Book Reviews of The Alexandria Link (Cotton Malone, Bk 2)

Several returning charactors from the "Knights Templar" return for another exciting historical search for the lost library of Alexandria

Interesting story, fast-paced. It's fascinating to me that Steve Berry can write a fictional story that indicates the Jewish and Christian faiths are based on lies but you don't hear much controversy; yet Dan Brown writes a fictional story about the Holy Grail and the Catholic church and the world screams blasphemer.

Trust your author. This is not an "easy read" but it is worth reading slowly to understand. Does not challenge religion as "Davinci Code" or "Devils and Angels," but does discuss changes in the text we know as the Bible from the original writings through various translations, either by simple error or by design. A nice mystery, murder, narrow escapes, a larger than life hero and a questionable ex-wife. Toward the end, the story gallops to a great finish.

Steve Berry has another winner. Could not put it down.

This book has all the right elements for a great read. However, it's just a bit rushed, and if you didn't read Berry's other book, The Templar Legacy, you definitely feel like you came into the story in the middle. A few too many plot turns.

Boo.
This is my 3rd Steve Berry book, and it might be my last.
He is writing in the style of Dan Brown, with short 2 pg chapters written from various points of view (the hero, the villain, the unknown entity, etc) but it just doesn't work with this book. I didn't care about ANY of the characters.
The plot, here it is. The King James version of the Bible is flawed, the only true version is in the preserved, yet hidden, lost library of Alexandria. Only a few scholars have ever been invited to go on the quest to the library. One of those scholars has become the focus of an evil plot to ....dirupt the middle east peace process? undermine all three of the world's major religions? make an evil European secret society filthy rich(er)? Our hero must protect this scholar and world from this plot.
Sounds intriguing, but somehow Berry involves the POTUS and Vice POTUS, CIA, Hamas, and a host of other characters not worth caring about. All I really wanted was the history and the glorious quest to find the library! Enough with the espionage!

Steve Berry sux as a writer. He seems like a smart guy, but his fiction writing really bites. This book was a little better than The Templar Legacy, but not by much. The first 200 pages were pretty good and I actually cared about the story line. After that it just drawn out and lame. I got tired of all the chapters and mini chapters ending in some ridiculous twist or 'surprise'. I got tired of every other paragraph having to switch between characters and places that I just didn't care about. As soon as I would start getting into what a character was doing, he would switch it up and go back to other characters who were previously 'surprised' by something. These Cotton Malone books are just not enjoyable to me. I'm surprised by how many good reviews I read.

I was interested on some of the topics he brought up about the Bible and some other confrontational subjects. I haven't seen too many authors throw out touchy subjects like that in fiction writing. Like I said, he seems like a smart guy, but his story writing is not good.

Oh my goodness! My husband just loved this book. He talked about it for days and has recommended it to many of his friends. If you're a Steve Berry fan, you'll love this one!