Helpful Score: 3
Stilted dialog. Wooden characters. Jagged dialog written with the agenda of sending a specific message, rather than building an entertaining novel. A 430 page lecture.
Stylistically unlike the other Robin Cook medical mysteries I've read.
Stylistically unlike the other Robin Cook medical mysteries I've read.
Helpful Score: 2
Robin Cook has raised some interesting questions about Mary, the mother of Jesus in Intervention. The story delves into the story of an archaeologist who thinks he may have found the remains of the Virgin Mary and the revealing of this find will shake the world of Christianity in possibly bad or good ways. Anyone who enjoyed The DaVinci Code or Angels or Demons should enjoy this read. The ending may or may not surprize you. The story also brings into focus the importance of friendships & trust, family and healing.
Helpful Score: 2
Had I realized this book centered around the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ, I would have skipped it. I expected a typical Robin Cook medical mystery which this most certainly was not. If you are a religious person, you might enjoy this pseudo-thriller. But I could barely stomach it.
The book involves three old college friends: Jack Stapleton, a medical examiner; Shawn Daughtry, an archeologist; and James O'Rourke, a catholic priest who haven't seen or spoken to each other in many years. Most of the book detailed Jack Stapleton's day to day work in the morgue interspersed with his infant son's cancer treatments. None of which have anything to do with the ultimate story and in hind sight were strictly filler. Shawn Daughtry has an incredible find in Egypt that translates into a disaster for the catholic church and Father O'Rourke is terrified of what this will do to Catholics around the world.
The book involves three old college friends: Jack Stapleton, a medical examiner; Shawn Daughtry, an archeologist; and James O'Rourke, a catholic priest who haven't seen or spoken to each other in many years. Most of the book detailed Jack Stapleton's day to day work in the morgue interspersed with his infant son's cancer treatments. None of which have anything to do with the ultimate story and in hind sight were strictly filler. Shawn Daughtry has an incredible find in Egypt that translates into a disaster for the catholic church and Father O'Rourke is terrified of what this will do to Catholics around the world.
I have read almost all of Robin Cook's books and I didn't really enjoy this one. He had an agenda which is an author's privilege, but in my opinion, he should have written a non-fiction book about alternative medicine instead of writing a novel. The plot was lack luster at best.
Helpful Score: 1
A combination of CSI, Dan Brown, and Elizabeth Peters, definitely a good read.
I did enjoy this one from Robin Cook. I have read most of his novels, if not all, and this one began with his protagonist taking a narrow stance on a debatable issue but redeemed it by the end of the story, bravo! Fast reading as usual with Cook's subjects and a good read.
A divergance from his normal, find problem - bring to justice. Very interesting and thought provoking for a novel. Expect to be surprised.
Robin Cook channels Dan Brown and the results aren't pretty.
Ended differently than I expected.
Good read. I don't like Robin Cook's style very much, however, and won't be looking for more of his books.
Good read. I don't like Robin Cook's style very much, however, and won't be looking for more of his books.
Sort of an OK read. Not up to Robin Cook's usual standards. I dislike the mix of religion in it. I think Robin Cook should stick to medical mysteries.
The main pro is that it *is* different than other Jack Stapleton/Laurie Montgomery books. Laurie takes a back seat in this one, and honestly so does Jack. He doesn't really get himself into nearly as much trouble as he usually does.
Nonetheless all the favorites make appearances; including Chet the co-worker, Vinnie the co-worker, Lou the detective, and Warren his street b-ball buddy.
The con is that the dialogue is so damn official in parts it's unrealistic.
Overall I liked it and appreciated that I wasn't really sure where it was going.
SPOILER ALERT - there are no hitmen in this one!!
Nonetheless all the favorites make appearances; including Chet the co-worker, Vinnie the co-worker, Lou the detective, and Warren his street b-ball buddy.
The con is that the dialogue is so damn official in parts it's unrealistic.
Overall I liked it and appreciated that I wasn't really sure where it was going.
SPOILER ALERT - there are no hitmen in this one!!
I enjoyed this book, although as others have said, it's a bit of a departure from Cook's other novels. The pages and pages of ancient religion were a bit boring, but skipping over them did not detract from the story. Once past those descriptive passages, this became a real page-turner that I was not able to put down. The ending, although a bit abrupt, was very satisfying.
Robin Cook, the master of medical thrillers, tries to combine medical aspects to this story which is a DaVinci Code wannabe. It concerns an archaeologist's find of a "fake artifact" which turns out to be real, and the highly improbable theft of this item (an ossuary with some papyrus scrolls)out of Rome and back to NYC, where he just happens to be friends with the Chief Medical Examiner and also the Roman Catholic Cardinal of New York. His wife, also is a molecular geneticist studying mitrochondrial DNA will examine the bones to see if the remains indeed belong to Mary, the Virgin mother of Jesus Christ himself. The Cardinal wants to suppress the finding, as it will shake up the Catholic belief of infallibility of popes. The premise of this novel is far-fetched, although it started off well in a souk in Egypt where the archaeologist finds the artifacts. It took me a very long time to finish this book, but finish it I did. The ending was rather predictable, but it did tie up all lose plot lines neatly.
Next time, Cook should stick to the medical genre.
Next time, Cook should stick to the medical genre.
