Walter J. (reading-is-bliss) -
Helpful Score: 1
So this was what, I had to go back and count, Silva's 23rd in the series that has long been way up there on my list of favorites. I have read them all and loved them, some more than others, but only one in the prior 22 earned less than 4 stars though that one was clearly a 3. That's why I was a bit disappointed at first to find as I read through the first 100 or so pages of The Order this one was quite atypical, not a fast-moving action thriller as I had come to expect. Still, as I read on I was quite enthralled by Allon's rather in-depth discussion of the history of the Catholic Church as it relates to the actual events in the life of Jesus as most scholars believe them to have been. Although the views he set forth have undoubtedly angered the more devout believers in the Catholic faith, I myself felt they are quite accurate. And in the end, I quite enjoyed the surprises and give a solid 3-star rating.
The plot of this novel is reasonably good, but Silva's narration style is so deadpan and understated - almost the literary equivalent of a monotone - that sometimes it is hard to grasp that an exciting plot development has just taken place. That dampened my reading pleasure.
