The stars of this book are the characters, which I feel I can say for the whole series. They are interesting, as well as intelligent
In a futuristic society people are grown as nearly identical embryos & conditioned to remove strong desires. They take a drug called soma to keep them docile.
Italy around the middle 1500s. Master chef Bartolomeo Scappi died and leaves his wealth, knowledge and even name to Giovanni, his long time apprentice
Article first published as Book Review: The Good Pope: John XXIII & Vatican II–The Making of a Saint and the Remaking of the Church by Greg Tobin on Blogcritics. About: The Good Pope: John XXIII & Vatican II, The Making of a Saint and the Remaking of the Church by Greg Tobin is a biography of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, the Pope. John XXIII is credited with helping modernized the Catholic Church even though he only served as Pope from 1958 to 1963. The publisher is giving away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Rafflecoptter form at the end of the post. 288 pages Publisher: HarperOne Language: English ISBN-10: 0062089439 My rating for The Good Pope – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format* More Books by Greg Tobin Thoughts: I wanted to read The Good Pope: John XXIII & Vatican II, The Making of a Saint and the Remaking of the Church by Greg Tobin because I am very unfamiliar with the Catholic dogma and beliefs. Being brought up Jewish I can also not comprehend the elevated status to the Pope in the eyes of mortal men as well as the whole idea of elevating a man into the status of “saint”. I…
Article first published as Book Review: The Messenger by Daniel Silva on Blogcritics. About: The Messenger by Daniel Silva is the sixth novel in the Gabriel Allon series. Allon is an Israeli agent who is more interested in restoring works of art than the world of espionage. 352 pages Publisher: G. P. Putnam’s Sons (July 25, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 0399153357 My rating for The Messenger – 4 Buy this book in paper or electronic format More Books by Daniel Silva Thoughts: The Messenger by Daniel Silva (website) is more of a thriller than the previous five books. The book is quite violent and Allon’s ruthlessness comes out in several highly charged scenes. While I didn’t think The Messenger was the best in the series, it did fill in some missing gaps in the relationships between the characters. As in many book series this one also is a standalone, but it’s always nice to read them in order. I was glad to read about the return of Chiara, Allon’s love interest which we lost in the previous book. I also loved the way Silva wrote the Pope (“the” Pope, not some mobster or terrorist with a nickname), he was approachable and seemed like a good leader. Silva incorporated current events…