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The Venetian Betrayal (Cotton Malone #3)
by
Steve Berry (Goodreads Author)
In 323 B.C.E, having conquered Persia, Alexander the Great set his sights on Arabia, then suddenly succumbed to a strange fever. Locating his final resting place–unknown to this day–remains a tantalizing goal for both archaeologists and treasure hunters. Now the quest for this coveted prize is about to heat up. And Cotton Malone–former U.S. Justice Department agent turned ...more
Paperback, Large Print, 640 pages
Published
December 11th 2007
by Random House Large Print Publishing
(first published 2007)
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Got this one for Christmas. I'd never read Steve Berry before. He is of the Dan Browne-Robert Ludlum ilk -- international thriller. It's good escape and the fact I've been to Venice made it even more enjoyable. High body count, interesting characters,a nasty lesbian villain and short chapters ... what more can you ask? Many of the chapters are subdivided as they change scene from one group of protagonists to the other. As the book nears the end, these changes come quicker and quicker and it all ...more
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This is my fourth Steve Berry book and I thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with Cotton Malone and the other characters. While the book was slow at times, I found that I could not put it down. I enjoyed the Alexander the Great story and the fictional Central Asia Federation. Not to give away the plot, but the book definitely makes you consider the potential of certain things happening (e.g. with the former Soviet republics in Central Asia) and of certain things existing. I am looking forward to...more
Yet another Cotton Malone book, this time with an all star cast reunion. Not only do the faithful readers of Steve Berry's books get to see Henrik, Casseiopa and Stephanie again, but even Colin Michener makes a guest appearance.
Unfortunately we already know much of the depths of these characters so there was no real character development, hence less emotional involvement for the reader. The book had no surprise twists waiting to catch the reader off guard, just the usual trying to ...more
Unfortunately we already know much of the depths of these characters so there was no real character development, hence less emotional involvement for the reader. The book had no surprise twists waiting to catch the reader off guard, just the usual trying to ...more
This book initially took a bit of getting into and I feared that I wouldn't be able to finish it. But the more I kept reading, the more I became more and more engrossed in it. So don't be put off if the start feels a bit hard or unwieldy. Keep going![return][return]In this book, the historical subject and subject of the conspiracy is Alexander The Great. As usual, Berry introduces a secret society into the story - the Venetian League - which makes me feel as if I am surrounded on all sides...more
The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry
Cotton Malone, a supposedly retired U.S. Justice Department agent, deals in rare books, until he nearly dies in a particularly nasty fire in a local museum. Now, he and his friend, Cassiopia Vitt, are chasing the villains across Europe trying to connect the dots among Irina Zovastina, president of the Central Asian Federation, President Daniels of the United States, and Enrico Vencenti of the Venetian League. The treasure appears to be Alexander t...more
Cotton Malone, a supposedly retired U.S. Justice Department agent, deals in rare books, until he nearly dies in a particularly nasty fire in a local museum. Now, he and his friend, Cassiopia Vitt, are chasing the villains across Europe trying to connect the dots among Irina Zovastina, president of the Central Asian Federation, President Daniels of the United States, and Enrico Vencenti of the Venetian League. The treasure appears to be Alexander t...more
Steve Berry may be the best at mixing mystery with history. If you have read "The Amber Room", "The Romanov Prophecy", "The Third Secret", "The Templar Legacy", and "The Alexandria Link" you know what I mean. He is once again in true form with his latest book, "The Venetian Betrayal".
This book is based around the life and death of Alexander the Great. A woman despot, Zovastina, has brought together several former Russian ...more
This book is based around the life and death of Alexander the Great. A woman despot, Zovastina, has brought together several former Russian ...more
Predictable but Gooey Fun (3.5 stars out of 5)
At the public library, I had a pile of books and audio books haphazardly balancing in my arms, when I came across Steve Berry’s The Venetian Betrayal. I never read his works, but it looked interesting, so I picked it up. I’m glad I did! Undercover agents, secret plots, archaeology, biological warfare, Greek fire . . . I’m surprised it isn’t a movie, yet.
The novel begins during the time of Alexander the Great, who just exper...more
At the public library, I had a pile of books and audio books haphazardly balancing in my arms, when I came across Steve Berry’s The Venetian Betrayal. I never read his works, but it looked interesting, so I picked it up. I’m glad I did! Undercover agents, secret plots, archaeology, biological warfare, Greek fire . . . I’m surprised it isn’t a movie, yet.
The novel begins during the time of Alexander the Great, who just exper...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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A former U.S. Justice Department agent; Cotton Malone helps his old friend Cassiopeia Vitt in her Crusade to revenge for her boyfriend who was murdered in the fictional Central Asian Federation by the Prime Minister Zovastina.
An amazing adventure where the theater is Copenhagen, Vince, and the wild Steppes of central Asia.
A mysterious riddle may lead to the tomb of Alexander the great and the corpse of St. Marc is a historical fake, but the Greek fire may destroy everything.....
...more
An amazing adventure where the theater is Copenhagen, Vince, and the wild Steppes of central Asia.
A mysterious riddle may lead to the tomb of Alexander the great and the corpse of St. Marc is a historical fake, but the Greek fire may destroy everything.....
...more
I just finished The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry. This is the perfect audiobook when you want a thriller that is fun and exciting with a bit of background history thrown in. A great listen with Scott Brick as the narrator. The book travels all over Europe and Asia and features characters from Russia (can't have a spy novel without a Russian!), the U.S. and Europe. Brick does a fantastic job with the Russian accents. But I think what really made me enjoy this book is one of the main cha...more
I'd give "The Venetian Betrayal" 2 1/2 stars if it were an option. It's definitely my least favorite of Berry's books that I've read, largely because the plot didn't maintain my interest. The characters lacked human-ness; if I had not read Berry's previous books, I wouldn't have felt I knew them at all. Still, I was pulled into the Alexander the Great storyline, and the imaginative portrayal of the Central Asian Federation, so I'll round this one up to three stars.
I really enjoyed this book, actually reading it in little over one day. I have read the first book with Cotton Malone, the Templar Legacy, and I actually liked this one better. This is the 3rd book with Cotton. I havent been able to find the second one but from the sound of it, it had something to do with the LIbrary of Alexandria. In this one, the search is on for Alexander the Greats remains.. that through out history have appeared, dissappeared, reappeared...etc. And with a power hungry leade...more
This is so odd because normally I love Steve Berry but I just hated this book. First off, I thought that there were story lines that were unnecessary and superfluous to the plot at hand that didn't add to the story as a whole, such as Naomi John. Second, I know that James Rollins and Steve Berry are friends and the distinguishing factor that I appreciate most about the two authors is that Steve Berry is much more historically driven with no scientific involvement. This is what attracted me to...more
Book 3 in the Cotton Malone series
This is another historical thriller in the Cotton Malone saga. Mr Berry’s protagonist simply can’t stay retired. His colorful past as a clandestine agent for the U.S. government will once again drag him back into action.
“The Venetian Betrayal” has Malone on his toes. The action starts with Cotton narrowly escaping the inferno that consumed a well known Danish museum. Cassiopeia Vitt informs him that this catastrophe is no accident but is ...more
This is another historical thriller in the Cotton Malone saga. Mr Berry’s protagonist simply can’t stay retired. His colorful past as a clandestine agent for the U.S. government will once again drag him back into action.
“The Venetian Betrayal” has Malone on his toes. The action starts with Cotton narrowly escaping the inferno that consumed a well known Danish museum. Cassiopeia Vitt informs him that this catastrophe is no accident but is ...more
This is a typical Cotton Malone adventure. Investigating a small museum where Cassiopeia Vitt has asked to meet him the next day, Cotton is knocked unconcious and nearly dies when the museum goes up in "Greek Fire". Henrik and Cassiopeia enlist his help in trying to figure out who's stealing all of the Elephant Medallions tied to Alexander the Great. The hunt goes back and forth between a fictional Central Asian Federation and Venice. The reader learns more about Cassiopeia, ...more
As usual when I read Steve Berry, I thought to myself "Holy Dan Brown complex, Batman!" They are extremely similar authors and if you like one, I am sure you will like the other. Their books center on an extremely smart main character (Robert Langdon for Dan Brown and Cotton Malone for Steve Berry) that knows a lot of seemingly random trivia that always saves the day. They are always on the hunt for something mythical/vaguely historical. Even the setup of the books is very similar....more
I wasn't sure I was ever going to read another Steve Berry novel after "The Alexandria Link" because I felt that book was incredibly anti-Semitic. I had felt that Berry had gone overboard with many of his attacks on Israel and Jews. Waiting two years before reading this book allowed me to calm down and give that last book some distance. After finishing this book, I feel Berry is an exciting writer who is able to write exciting action scenes and infuse his stories with detailed historic...more
For a "this should be a complete mess" cross between Dan Brown ("Angels and Demons" mostly) and Ian Fleming (any of the good Bond novels), with a touch of early Michael Crichton medical suspense thrown in, this was a pretty good read (they really do need to move to half stars as this is a clear 3.5). Moving between characters and locales at a breakneck pace, Berry does a pretty good job of having a well told suspense novel with the requisite double/triple agents and gunplay...more
This was a far better book than I was expecting. Being a History major who loves focusing on Classics and Alexander the Great, any mention of his body or tomb being found tends to make me shut down. So when one of the professors at Clemson recommended it I was not expecting much, but I figured I would give it a shot. I took it to Egypt with me to read on the plane. I ended up loving and hating some of the characters, but all for the right reasons. The author has done an amazing job with tying hi...more
Well, I read these books just for fun and I have to say that this one is not his best. The author introduces to many characters way to quickly with somewhat similar names. At times this can be very purposful, a tool to keep the reader confused or on edge trying to figure out who's who, but in this story I don't think that was the case. It seemed to me that Berry was trying to hard in thi story. Oh well. I read it through, the story moves along pretty quickly and the short chapters keep you on yo...more
The Venetian Betrayal is slow to start, but then it really moves fast. Cotton Malone and his friends reunite to help solve mysteries of Alexander the Great. The group of thrill seakers travels the canals of Venice's and it's small side islands,then to Copenhagen and some of the area of Asia all the while looking for tombs and relics of Alexander the Great. They come across germ warfare, and the possible cures for HIV all in the same adventure. You learn the use of Greek Fire and many other it...more
Retired Magellan Billet agent Cotton Malone, who appears to be more active in retirement than he was when on active duty, is recruited to help his old friends, Henrik Thorvaldsen and Cassiopeia Vitt, who are on the trail of a central Asian despot who is attempting to steal all the existing copies of a medallion which dates from the days of Alexander the Great. Along the way, they discover that the despot has formed an alliance with a pharmaceutical mogul, and the two appear to be planning a bi...more
Cotton Malone notices the door to a museum is ajar after-hours when it should be locked up tight. It can't be a coincidence that this is the same museum where Cassiopeia has asked him to meet her the next morning. After deciding to check it out, the next thing he knows he finds himself in an explosive situation. Literally.
The historical search for Alexander the Great's final resting place and a despot's desire to control the Middle East combine for another fast-paced and intrigu...more
The historical search for Alexander the Great's final resting place and a despot's desire to control the Middle East combine for another fast-paced and intrigu...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is the first Steve Berry book I've read.
My biggest problem with the book was the characters. There is obviously some history between the characters and I guess if I read the previous books by Steve Berry then I already know the characters. However, in this book there wasn't really any character development so I never really got to know the characters. In fact for a novice to Steve Berry there were too many characters and I felt the book could have less characters but spent more ...more
My biggest problem with the book was the characters. There is obviously some history between the characters and I guess if I read the previous books by Steve Berry then I already know the characters. However, in this book there wasn't really any character development so I never really got to know the characters. In fact for a novice to Steve Berry there were too many characters and I felt the book could have less characters but spent more ...more
Possibly my favority Cotton Malone story I've read to date, and I've enjoyed all of them I've read so far. Felt that he continued to flesh out the main supporting characters, anatagonists that were forcing you to choose between the lesser of two evils, premise I found interesting, and a hunger to read more. Had the great pacing I've enjoyed in his previous stories, like Dan Brown, and had elements that got it closer to the plot intricacies of Robert Ludlum. And, to my benefit, Steve Berry has...more
Three books into the Cotton Malone series and I've yet to give one of the books more than two stars. I've enjoyed Berry books not in the Malone series so I'm surprised that I'm not taking to this series. Perhaps Da Vinci Code burnout? Apparently I just can't suspend reality long enough to believe that in three books a set of characters can solve the mysteries of the Knights, Jesus Christ and Alexander the Great. Not to mention a cure for AIDS.
Yet, I keep reading and already uploaded to...more
Yet, I keep reading and already uploaded to...more
Steve Berry mixes history and fiction so well. I find his books fun to read and interesting as well. His characters are relatively believable and the historical facts well researched. Of course, it's fiction but few authors can mix art history, history, current international politics and the human element so well. There's always spies, intrigue, interesting people and interesting possibilities in his books. These are not for the serious reader. Generally, he's described as a better author ...more
This has a TON of historical time line which is hard enough to follow in writing but I listened to this one! That gets lost on me unless the author uses that information right away, which he didn't. I'm not sure it mattered all that much to the whole plot and probably could have even been left out. The story itself was good - I didn't know anything about Alexander the Great so I learned a few things about that brutal time in history. They must have stayed up nights coming up with more horrific w...more
Another really good thriller from Steve Berry. Not only is the plot fascinating, but I learned a great deal about Central Asia, Alexander the Great and retroviruses. The characters are complex and flawed, but realistic and interesting. Berry clearly does a lot of research so that the story is fact-based, while still taking literary privileges to bend things a bit to fit the storyline. At the end, he explains what's factual and what's fiction. This is my 3rd Steve Berry novel and I'm going t...more
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Steve Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of the Cotton Malone series featuring The Jefferson Key, The Emperor's Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, and The Templar Legacy. He also has three s...more
More about Steve Berry...
Steve Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of the Cotton Malone series featuring The Jefferson Key, The Emperor's Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, and The Templar Legacy. He also has three s...more
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