Jason

I was excited to get a new work from Smith because I loved Lincoln when it first came out and I kept up with his interviews and blurbs to see when his next release would be available. Well, now that I have it, I don't think I can finish it. The items that made Lincoln so good seem to be missing here, i.e. historical facts that can be followed online as you read, a main character with depth, sci-fi, etc. And the environment also seems to have some constricting element do to being biblical history. I think the concept is neat and it did interest me, but I hate to say that I don't feel Smith pulled this one off.

One of my concerns about this book is that a lot of the information is repeated several times throughout the book...but then I realize that the audience is us men and we need to have instruction repeated to us over and over and over. So I accept that concern as a good thing. I like the way Dr. Meeker helps me see myself as a dad through my daughters eyes at different stages of life. The book seemed to divide into chapters on certain topics. I wish it had been divided into chapters based on age or level of development...although that can be problematic itself. It is one I shall reread in the future. I already have recommended to a friend.

I really like Dan Brown's background research that is apparent in his writings. I love his character development and his plots always appear more straight forward that they really are. I found this novel harder to follow on Google and Wikipedia than his others due to my ignorance of Italian. The other books contained places he visits that you can easily pull up on Google and follow the action, but I found it more difficult here because I could not understand the names enough to spell them in Italian correctly. It was the same way with the symbols and statues the book refers to. That was a little frustrating. So, although you can comfortably listen to this on 1.25X speed, you might spend the time you saved on Google looking at all the cool paintings and stuff Langdon is looking at. I did like the Lost Symbol better. I would definately spend a credit on this one. Why not now?

My first thought is that the publishers summary made me think the book would be different than it really was. It sounded like something enjoyable to young adults, but I found myself not caring too much once I heard the narrator sounding like a 10 yr old for the young adult parts. This really put me off for most all of the book. I was beginning to think all of the events taking place were not real but just the imagination of children and I was just about to return the book when the Dad entered the scene and gave the adult perspective that I needed to the story. Maybe in print I would read the scenes differently without the whiny voice of the narrator? Finally in the last hour or so something significant happens that invokes some real terror... I can finally say I have read some Bradbury, but I would not use a credit on this knowing what you know now. Hope this helps somebody. Later.

I thought this book started out the gate at a great pace and continued for a while, but once the curse was pronounced on the antagonist, I honestly don't feel like much happened in the rest of the book. Pretty good character development for Sol but as soon as you get that, he is cursed and his character attributes no longer apply for the entire book. I was not satisfied with the slow pace and poor action. Even at the end when the curse is removed its like 2 minutes before the end of the book and nothing eventful takes place. The secondary supporting characters are weak also. The entire book is spent detailing inward feelings and emotions and conflict, I needed more than that and the entire books spans only 2 years, so you know not much has happened. I feel like this is a poor knock-off of World Without End... now that's a book worth investing in! Not this one unfortunately. See my review of WWE. hope this helps someone. later.

I like Dan Brown's writing style. I pre-ordered his new book coming out this May and thought I would listen to some of his work I haven't heard. A lot of people thought the audio version was not bearable due to the unprofessional recording which includes a lot of mouth noises... they are there alright, but I didn't listen with ear-buds, so they weren't that noticeable all the time. I would still recommend the audio version if you listen through speakers. You can listen comfortably at 1.25 speed also. Although this wasn't related to Robert Langford, it was enjoyable. The same style you enjoy in his other books are present here...strong and smart protagonist, good background research that you can look up online, characters you care about, lots of good suspense, and good ending. If you like DB's other novels, get this one... you'll enjoy it and be through with it before you realize it. later.

What does this have in common with Lonesome Dove, you ask? In high school I got mono. I had no TV past 10 pm and I couldn't sleep. But I did have a VCR and Lonesome Dove. I watched it 4 nights in a row. What's similar is that the story builds around central characters and you witness the world around them through their eyes as they age. You care deeply what happens to them and in the end you hate to see their contributions made to the world around them go unnoticed. This book made me feel that way again. It was good. One thing that makes great books great is that the meat in the material. This novel addresses all kinds of implications that arise from an apocalypse... survival, relationships, law & order, purpose, etc. This one addresses this stuff well. Even though it's so old, there was not a language or culture barrier that infringed upon the story. It was not too fast paced or too slow, but I was able to enjoy it at 1.5 speed. I hope this helps you. Later.

I guess years of listening to more mature material made the childlike story a little to happy clappy. I found myself liking the story and then when something bad or upsetting happened to Dorothy and friends, she ends up getting out of her dire situation in less than two minutes... this drove me nuts. I'm use to there being horrible consequences and lingering effects. Instead, it's like - Bear-Tigers show up and have you against a cliff? - cut a tree, Poison flowers knock you out? - mice to the rescue, Need to pass impossible lands? - call flying monkeys, Bad witch - use water. The writer is creative for children, but it's as if every single thing Dorothy encounters, she is spoon fed an immediate solution. This all being said, I was glad it was not like the classic 1939 movie.

I have to admit that the reason I read this book was to be familiar with the story line so I could read 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' by Smith...as well as I have been wanting to read more Classics. Being a male in my mid 30's, I wasn't sure if I could get through it fairly quick, but to my surprise, it was pretty good. I really didn't know what to expect, but my wife informed me there was a movie about it that she liked, so I'm thinking 'chick flick'. Due to the age of the book, the characters didn't have any physical relationships described. But what the time period lacked it made up for in other interesting ways. I found myself learning about life in those times and enjoyed it. There is a small language barrier that is not hard to overcome. Hope this helps.

later

I really got a lot of good practical stuff out of the first part of the book. That part of the book seemed relevant to daily business practice... then most of the rest of the book had good information, but it was about human behavior and behavioral science... this was good info, but not what I wanted the book for. It almost seems like he should have done a separate but related book to cover all that. All of the scientific experiments and results mentioned were interesting, but it was way too much information for what the book implies. However, too much is better than not enough in this case and I would use a credit & recommend to a friend just because of the practical value of the first few hours alone. Hope this helps someone.

My fault, but I didn't realize this was part three of a series! I hate it when I do that! I was kind of caught off guard at the children's perspective and child like narration. I didn't like it. It reminds me of the narration of the Narnia books when dramatized... Hope this helps someone...later.