The Emperor's Tomb

By: Steve Berry

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The tomb of China’s First Emperor, guarded by an underground army of terra-cotta warriors, has remained sealed for more than 2,000 years. Though it’s regarded as one of the greatest archaeological sites in the world, the Chinese government won’t allow anyone to open it. Why? That question is at the heart of a dilemma faced by former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone, whose life is shattered when he receives an anonymous note carrying an unfamiliar Web address. Logging on, he sees Cassiopeia Vitt, a woman who’s saved his life more than once, being tortured at the hands of a mysterious man who has a single demand: Bring me the artifact she’s asked you to keep safe. The only problem is, Malone doesn’t have a clue what the man is talking about, since Cassiopeia has left nothing with him. So begins Malone’s most harrowing adventure to date—one that offers up astounding historical revelations, pits him against a ruthless ancient brotherhood, and sends him from Denmark to Belgium to Vietnam then on to China, a vast and mysterious land where danger lurks at every turn.

©2010 Scott Berry (P)2010 Random House Audio

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer!

The episode (in the life of Cotton) is action packed almost from the first word.

The mix of fact, fiction and fantasy is always intriguing.

Another good read from Steve Berry.

Engaging all the way

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book kept me interested the whole way. Interesting plot and lots of action. Had some interesting ideas that I had heard about on the news. This is a good book

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoy learning about history during a book. A lot of what ifs and plausible ideas in the plot.

Which scene was your favorite?

The action inside the tomb.

If you could take any character from The Emperor's Tomb out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Mrs Vit

Any additional comments?

Steven Brick is now my favorite narrator. This was my fist book with him and he does an amazing job. Accents and genders are not over done or phony. Really helped me follow the story.

Quite interesting

I've just finished listening, and have also gone through some of the other reviews. The book admittedly has a style that could be considered irksome: a little over the top on Chinese history, and a little low on building the characters. There's also a lot of action, crammed into whatever spaces were left over after the history lessons. However, I have found that the best of books are strong on some aspects, and shallow elsewhere, and this book is no different. I did become engrossed in this book, and often continued to listen till late at night. Scott Brick reads very well, I think. Steve Berry isn't yet number one on my preferred writers' list, but I would be happy to read another. Suneet

Interesting story - cliche' characters

While I am fascinated by Chinese history and love thrillers/mysteries that are set in this area of the world, the characters detracted from what should have been an excellent novel. The descriptions and actions of the main characters were interesting, but the dialogue is contrite and reminds me of a bad movie. The actions scenes were predictable - and there was very little surprise. Some of the monologues about Chinese emperors and dynasties went on a bit long - even I became a bit bored. I did enjoy the descriptions of the Chinese artifacts and tombs. I also found the background of the terracotta army fascinating. The narrrator was pretty good. It is a good read, but I wouldn't pay full price for it.

Good

Not a complete attention grabber -- but was worth the time. Easy to pick back up if laid down.

Excellent history lesson!

I am new to Steve Berry so I had no idea of his writing style. I found the use of history to weave a story to be entertaining and enlightening. This book is not a Dirk Pitt-type novel usually filled with action but the pace kept me interested. This is a book one would listen to while doing something else and not miss much in the process so that is a bonus. Listening to a book that makes me think is worth the listen.

Excellent Book

Excellent story by Berry. A fantastic read as always by Scott Brick! His characters totally come to life!

A really great read (or rather, listen)

It's a 45 minute drive from home to work (30 minutes if I take the toll road and spend the bucks). This is a thriller which has made the hour to hour-and-a-half drive per day into a delight. Get into the car, warm up, connect the iPod and I'm half way 'round the world. I am in two bodies, one concientiously navigating the road to work (or home) while the other experiences the tension, excitement and adventures of the heroes. The level of detail about the terracotta warriors, the heat & humidity of the south China countryside, the villainy, the descriptions. I just have to drive around the block again to get through the chapter.

The devil is in the details...

The author tells a great take and his historical notes at the end are usually pretty good; though he does get one thing wrong in his notes. Hegemony is not a solely Chinese idea or concept. The word is Greek in origin and has been widely used in English since the 16th century.

Another annoying thing (at least to me) is the author's failure to learn about the firearms he writes about in his stories. An automatic pistol's slide locks to the rear when the magazine is empty and the trigger will not move until the slide is released. The trigger does not go click, click, click as the user continues to pull it as it would on a revolver.

I loved this historical , modern day novel

Do yourself a favour and listen to this book it is filled with accurate Historical data, and great characters. If you can ignore the obligatory romance between the hero and heroine and just listen to the story minus the in grating self reflection these two characters go through , this book is awesome. I love historical novels, I love thrillers, and in this book I have both. Well done and Kudo's to Steve Berry. Just leave out the romance as I can buy mills and boon novels if that is what I am after. However your historical references to this book, and various references to aboitic Oil are cutting edge writing. I did enjoy this book, and the story of the Ba too :)