The Oracle |
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Valerio Massimo Manfredi
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Pages: 200 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0330437925
Pub: Pan Books
Pub date: 2005-05-06
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 130451
Reader Reviews:
his best contemporary novel (0/0 people found this helpful)
I divide VMM's fiction in two groups: historical novels and archaeologist's adventures, of which I prefer the former. The Oracle is my favourite of the latter - I thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot kept me turning the pages and characters were varied, ranging from the not-so-perfect to the utter evil. Notice that the main man always uses his cunning and eloquence rather than violence and that is a clue too.
The final twist is the best, though I must confess I had to re-read the beginning to complete the jig-saw.
Superb (6/11 people found this helpful)
Few authors can be better equipped to write about the subject of Rome and its Legions than Manfredi. Professor of archaeology at the the university of Milan, he has carried out many excavations and expeditions in the Mediterranean region. He has produced many factual books on historical matters, mainly military and has still found the time to write several novels, although as far as I can recall this is the first time he has brought one his books almost to the modern day, give or take thirty or forty years..
1973 and a Professor is working alone and late into the night on an archaeological dig. He unearths a vase that contains many important images showing Ulysses' final voyage. Unfortunately the professor also sees something in the chamber in which he has made his important find, something that frightens him so much that within hours he is dead . . . Probably of fright . . . But not before he has ensured that the vase is safe.
A decade later and a series of brutal deaths that somehow seem interconnected with the death of the professor and his unique find. Who is behind the murders and how on earth can they be connected to events that occurred 10 years ago . . .
Not his best (3/5 people found this helpful)
I have read nearly ever book by Manfredi and love all of them! but this one was not his best! i did enjoy it, but i did start to get bored by the end. The thriller parts to it were good but i think VMM should stick to the good old classical history fiction. things wernt too explained in it and towards the end i couldnt understand the relevance of the classical bits. But as a novel and if you arent used to reading VMM i think its a great book and a worthwhile buy! but if you love VMM stuff like me then think twice before reading this one! but it is ennjoyable none the less and would recomend it to anyone! i love his work!
Disappointing (4/6 people found this helpful)
Having enjoyed Manfredi's books in the past I was not sure what to expect with what is a more modern tale than the usual historical novels.
I must say that this effort was disappointing and with the exception of the 'Talisman of Troy' was one of the worst of this authors novels so far. Which is a shame as some of the others would be in my top 20 of historical novels, such as 'The Alexander' series which is excellent and real page turners. If you are expecting this book to live up to that series then don't bother, give it a miss.
Good plot, terrible translation (3/4 people found this helpful)
This could have been a gripping thriller - if somebody had bothered to edit the English-language version after it was translated from the Italian! As it is, the dialogues are incredibly stilted and the narrative plods along. Still, the storyline is interesting, especially if you are interested in ancient and modern Greek history.
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Categories
Amazon.co.uk places this book into the following categories:
Books -> Subjects -> Fiction -> General
Books -> Refinements -> Language (feature_browse-bin) -> English