sudden death brings anomolies to light, and it's up to Phil D'Amato to find the facts as he reaches into unexpected areas and finds startling answers. One of the things I enjoyed most was spending time with a variety of people who were both interesting and delightful. As a history buff, I appreciated Levinson's invitation to speculate about events in our earliest prehistory. Good read, generous spirit. Enjoy!