Monday, December 10, 2007
The Last Testament .
Back from my holiday to Hammamet in Tunisia and thinking of our country code. Take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints. I did leave something in Tunisia however, on the bookshelf in my hotel on the shelf labelled English books. This shelf in the lounge is meant for holiday makers to share books they have finished with and do not want to take home.
The Last Testament is written by Sam Bourne, which is the nom de plume of the British journalist Jonathan Freedland. His second novel, The Last Testament (2007) is set in the Middle East, and draws heavily on the author's experiences in that region, both as a reporter for over twenty years, and also a Guardian newspaper sponsored dialogue which was influential in the 2003 Geneva Accords. The central character, Maggie Costello, finds herself involved in a mix of the modern political situation and ancient revalations.
I enjoyed Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and the BBC drama Spooks. The Last Testament is this type of book - a conspiracy/thriller. I finished this book on holiday and I was a little disappointed. The book did not inspire me and I cannot recommend it to anyone. It was not bad enough to abort reading after a few pages but the story just washed over me in the way poor television programmes do. The detail was good as is his understanding of Middle East politics but the story was not gripping.
To have this book as a free/no purchase read is OK, you would not be disappointed but if you paid cash for it like I did, then you know there are better value books for sale. I will not be buying another book written by Sam Bourne and I hope other holiday makers will read his book and are glad they did not pay for it!
Back from my holiday to Hammamet in Tunisia and thinking of our country code. Take nothing but photographs and leave nothing but footprints. I did leave something in Tunisia however, on the bookshelf in my hotel on the shelf labelled English books. This shelf in the lounge is meant for holiday makers to share books they have finished with and do not want to take home.
The Last Testament is written by Sam Bourne, which is the nom de plume of the British journalist Jonathan Freedland. His second novel, The Last Testament (2007) is set in the Middle East, and draws heavily on the author's experiences in that region, both as a reporter for over twenty years, and also a Guardian newspaper sponsored dialogue which was influential in the 2003 Geneva Accords. The central character, Maggie Costello, finds herself involved in a mix of the modern political situation and ancient revalations.
I enjoyed Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and the BBC drama Spooks. The Last Testament is this type of book - a conspiracy/thriller. I finished this book on holiday and I was a little disappointed. The book did not inspire me and I cannot recommend it to anyone. It was not bad enough to abort reading after a few pages but the story just washed over me in the way poor television programmes do. The detail was good as is his understanding of Middle East politics but the story was not gripping.
To have this book as a free/no purchase read is OK, you would not be disappointed but if you paid cash for it like I did, then you know there are better value books for sale. I will not be buying another book written by Sam Bourne and I hope other holiday makers will read his book and are glad they did not pay for it!
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