or, Turf and Towers, Red Cotton Night-Cap Country - Robert Browning

Advantages: A synopsis of the greatest series of books I have ever read!
Disadvantages: The longest review of all time.

...from a poem by Robert Browning called "Childe Roland to The Dark Tower Came". I will let those of you with the patience read it in its entirety at the end of this review as it is a truly wonderful piece; but for some idea on the inspiration behind the books here is an excerpt which sums up the massive undertaking King has taken on. If at his counsel I should turn aside Into that ominous tract which, all agree, Hides the Dark Tower. Yet acquiescently I did turn as he pointed, neither pride Now hope rekindling at the end descried, So much as gladness that some end might be. Confused? Don't be. What this poem is about is a man's ceaseless quest to reach "The Dark Tower" (although there are several underlying meanings within) and as such this is the main focus of King's books. This is all well and good Dave but what... Read review

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Advantages: A cracking good yarn
Disadvantages: It's full of holes and poorly researched

...of this information, and to this day continues to harass and even murder the protectors of the “Divine Goddess”, yet another fictional secret society calling itself the Priory of Sion. ~ ~ Brown wraps up all this fictional speculation in an absolute corker of a thriller, once again using his character Robert Langdon, the Harvard art historian we were first introduced to in “Angels and Demons”. Then we have an albino monk called Silas, who is sent by the head of Opus Dei (an ultra-conservative Catholic order) to murder the secret leader of the Priory of Sion, a fellow called Jacques Sauniere, who also happens to be the curator of the Louvre Museum in Paris. His quest is to steal the “keystone”, which has supposedly been held by the Priory of Sion since the time of Christ, and which reveals the true location of the “Holy Grail”. Langdon, naturally... Read review

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Advantages: A cracking good read.
Disadvantages: tainted by allegations of an "anti-Christian" agenda

...~ ~ A comment on my previous review of the thriller “Digital Fortress” by American author Dan Brown, who also wrote the bestseller "The Da Vinci Code", gave me pause for thought. It was along the lines that Dan Brown was using his novels to promote an “anti-Christian” agenda. In particular, it's alleged by many people that his most bitter vitriol and criticism is saved for the Roman Catholic Church. Obviously, as I am both Christian and Catholic (in that order) that notion caused me some concern, so I went off to investigate the claim in a bit more detail to see whether or not it was true, and if the claims had any substance. I read my third novel by Dan Brown, “Angels and Demons”, with a far more critical eye than I had read the previous two as a result of having taking on board this perceived anti-Christian agenda which he... Read review

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