Sail by James Patterson

Author: James Patterson
Genre:Action, Crime, Drama
Rating: 8

Okay. So it's been a while since I have read a James Patterson book, probably YEARS. I once was a avid Patterson reader and read multiple of his books a week. I have to say, I might need to get back into that mind frame. I just really enjoy reading his books. He writes for enjoyment, and because of that I can read easy and enjoy the ride. His books are full of action and his chapters are short, so the pages fly by.

This was not a typical Patterson book, however. There was no gore, or guts. No blood spilled or killers on the run. There was a lot of twists and turns, but the crime aspect of many of Patterson's books was missing from this one--a good change.

The story was about the Dunne family. A widowed mother of three children, all of whom have "issues", her husband Peter and the children's uncle Jake, the captain of The Family Dunne the yacht that was the pride and joy of their late father. The mother, as a last ditch effort to keep her family intact plans a sailing trip, but things go from bad to worse for the family as they find out that their trip may not have the happy-go-lucky feel that they intended. People are plotting against them, and little do they know they are never intended to make it back to dry land. The story gets a whole lot more complicated and more people get pulled into the mess before everything is said and done.

Like I said, this was not really what I was expecting when I started the book, and I don't think it was one of Patterson's better books but I did enjoy the read and if anything it has gotten me back on the Patterson bandwagon.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

Author: Dan Brown
Genre:  Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Rating: 8.5

Eh. For most people, a rating of an 8 is really quite good. However, for me, that means that I probably struggled through the book. And I did. I really liked Angels & Demons and I liked this book quite a lot in the beginning, but I found myself struggling through the last 200 pages or so. Here is why: the book was too similar to Angels & Demons. I wanted something different. Here are the similarities: secret societies, a young attractive female co-star who is helpful but not the star, a hunt for truth, lives on the line, textbooks that are in the wrong, and so on.

I DID like the book, I DID, but really reading the two back to back should not be done. The books are too similar and honestly, how much Robert Langdon can a person take?

The book centers around a secret society which has covered up the truth of Mary Magdalene, Jesus's "better-half". When the four top officials of the society are murdered, Robert Langdon is once again whisked into the middle of a whirlwind of adventure, secrets and codes.

Would I recommend the book? Yes. Would I recommend it to someone who has JUST read Angels & Demons, no. Take your Dan Brown in small doses, my friends.

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

Author: Dan Brown
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Rating: 8

I actually finished this book quite some time ago, and I am currently reading The Da Vinci Code. I am someone who loves conspiracy theories, symbols and hidden messages and this book gave me all of that PLUS mystery, something else I quite enjoy.

The book was about professor Robert Langdon, who is called in for his expertise on symbols in the case of the Illuminati. The symbol, burned into the skin of a dead scientist leads Langdon to the Vatican, where he must race to solve the mystery of who is harming the most religious men in the world and why.

The book takes place in the span of a day---over 300 pages all taking place in one day. To most, and when I think about it to me too, this seems excessive. It seems like things SHOULD drag on forever and honestly in some places they do, however for the most part the book is so full of action it truly flies by. There are multiple points of view and narrators in the book, and the use of the many story lines makes it so that 20 or so pages could go on about one specific instant and it does not seem weighty.

In the end, I liked the book enough to start the next one and I am glad that I did. The story left me wanting more- more story, more mystery and more symbols. There is some debate about whether Brown is a great author or a terrible one and I would have to side with those who think that he is great--I truly enjoyed the book, it got me to question many things that previously I had not thought about.