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

Boring.

Not his best work. Slow and hard to follow. Too confusing at times and easy to lose interest. Probably won't read another Cotton Malone book. All are too similar.

one long chase scene

Could not wait for the book to end, found the facts about chinese history very interesting,but the action became very boring.

obtuse story - very unbelievable

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I usually love Cotton Malone stories but this was awful. the story was very repetitive and so far out there that it was laughable.

What could Steve Berry have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

a more believable story line and not nearly so much repetition.

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

Scott Brick was fantastic as always

Disappointing

I have not read/listened to much that is called "Thrillers". But I did enjoy a few this summer and thought that I might give some more a try. This book never caught me. There was just too much action and not enough character development. Maybe this is some people's cup of tea, but for a person new to this kind of fiction, it was a real disappointment.

Below average Berry Story

This is another Cotton Malone story involving ancient artifacts as keys to modern day political intrigue. This book is centered around China back to the time of the first emperor.Qin Shi and how artifracts are key to the succession to the leadership of China. As usual, Berry provides interesting historical facts about ancient China as well as the contributions of the Chinese to the world, the compass, printing, the zero, the compass, the stirrup, the abacus, the seismograph, the rudder, the parachute, and masts and sails to name just a few.

Cotton Malone is a former government agent turned bookseller. He and his companion Cassiopeia Vitt get involved in the battle for succession that takes from Europe to the tomb of the first emperor. However, the story is beyond belief, even for this genre. The story has the candidates for being the new China premiere travelling the world themselves and participating in break ins, thefts, shooting, murder, using government assets to kill civitilians etc...I love these political mysteries because I can suspend belief to get drawn tinto the story - but this story goes way too far...at thend there are a lot of dead people in Europe and Asia and it's hard to figure out how anyone explains any of it...

The other annoying feature was that most of the main characters were chinese, but there were few times that any of them spoke chinese...or at least it was not clear to me. Also, the narrator indicated he was speaking chinese (or english with a chinese accent?) but speaking slowly and haltingly...you may take offense at this characterization if you are asian...

Boring, for history buffs...

I am halfway and that is probably as far as I will go.
If you are really interested in Chinese dynasties then this will interest you.
If you expect a thriller, then you will be sorely disappointed. I fell asleep twice listening to this.
It opened up great, but soon droned on and on and on about Chines history.
This was my first and last Steve Berry book.

Note to author: Find another job

This is pure dreck. I bought it because it was in was on sale. Anyone with more than an eighth grade, maybe sixth grade, education should have something better to do with his/her life. If there was a rating below 1, I would have given that.

A hodge podge of history with an erratic plot

I learned quite a bit about the history of China, but listening to this book was excruciating. The plot alternates getting the main characters in and out of impossible situations by invoking impossible solutions. Very little is believable or credible. Everybody alternates between being a bad guy and a good guy at some point; some make that transition several times.

I would NOT recommend this book.

Interesting facts But Too Wordy

Would Recommend an abbridged version To drawn out on story. SO SO book. Could not hold my interest

Not good

Oddly a very negative feeling towards China from people who have never been. The whole story is not very realistic or believable and the characters don't stick in the mind. Overall a weak book.