The Geographer's Library

By: Jon Fasman

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Jon Fasman’s dizzyingly plotted intellectual thriller suggests a marriage between Dan Brown and Donna Tartt. When reporter Paul Tomm is assigned to investigate the mysterious death of a reclusive academic, he finds himself pursuing leads that date back to the twelfth century and the theft of alchemical instruments from the geographer of the Sicilian court. Now someone is trying to retrieve them. Interspersed with the present action are the stories of the men and women who came to possess those charmed—and sometimes cursed—artifacts, which have powers that go well beyond the transmutation of lead into gold. Deftly combining history, magic, suspense, and romance—and as handsomely illustrated as an ancient incunabulum—The Geographer’s Library is irresistible.©2005 Jon Fasman; (P)2005 Penguin Audio and Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Fasman’s fast-paced tale is almost all plot . . . These characters are better drawn than those in The Da Vinci Code." —Newsweek

"A brainy noir . . . [a] winningly cryptic tale . . . a cabinet of wonders written by a novelist whose surname and sensibility fit comfortably on the shelf between Umberto Eco and John Fowles." —Los Angeles Times

"One of the year’s most literate and absorbing entertainments." —Kirkus Reviews

Geographer's Library Reads Like A Map

There's a way of embellishing a modern mystery with historical details that brings the mystery to life, but this work is not an example of it. This work alternates chapters of historical facts/fiction, overstuffed with proper nouns of multiple ancient and foreign languages to the point of pedantic padding that, at the time of the telling, is stilted, plodding and, finally, nothing but annoying and distracting. I found myself fast-forwarding past the relentless "art history" chapters to get to the "modern mystery" chapters without feeling that anything significant had been missed. But that is not to imply that the "modern mystery" is, itself, interesting. Such is not the case. Maybe an abridged version would have seemed less ponderous, but even the narrator could not imbue this one with anything resembling entertainment.

Good but not great

Well developed characters, great writing style, but lacking in the finish.

Really enjoyed reading this book!

The story was fun to follow. It was light reading and for that I truly enjoyed it. The characters were pretty interesting and the following the alchemical artifacts through the storyline was a good time. I found the book very entertaining and recommend it to all!

The Geographers Library

The two stories running at the same time was confusing at first. Once I was able to understand what it was all about, it was easier to listen to but it was still a trial. Scott Brick was wonderful as usual. I swear that man could read the phone book and he would hold my interest.

Confusing

This book requires attentive listening as the story moves from present to past and most of the movement is not linear. Often, a past episode is developed in bits and pieces with portions of how it was resolved left out. The ending is not believeable given that the protagonist is a 23 year old journalist at a time when expose is the mantle of newspapers.