April 2016 Random Read Group Read: The Brotherhood of the Rose by David Morell *Spoilers*

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie]

This month's read is The Brotherhood of the Rose. Join in on the discussion!

[Jim]

Thanks for the reminder. I'm just about done with a book now.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie]

I started this and it's good so far. The spycraft seems very authentic.

[Jim]

I just finished it last night & really liked it. I've read it before, but that was over a decade ago, so I'd forgotten a lot of the details & Morrell is great with those. My 4 star review (no spoilers) is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

He has well drawn characters that act well within their bounds. Their reactions make sense. While they're tops at their craft, none are super human. They have flaws, blind spots, & get tired. That thread of realism makes the rest of the story so much more plausible.

I really liked the nested conspiracies. As I mentioned in my review, it reminds me a lot of the first season of "The Black List". While the later seasons jumped the shark, Morrell never does. Every action has a consequence & they keep coming together into a wonderful crescendo.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie]

Oh, I really like Black List, so that makes me even more interested in the book.

[Jim]

I'm very impressed by Morrell's attention to details. I generally hate it when authors tell me the exact model of a gun, since they often have the character get some fancy one only to use it as a club. He does it when it makes a difference. His characters are very focused, too. They're practically machines, but that accentuates their flaws & creates believable issues.

I thought other books of his tied in with this one, but it had been far too long since I read them & between when I read them originally for me to remember the details. Luckily, Morrell was recently here in another group & I asked him about it.

"Mortalis" is the name of a Ballantine Books crime/suspense imprint. When THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE, THE FRATERNITY OF THE STONE, and THE LEAGUE OF NIGHT AND FOG were re-released a couple of years ago, readers got the impression that "Mortals" applies to the series. But it doesn't. It's just an accident of publishing. The three books are a trilogy. The idea was that the main characters of the first book and the second book would join forces in the third book, making it a double sequel. I originally thought about writing a fourth book in the series, but the theme of the books is "sons looking for fathers," and when my 15-year-old son Matthew died from a very rare bone cancer, I became a father looking for a son. The earlier theme no longer spoke to me. THE COVENANT OF THE FLAME features the Fraternity of the Stone from the middle book in the trilogy. It's sort of a cousin to the earlier books, which is why I used a similar title. There's a deliberate dangling plot element a the end of THE LEAGUE OF NIGHT AND FOG. I resolved it in a short story THE ABELARD SANCTION, which is available at the end of the current U.S. trade paperback edition of that book and in the e-version also.

You can read the topic here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie]

Oh, that's very interesting. Thanks for sharing that insight on the series.

I like how the narrative describes how Saul knew his attackers were presumably Israeli by their training and types of weapons, and the protocol he had set up with Eliot on their meets. I like these kind of spycraft details.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I've not reread this but it's one of my all time favorite AA books.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie]

I am about 40% into this and I really like it. I feel very sympathetic for Chris's character. He seems very emotionally vulnerable. Saul seems stronger emotionally. I will keep reading this, even though the month is over.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I've read this one more than once. Good book.

[Jim]

I'd like to read the other books soon. This one was excellent. Loved the end.

[Magiccats]

I really enjoyed this book. that's one of the best I've read for a while. Enjoyed his second one as well.

[Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up!]

I'm going to have to do a reread at some point. I read this so many years ago, that I don't remember all the details. I just remember really enjoying it!

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I keep meaning to do several rereads...but I have so many "new" reads waiting!

[Lisa P, My weekend is all booked up!]

Mike (the Paladin) wrote: "I keep meaning to do several rereads...but I have so many "new" reads waiting!"

I understand completely!!!

[Roger]

Lisa P wrote: "I'm going to have to do a reread at some point. I read this so many years ago, that I don't remember all the details. I just remember really enjoying it!"

The Brotherhood of the Rose is one of my favorite thrillers of all time.

[Roger]

Jim wrote: "I'm very impressed by Morrell's attention to details. I generally hate it when authors tell me the exact model of a gun, since they often have the character get some fancy one only to use it as a c..."

Thanks for sharing Morrell's comments about writing. Very interesting.

[Jim]

You're welcome. He wrote a book about writing, too.

[Roger]

Jim wrote: "You're welcome. He wrote a book about writing, too."

I have it on my bookshelf. Read it years ago. He's one of the greats.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I'm a huge fan of Morrell's. There are a couple of his books I don't care for but several are among my favorites.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie]

I finished this late last night. It was very good. I was very bittersweet about what happened to (view spoiler)[Chris. Poor Chris! He was so tortured, and I hated that it ended that way. I wished that he got some peace on this side of eternity. (hide spoiler)] Gosh that Eliot was a major piece of work. Ugh. The whole concept was very interesting. The part at the 'rest home' has some really hilarious parts. It was almost like Saul was using the strategy of the death of 1000 cuts, wearing away at Eilot's sanity. Although it couldn't happen to a nicer person, it was clear that trying to get vengeance had a terrible price on Saul.

Thanks to whomever nominated this. I enjoyed it a lot.

[Jim]

Don't forget about the other books that are in a similar setting. I've got The Fraternity Of The Stone out for my next book. I'm just about done with an SF book of short stories now.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Literary Adrenaline Junkie]

I'll definitely read more from this series!