Quando, na altura, li a sinopse deste Ouro dos Cruzados, confesso que fiquei bastante entusiasmado com esta mistura de romanos, judaísmo, vikings, nazis e até segredos do Vaticano! Tudo apontava para uma aventura "histórica", um dos meus géneros favoritos, numa busca por um artefacto histórico de grande valor e cuja descoberta poderia acarretar um conjunto de transformações no mundo actual. Para quem não sabe, a Menorá é um dos símbolos mais importantes do judaísmo e constitui, actualmente, um dos símbolos do estado de Israel, em conjunto com a Estrela de Davi pelo que a sua descoberta poderia revolucionar a situação no médio oriente.De facto, o início desta aventura é prometedor. Somos levados a acompanhar o trabalho de mergulho de Jack Howard e da sua equipa, no porto de Istambul (antiga Constantinopla) onde descobrem os restos de um antigo Drakar Viking que, segundo a teoria de Jack, terá pertencido a Harald Hardrada, um antigo rei Viking que participou no saque de Constantinopla. O problema é que depois veio o caos!De Istambul somos levados para Inglaterra, depois para a Gronelândia, América do Norte e finalmente América Central, em pleno território Maia. Pelo meio, há uma série de descobertas e coincidências "demasiado coincidentes" que, quanto a mim, forçam demasiado a estória a seguir o rumo desejado pelo autor e tornam aquilo que poderia ser história numa verdadeira fábula imaginária.Além disso, creio que o autor, ao pretender misturar na mesma história, um conjunto de ingredientes para a tornar mais apetecível, daqueles que suscitam sempre a curiosidade do leitor e avivam a leitura, acabou por criar um caldo demasiado espesso e, em muitas ocasiões, muito confuso. A participação de Vikings nas cruzadas, sociedades secretas (mais uma...), mergulho em interior de iceberg (cuja descrição foi, para mim, das leituras mais confusas que alguma vez fiz... a páginas tantas já não se percebia como é que os intervenientes estavam... dentro, fora, virados para baixo, virados para cima... enfim...), chegada dos vikings à América do Norte (talvez o facto mais credível no meio de todos os outros), e, para terminar, o desembarque de Vikings na América Central, em pleno território Maia!?!No geral, gostei da leitura. Apesar de confusa em algumas secções acaba por ser fluida. Pena é que em termos históricos (aquilo que eu realmente aprecio neste tipo de aventuras) tenha ficado um pouco aquém das expectativas. Demasiado forçado...
I feel like you either love or hate these books. I personally have enjoyed this series. But they are packed full of historical background, so if you are not a fan of the history aspect these books are not for you!! I thought the plot of this story was excellent. It really is incredible how Gibbins weaves so many different historical elements into one story.....it's easy to see that all his books are well researched, but with so many different pieces it can seem a bit disjointed at times. The only real complaint I have with this series is the character development, which many others have said as well. I tend to only read series books. I have read four in this series and have yet to grow "attached" to any of the characters which is a bit unusual for me.
What do You think about Crusader Gold (2006)?
This is David Gibbins' second book - the first, Atlantis, I have not read - and it shows. The style is there and the great storytelling is there but it does feel a bit like he is feeling his way into this writer thing. I wasn't too impressed in the diving inside an iceberg bit, probably because I am not a diver and so the jargon (and other descriptions) were quite lost on me. The "almost" being frozen inside the berg was a bit difficult to swallow and the way they get out of the impossible, and lets face it massively improbable, situation was a stretch too far. He tried to cram too much descriptive writing into this bit and it all got a bit confusing. I think Gibbins must have read the Tom Knox book as he includes some descriptions of ritual sacrifice which, thank goodness he does not elaborate the way Knox did but did he need them?Deftly combining 1066 (and all that), Constantinople, the Maya and the 3rd Reich, oh and the bloody Vikings and the menorah. That's a tall order.I particularly like the passages at the back of the book which explain the true elements of the story and describe how he wove them together to create an hypothesis which entirely plausible. Shame the writing was a bit clunky. The Last Gospel is way better.
—Jeremy
Picked up this copy for a holiday read after enjoying DB's Atlantis novel. Once I started I couldn't put it down. A fast paced book that keeps you wanting to know what's going to happen next. Again the ancient myth and history was combined very well with the exciting storyline. I found the 'secret-sect' bad guys more believable and intriguing than the treasure robbers/ organised criminals with there secret hideout from Atlantis. For me a very enjoyable book, would love to read about another Jack Howard archeological adventure. Great fun!
—Stefan
Critics claimed it was something like Dan Brown books... but with a mix of Indiana Jones... but I didn't find it to be all that...This is the second book of a series in which and arecheologist / scientist goes around the globe trying to solve the quest...On this book they are looking for "The Menorah"... Jewish Gold lamp stand...The author appears to be very knowledgable about archeological terms... espeically when it comes to underwater exploration... maybe someone on this field will find it extremely interesting... as for myself i was at lost sometimes with the terms and techniques used.
—Jose
