I codici del labirinto (2005)

I was really disappointed with this book. I've been wanting to read it for a while, but noticed it shortly after I'd finished reading Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, and as it sounded similar I decided to leave it a while before I picked it up.

I preferred Dan Brown.

I abandoned this book about a fifth of the way in. It was incredibly slow-going and the flowery prose, littered with cliche, odd word usage and unnecessary description, was hard work to read. It could have done with a very thorough edit before it made it to print. The main characters lacked personality and I didn't like any of them. After reading that many pages of a book you should feel like you know the characters, but they bored me. I did try to get through it but it felt like a chore to read.

The thing that finally stopped me from reading was the amount of French phrases throughout it. There really was no need. It reminded me of when you write assignments at school and you have to put quotes and references in to prove you know what you're talking about. It frustrated me too much. I get that the author knew what she was talking about; she wrote 500 pages about it.

I read The Winter Ghosts by the same author recently and really enjoyed it, and felt that it should have been longer. After trying to get through Labyrinth I'm glad that it wasn't. I don't think I'll try another book by this author. ( )

I'm sad I didn't like this, because the hardbacks are sooo pretty. But I was bored. The characters are one dimensional, and there are so many POVs with no apparent purpose that distract from any central thread. There is considerable information overload on history, the city, politics, character backgrounds, etc. without knowing who or what to focus on, who really matters. Many passages are unnecessarily long-winded that stall momentum. For example:
Alais: *dramatically insists on speaking with her father*
Father: What's wrong?
Alais: *silence*
Father: Are you hurt?
Alais: *silence*
Father: Do you need help?
Alais: *silence*
Father: I can't help if you don't talk.
Alais: *silence*
You get the picture. If a scene seems to drag when I'm listening to it at 1.8 speed in audio, something's wrong with the pacing. ( )

That book is amazing. It's just wow. I love the characters and the plot. The only problem is that the story kept switching from the 1200s to modern day and the plot lost some momentum. Meaning I lost some momentum. But not at the end. It was impossible to put down for the last 70pgs. Anyways, great read. And now I've learned it's a trilogy! ( )

I liked the idea of this book but it left me wanting more. I can't even give a proper description of it because it was just blah. ( )

Lots better than The Da Vinci Code. It did well in introducing a period of history that I know little about, and although I can't say I read every word, I kept turning the pages. Acceptable holiday reading. MB 06-ix-2021 ( )