Monday, January 04, 2010

Another one I couldn't finish

I tend to like David Morrell,but I couldn't finish The Brotherhood of the Rose. There is a lot of love for this book, on Goodreads, at least, but a few things killed it for me. One was the idea that all the spy agencies got together in the 30s and decided to create safe havens for their agents where no one could harm one another. That sounds nutty today but even nuttier back in those days. Then the writing got me down, including some just plain weird stuff, as in the time when a Chinese assassin refers to "what you Westerners call dignity." What the Chinese have no concept of dignity?

Those annoyances aside, I just didn't care that much about it. There are twists and turns, but it just didn't grip me. Anyway, if you want a tale of assassins fighting their masters, that is what you get.

3 comments:

Paul said...

Morrell is hit or miss. First Blood was a tremendous book. One of the best of modern American Fiction. I enjoyed The Protector. Morrell isn't a deep read. SO it is easier to go at his stuff with a light heart and no expectations of more than a "thrill ride"

Creepers isn't half bad, but Scavenger is horrid.

Tripp said...

I liked Creepers and I thought Shimmer was effective for what it was ( a thrill ride). This one just didn't come together for me.

Iban Izagirrek said...

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