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The Last Good Man

by A.J. Kazinski (Goodreads Author)

3.42 of 5 stars 3.42 · rating details · 496 ratings · 124 reviews

According to Jewish scripture, there are thirty-six righteous people on earth. Without them, humanity would perish. But the thirty-six do not know that they are the chosen ones. In Beijing, a monk collapses in his chamber. A fiery mark has spread across his back and down his spine. In Mumbai, a man who served the poor dies suddenly. His body shows the same mark. Similar de...more

ebook, 400 pages

Published March 29th 2012 by Simon & Schuster UK (first published 2010)

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Dec 12, 2011 Kemper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, arc, scandinavian-mayhem, sky-cake, thriller, 5-0

Full disclosure about this review: Scribner offered me an ARC in exchange for this write up, and being the cheap and shameless person I am, I accepted it in the hopes of opening a pipeline of free books. The problem is that I’ve only got about three stars worth of love for this, and I don’t know if that’s good enough to convince them to send me more. So if anyone from Scribner’s asks, I gave it an enthusiastic five stars. Shhhh. It’ll be our little secret.

This starts with a pretty intriguing pre...more Full disclosure about this review: Scribner offered me an ARC in exchange for this write up, and being the cheap and shameless person I am, I accepted it in the hopes of opening a pipeline of free books. The problem is that I’ve only got about three stars worth of love for this, and I don’t know if that’s good enough to convince them to send me more. So if anyone from Scribner’s asks, I gave it an enthusiastic five stars. Shhhh. It’ll be our little secret.

This starts with a pretty intriguing premise. Niels Bentzon is a Danish police negotiator who has irritated his colleagues with his almost complete refusal to resort to force in hostage situations. As Denmark prepares for an international climate conference with high profile politicians from all over the world attending, Bentzon is given an odd assignment. A cop in Venice has put out an Interpol bulletin documenting the mysterious deaths all over the world of several ‘good’ people with strange marks on their backs and predicting that the next victim is in Denmark.

Bentzon is supposed to find potential good people and warn them but struggles with how to identity potential targets. What constitutes a good person and what is he supposed to warn them about? Niels gets some help from Hannah, a scientist dealing with her own tragedy, and they soon learns that the case is based on an ancient Jewish legend that claims that there are always 36 righteous people on earth. They don’t know that they’ve been chosen, but their presence is necessary to keep the world from ending. And 34 of the 36 are already dead.

If I can believe the blurbs on the back cover, this book was pretty well received and won some prizes in Europe. Overall, I thought the writing was good and the characters interesting. The idea of the 36 righteous people dying off certainly had a lot of potential. However, while it was good enough to hold my interest, I found it lacking in a lot of respects.

It takes a long time to get started. I figured out one of the biggest plot twists early in the book, but then had to endure a few hundred pages of red herrings to get to the big reveal. Time is spent developing characters just to drop them the second they’ve served their purpose. (view spoiler)

Overall, this is one where the execution of the story just didn’t live up to the potential of its basic idea. I enjoyed reading it, but found myself disappointed that there wasn’t more meat on the bone.

Still, free book!
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Nov 29, 2011 Dan Schwent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: freebies-for-reviewing, crime-and-mystery, 2011

According to the Talmud, thirty-six righteous people exist on earth and if they all die, so does humanity. Now, people are dying all over the world with strange marks on their backs and it's up to a Danish policeman named Niels Bentzon to find out why. There have been thirty-four deaths already. Can Niels save the last two good men and save the world?

First off, I received this ARC from Scribner in exchange for reviewing it. This did not influence my opinion in the least. To be honest, The Last G...more According to the Talmud, thirty-six righteous people exist on earth and if they all die, so does humanity. Now, people are dying all over the world with strange marks on their backs and it's up to a Danish policeman named Niels Bentzon to find out why. There have been thirty-four deaths already. Can Niels save the last two good men and save the world?

First off, I received this ARC from Scribner in exchange for reviewing it. This did not influence my opinion in the least. To be honest, The Last Good Man didn't have a whole lot going for it when I read the back cover blurb comparing it to The DaVinci Code and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, a book I'll never read and one I'm skeptical of because of all the hype. Still, free is free, and I begrudgingly gave it a read. Despite my initial misgivings, I wound up liking The Last Good Man quite a bit.

The main characters are an interesting bunch. Niels Bentzon, the protagonist, is a hostage negotiator who's manic depressive, can't bring himself to shoot anyone, and is manic depressive. He's a far cry from the macho hero I was dreading in this outing. The female lead, Hannah Lund, is also atypical. She's a divorced astrophysicist with a dead son and difficulty relating to anyone who isn't a genius. Interested yet?

Here's something else to pique your curiosity. This book has so many twists that it could be called The Last Good Man and his One Hundred Red Herrings. Some of the twists are predictable, many are not. One thing that I loved was that Kazinski avoided a lot of the thriller cliches that I hate.

For a thriller, it's surprisingly deep. The nature of good and evil are explored, as well as the existence of God. I liked that the plot was rooted in Jewish texts. The way Hannah figured out how to predict where the final two victims would be was pretty cool. Also, loved the ending. Not what I expected at all when I first picked up the book.

That's about all I can say without blowing any surprises. The Last Good Man is a good thriller and good entertainment for a rainy evening.

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Feb 17, 2013 Yvann S rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"The correct interpretation of numbers determines whether we live or die. it's life or death That's something that every scientist understands. That was why Tycho Brahe got his nose sliced off in a duel."

"Because of numbers?"

"Because he claimed that so-called complex numbers existed. And his adversary claimed that they didn't."

"Who was right?"

"Tycho Brahe. But he lost his nose."

Venetian policeman Tommaso di Barbara has discovered a trend in killings around the world - every Friday at sunset, a g...more "The correct interpretation of numbers determines whether we live or die. it's life or death That's something that every scientist understands. That was why Tycho Brahe got his nose sliced off in a duel."

"Because of numbers?"

"Because he claimed that so-called complex numbers existed. And his adversary claimed that they didn't."

"Who was right?"

"Tycho Brahe. But he lost his nose."

Venetian policeman Tommaso di Barbara has discovered a trend in killings around the world - every Friday at sunset, a good person is murdered. Humanitarian, lawyer, volunteer - they all die with a strange burn-like mark on their back. Niels Bentzon picks up the Interpol report - but can't bear the thought of travel and doesn't speak di Barbara's language. Only once he teams up with Hannah Lund, astrophysicist extraordinaire mourning the premature death of her son, is he able to impose a pattern and find out when the next murders will be. The question is, can he stop them?

Parts of this were really well written - as a police procedural, with all of the distractions from the climate conference and the terrorist threat, it succeeded. I kept reading, engrossed, all the way to the end with no trouble.

Niels and Hannah are both interesting characters - neither is perfect and each is dealing with their own romantic issues - but as a partnership they work very well. In particular, their weaknesses are key - Hannah's inability to deal with normal interpersonal situations, Niels' travel phobia; both are worked slyly into the story but are completely obvious as obstacles when we happen on to them.

Kazinski writes Venice and Copenhagen well - the floods, the abandoned madhouse/hospital, the cold, the ridiculous media interactions with the police at the conference, the conflicts between cyclists and cars in Copenhagen and most of all, the pervasive, penetrating, personal cold that a north European winter brings (I'm writing this with the heating on, socks and slippers, and a blanket over my knees).

However, this gets big negative marks for resorting to a fate-imposed, generational mysticism. I bought it until Niels tried to run away and whatever he did, events conspired to send him back to Copenhagen; similarly the suggested passing of the burden to a new soul at the climax dragged this novel down into Dan Brown land. Except worse because at least there, none of it is magical and spiritual and fate, it's all just bad guys.(less)

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Oct 10, 2012 Hana Howard rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An intriguing plot filled with beguiling questions characterizes this book as unique and very attention-grabbing. It’s a joy to read excellent writing skills in this genre of the thriller. This genre is often lacking literately style because the authors are so keen on thrilling the reader with action scenes. A.J. Kazinski intensifies the action scenes with superb writing and a great command of syntax.

Tommaso di Barbara a kindly and diligent policeman in Venice connects the similar deaths of huma...more An intriguing plot filled with beguiling questions characterizes this book as unique and very attention-grabbing. It’s a joy to read excellent writing skills in this genre of the thriller. This genre is often lacking literately style because the authors are so keen on thrilling the reader with action scenes. A.J. Kazinski intensifies the action scenes with superb writing and a great command of syntax.

Tommaso di Barbara a kindly and diligent policeman in Venice connects the similar deaths of humanitarians around the world by a blazing mark that each victim has spread across his back and down his spine. He puts out an Interpol bulletin documenting the mysterious deaths of ‘good’ people with strange marks on their backs, predicting that the next victim is in Denmark.

Niels Bentzon is a Danish police negotiator, thought by his colleagues to be a bit of a manic depressive. Although he refuses to resort to force in hostage situations,
his experiences and training have prejudiced him to see the worst in humanity, not the good. It is to him that the task of finding among a list of good people in Denmark, the next victim and prevent a murder. One by one, people are crossed off his list as he senses their secrets and wrongdoings.

Frustrated by this impossible task, and his own personal problems, he is on the verge of giving up when he meets Hannah Lund, a brilliant astrophysicist. She has given up on the real world of people to avoid pain and confusion, while mourning the death of her son and the implosion of her marriage. Intrigued by the seemingly unassociated locations of the deaths, she agrees to help Niels. Working under the hypothesis that Tommaso is correct in linking the deaths to a legend from Jewish scripture, that states there are at all times thirty-six righteous people on earth. The thirty-six protect us. Without them, humanity would perish. But the thirty-six do not know they are the chosen ones.

Hannah unravels the pattern of these far-flung deaths. and as they to piece together the puzzle, they realize, it is a perfectly executed plan of murder. There have been thirty-four deaths—two more to come if the legend is true. According to the Hannah's system they can predict the time and place of the final two murders. The deaths will occur in Venice and Copenhagen, within two weeks.

This book is hard to put down. Each chapter moves you forward and gets you more involved with the three characters. The surprise ending will keep you guessing, and the questions that arise with regard to its basic ideas will stay with you a long time.

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Jul 22, 2012 Ashland Mystery Oregon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-denmark

So slap me, I enjoyed Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, and Kazinski's The Last Good Man even more so.

The mysteries of science and religion collide and slide together in perfect interlocking segments. It takes some brilliant thinking to even conceive of the scope of the mystery, and a mathematician to put together the pieces. But is it intuition or painstaking investigative work that carries the plot? Neither and both, certainly a pleasure to read this global thriller set in Copenhagen, Venice and plac...more

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Apr 08, 2012 Marilyn rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Marilyn by: book give away from Goodreads

I won this book in one of Goodreads give-away promotions. Honestly, I didn't have really high expectations before I started it, but within the first few pages I was hooked. It is better written than I had expected and the story is not only gripping, it keeps you guessing up until the very end. (I really like that in a mystery/thriller.)

The story revolves around the murders of diverse people around the world who have in common a strange mark on their backs at the time of death. The case catches t...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Roslyn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Last Good Man
A Novel By A.J. Kazinski

An intriguing plot filled with beguiling questions characterizes this book as unique and very attention-grabbing. It’s a joy to read excellent writing skills in this genre of the thriller. This genre is often lacking literately style because the authors are so keen on thrilling the reader with action scenes. A.J. Kazinski intensifies the action scenes with superb writing and a great command of syntax.

Tommaso di Barbara a kindly and diligent policeman in V...more The Last Good Man
A Novel By A.J. Kazinski

An intriguing plot filled with beguiling questions characterizes this book as unique and very attention-grabbing. It’s a joy to read excellent writing skills in this genre of the thriller. This genre is often lacking literately style because the authors are so keen on thrilling the reader with action scenes. A.J. Kazinski intensifies the action scenes with superb writing and a great command of syntax.

Tommaso di Barbara a kindly and diligent policeman in Venice connects the similar deaths of humanitarians around the world by a blazing mark that each victim has spread across his back and down his spine. He puts out an Interpol bulletin documenting the mysterious deaths of ‘good’ people with strange marks on their backs, predicting that the next victim is in Denmark.

Niels Bentzon is a Danish police negotiator, thought by his colleagues to be a bit of a manic depressive. Although he refuses to resort to force in hostage situations,
his experiences and training have prejudiced him to see the worst in humanity, not the good. It is to him that the task of finding among a list of good people in Denmark, the next victim and prevent a murder. One by one, people are crossed off his list as he senses their secrets and wrongdoings.

Frustrated by this impossible task, and his own personal problems, he is on the verge of giving up when he meets Hannah Lund, a brilliant astrophysicist. She has given up on the real world of people to avoid pain and confusion, while mourning the death of her son and the implosion of her marriage. Intrigued by the seemingly unassociated locations of the deaths, she agrees to help Niels. Working under the hypothesis that Tommaso is correct in linking the deaths to a legend from Jewish scripture, that states there are at all times thirty-six righteous people on earth. The thirty-six protect us. Without them, humanity would perish. But the thirty-six do not know they are the chosen ones.

Hannah unravels the pattern of these far-flung deaths. and as they to piece together the puzzle, they realize, it is a perfectly executed plan of murder. There have been thirty-four deaths—two more to come if the legend is true. According to the Hannah's system they can predict the time and place of the final two murders. The deaths will occur in Venice and Copenhagen, within two weeks.

This book is hard to put down. Each chapter moves you forward and gets you more involved with the three characters. The surprise ending will keep you guessing, and the questions that arise with regard to its basic ideas will stay with you a long time.((less)

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Jan 31, 2012 Barbara rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

THE LAST GOOD MAN
AJ Kazinski
With all the Swedish crime novels on the market, this one is different by being Danish. It is quite a complicated story, featuring a police negotiator in Copenhagen, Niels Bentzon. For part of the story, a policeman in Venice also has a voice, but his job is to funnel the information about strange deaths happening around the world. To further complicate the story, Hannah Lund, a social misfit who is also a genius mathematician, is introduced. She becomes Bentzon’s sid...more THE LAST GOOD MAN
AJ Kazinski
With all the Swedish crime novels on the market, this one is different by being Danish. It is quite a complicated story, featuring a police negotiator in Copenhagen, Niels Bentzon. For part of the story, a policeman in Venice also has a voice, but his job is to funnel the information about strange deaths happening around the world. To further complicate the story, Hannah Lund, a social misfit who is also a genius mathematician, is introduced. She becomes Bentzon’s sidekick and the person who can see the pattern in the world wide deaths.
The cop in Venice notices a number of deaths of humanitarians, all with a mark on their back which looks burned. He tries to bring it to his superior’s attention to no avail. He contacts the police department in Copenhagen and ends up talking to Bentzon. Bentzon tries to talk to his supervisor about the unusual deaths, but again, to no avail.
While the two policemen are puzzling over who and why, we (the reader) watch a terrorist of Arabic descent come into Denmark via Sweden. He is filled with rage and bent on revenge. This feels like a red herring and ultimately, that is what it is and has very little to do with the story. Perhaps the author had this small story in him and needed a place to put it.
Bentzon, with the information from Venice, realizes that all the deaths were of “good people”. Someone mentions the “36 righteous men” from the Jewish Talmud. These thirty-six people (apparently the word “men” is used loosely) protect us all. Without them, humanity would perish. The catch, none of the thirty-six know they are the chosen ones. Bentzon visits a rabbi and is given the story. Hannah works out the mathematical pattern of the deaths. Now, Bentzon and Hannah are on a race to save the last two good men. Then one is killed and the last good man is next.
The author has used several lines of interest to concoct this unusual tale. It seems too wordy in places and the story of the terrorist is too obviously not part of the main story. The policeman in Venice has potential to become an interesting character but then he fizzles out. The book gives Hannah too much opportunity to go through long boring mathematical or logic explanations when we would like the story to pick up and go on.
The Last Good Man has an excellent premise for a good book. It just needs a little editing on the excess verbiage.

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Apr 04, 2011 Maria M. Elmvang rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, 4-stars, danish, suspense, not-owned

As a policeman in Copenhagen, Niels Bentzon is accustomed to chasing criminals. Therefore he can hardly take it seriously when he is given the task of finding a good person. The man who could become the next victim of a murderer who has chased good people across the globe. And the arrow now points towards Copenhagen.

But who deserves the term 'a good man'? And can it really be true that the murders are connected to an ancient religious myth of the 36 righteous people who are put on earth to prote...more

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Jan 30, 2012 Paul Pessolano rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“The Last Good Man” by A. J. Kazinski, published by Scribner.

Category – Mystery/Thriller

A detective in Venice, Italy has been studying the mysterious deaths of people around the world. They all have died with a mark on their backs. The mark is not a tattoo or a burn but seems to be a symbol. Is ideas are dismissed by his superiors and he has to continue his investigation on his own time. In Copenhagen, another detective, Niels Bentzon, who also becomes involved with these mysterious deaths and s...more

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Feb 07, 2012 Chris Spiegel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Last Good Man by A.J. Kazinski- Release date 3-6-2012
This book has a superb, edge of your seat, plotline that keeps you guessing ‘til the end. First released in Denmark, where it is set, this novel is a little bit DaVinci Code and a little bit Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Police detective, Niels Bentzon, renowned hostage negotiator, has just returned from a needed medical leave when he is assigned the “easy” task of warning various “good” people around Copenhagen that their lives may be in d...more

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Nov 14, 2011 Leo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the Jewish Scripture it is said that 36 righteous people on earth protect us and without them we perish.
A series for murders have occurred in different locations around the world. The victims are all good humanitarians.
Tomaso di Barbara, a police in Venice, Italy, starts making a connection of the different murders but his boss does not want him investigating. Tomaso sends information to Copenhagen. Niels Bentzon , a police in Copenhagen, starts investigating and receives the information Toma...more

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Jun 04, 2012 Joy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mystery with gum shoe... not my usual pick. The Jewish parable? or myth of each generation God must find 36 good men or the end of the world. An almost believable tale.
pg34 God tells Abraham he has to sacrifice his son to prove his faith.. "But isn't that exactly what we do? Send young men off to war in the desert and ask them to sacrifice themselves for a belief?"
pg231 the math of it all..rational
pg374"I think the story about Abraham is telling us that w need to listen. At least once in awhi...more

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Nov 12, 2011 Melody rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: danish-fiction, fiction, scandanavian-fiction

Was it because it was written by a combonation author (filmmaker and author combined to create a pseudonym), was it because it was a translation, was it because it was not the final copy, or a little of each of these reasons? Only the last good man may know for sure.

I admit to being driven until the end of the story - even though I had figured out the "spectacular ending" the cover promised. I even liked and cared about what happened to Niels, (our good detective). But I felt like a small child...more Was it because it was written by a combonation author (filmmaker and author combined to create a pseudonym), was it because it was a translation, was it because it was not the final copy, or a little of each of these reasons? Only the last good man may know for sure.

I admit to being driven until the end of the story - even though I had figured out the "spectacular ending" the cover promised. I even liked and cared about what happened to Niels, (our good detective). But I felt like a small child being taken into a spooky house and whose hands are dipped into the pumpkin guts with a scary voice telling me, "these are the guts of the last good man, who-o-o-o-o".

Well maybe I didn't really feel just like that but that sentence is inspired by sentences like this:

"Something made him open the drawer in the table. He found a local phone book, a postcard that had never been sent to someone's grandmother in Gudhjem. And a Bible. He picked up the book with the dark cover and leafed through the pages. Abraham. Isaac. Rebecca. It was an eternity since he'd held a Bible in his hands. He hung his shoulder holster and pistol on the back of the chair. It seemed wrong to have those two things so close together - a gun and a Bible. The Beatles came to his rescue, as only pop music can when contradictory emotions need to be resolved."

Huh? The Beatles are who I should be turning to when I need to resolve some conflicting emotion? Never would have thought to turn to "I'm a Loser" or "Sweet Little Sixteen" or even "Help!" if I can't decide if I'm feeling heartbroked or contented.

But I've gone off on a tangent, haven't I? When what I should be talking about is these 36 good people who are dropping like flies with strange tattoo things which are not really tattoos appearing on their backs. Or I should be talking about people with near death experiences. But then I'm feeling a little conflicted about which is the most important point. Maybe I'll just listen to "Tell Me Why" and come back later with a clearer understanding.(less)

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Jun 23, 2012 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Last Good Man by A. J. Kazinski (really Anders Klarland and Jacob Weinreich - why use a pseudonym if you plan to put your real names on the book jacket anyway???)

Four stars because although it was a bit difficult to get into to swing of reading (normal for me with translations), once I was in tune with the authors, I found this to be an exciting, well-written mystery with much action and plot points to figure out. I enjoyed it very much - the side plots made it more than another DaVinci Cod...more

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Nov 29, 2012 David Werner rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Jewish legend tells of 36 righteous men living on Earth at any given time, for whose sake God will not destroy the earth. Now, 34 of them are dead.

"The Last Good Man" works as a page turner, and showed great potential. However, the collaboration between two authors (one a novelist, one a screenwriter) has visible seams, such as sub-plots that go nowhere or are dead on arrival (near death experiences, climate change skepticism), underdeveloped characterization (that person was No. 35? Really?), m...more

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Jun 15, 2012 Debra Mccracken rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well written-- The legend, story, whatever, of the 36 good people that keep the world existing, was new to me. But I am very familiar with the old testament stories of the Lord being asked if he would spare cities based on just a few righteous people. And the New Testament theme of Christ's followers being the savor, or the salt. It was a little unclear, though, why the other 34 were being killed off. I guess the idea was that the :system" was doing it, not a murderer, but why, and it appeared t...more

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Mar 21, 2012 Christina (Ensconced in YA) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book from Goodreads first readers giveaways in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Good Man is a thriller about 36 good people who are being eliminated around the world and the two policemen in different countries who are the only ones who believe what's going on: the main protagonist Niels in Copenhagen and Tommaso in Venice.

There are a lot of great things about this book. It's fast paced, well written, and the first half of the book makes mostly the right moves. There are secrets...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Kimberly rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Please don't waste your time on this book, like I did. It beats in to your head about this Talmudic story of 36 good people on earth who keep it from all going to hell. Then all but 2 of them are dead with seemingly tattoos on their back of their "number" but which are not tattoos. If only we hear this explanation throughout the book 36 that would be enough, but I swear the author writes this explanation 336 times.

Spoiler:
And they die for what? If you can answer that, you are smarter than me.
And...more

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Mar 06, 2013 Marie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In The Last Good Man, disgraced policeman Tommaso di Barbera in Venice, has discovered that righteous people, those who are known for their good deeds, are dying all over the world. Each of the bodies has the same mysterious mark. In Copenhagen, Niels Bentzon is also investigating, but he and Barbera don't speak the language. Communicating and passing information is difficult at best. With the help of Hannah Lund, an astrophysicist, a pattern emerges and if she's correct, someone is out to kill...more

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Aug 11, 2012 Derek Broughton rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: people who are willing to read Dan Brown

Recommended to Derek by: marta

Shelves: metaphysics, fantasy

I feel so totally betrayed by this book that I don't even care if this is a spoiler. I was led to believe, by my library, my wife, and the Danish Crime Academy (who gave it a "first book award - that seems a little unreasonable given that it's merely the first collaboration by a pair of authors using A.J. Kazinski as their pseudonym) that this was a mystery. It turns out to be a fantasy in the Dan Brown style - but with far less of the thriller to it.

If somebody had really been out to kill the...more

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May 16, 2013 Dev Singer rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 27, 2012 Angharad rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-ve-read-in-2012

I liked it. Please don't all fall off your seats in shock! I know, I know. I only ever seem to review when I despair about a book, but this is 2 positive reviews in 2 days!

Normally, post Da Vinci Code, I'm a bit wary of these 'mysteries of religion' books, but I saw this in Sainsburys, and though t for £3.49 why not. And it was 500 pages of enjoyable why not. It was a little different, and only got marginally religious at the end (a little unnecessarily in my humble opinion). The only quibble I...more

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Oct 31, 2011 Stephanie Johnson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book started off really slowly. I almost gave up, but wanted to read because books coming from this part of the world are getting a lot of attention. I felt lost within the first couple of chapters jumping from person and subject. I couldn't get a clearly defined hold on who where the main characters of the book until reading quite far into the story.

But, once I got into the story of Niels and Hannah, the story moved along quickly. I have to say that I realized Niels place in the story as...more

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May 21, 2012 Irene rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

HB -- 3.5 -- slow start but not unusual for a translated book (Danish). sort of biblical and sort of sci-fi. we will see where it goes. the premise of the story is well thought out and the execution was really good. I enjoyed the use of astrophysics was well worth the read. these 2 authors are increadibly smart and inquisitive about life. Love that. It was a little choppy and that is probably due to translation. I am pretty used to readihg these translated novels and like to read how the rest of...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Rena Maureen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The concept from the Talmud regarding the 36 righteous men in each generation sparked my interest to read this book. Unfortunately,if the author had a better understanding of the Talmud's writings, the story line and ending would have gone a different way. To make the readers think to do or be evil is the way to salvation is so false. God calls us to holiness,righteous and if we are faithful to Him and and seek His will and understanding of it, we would strive for that righteousness and would be...more

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Apr 23, 2012 Alicia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I started reading this book that was a goodreads win, but then the library called with Keturah and Lord Death. So, this book is on back burner. It started out really good though. I have high hopes for a good read.
I would give this book a 3.5. I had a few late nights reading this. I really liked it at first, but I didn't care for the ending. It kind of fizzled and was too open for me. Sometimes I just like a book to be neatly wrapped up. There were a couple of characters that I wanted to know mor...more

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Nov 30, 2011 David V. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Received this as an ARC from the publisher. The author A.J. Kazinski is a pseudonym for Anders Ronnow Klarlund and Jacob Weinreich. This is an excellent thriller. Some of the "chapters" are only one page long, and yet they still leave you hanging at the end of that one page, just as they do for the longer chapters----I loved it. I like books that make me read faster toward the end. This book had me "speedreading" all the way through. Based on the Jewish legend of 36 righteous people on Earth bei...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Anna-Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, thriller

Ich kann dem Buch nicht mehr als 2,5 Sterne geben. Ich habe mehr erwartet, als ich bekommen habe. Das Erzähltempo war ganz gut, auch die Sprache, aber die Geschichte an sich...ich habe die ganze Zeit darauf gewartet, dass etwas passiert. Aber irgendwie ist nie richtig was passiert. Die Auflösung am Ende war dann die Krönung des Ganzen, denn sie war für mich völlig unglaubwürdig und viel zu mystisch. Schade. Ich habe mich hier auf einen guten Mysterythriller gefreut, aber irgendwie war es nur ein...more

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Nov 08, 2012 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, mystery

I picked this up on the "new fiction" shelf at my library since the jacket looked interesting. I gave it 4 stars for the ending mostly.
The first section was easy for me to put down and it took about a week to get through. The whole terrorist thing felt contrived but every action/story line reinforced the other sections, I just found them slow.
When I got past the first section I couldn't read fast enough, though I did see the main plot twist coming a mile away. The ending had a bit of a twist w...more

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“I think about something I once heard on the radio. About Abraham and Isaac."
"I was afraid you'd say something like that."
"You asked."
"So what about them? I don't really know much about that kind of stuff."
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“Right now there's a commonly-held view among scientists that we know about only four percent of all the matter in the universe. Four percent!"
"So what about the other 96 percent?"
"We astrophysicists call it 'dark matter' and 'dark energy.' Maybe we should just call it ignorance. There's so much that we don't know. It's shocking how little we know. And yet we behave like little gods who think we're in control of everything. Like kids with delusions of grandeur. Isn't that what we've made ourselves into? It's as if we're trying to make ourselves believe that four percent is all there is. That everything else, all that we don't know, doesn't exist. But it does. We know it's there; we just don't understand it.” — 2 people liked it

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