At first I was a bit doubtful that I was going to enjoy this as much as some of Robert Ludlum's later books such as the Bourne series. But I shouldn't have doubted his skill as a writer and I was nearly immediately engaged in the story. As with all of the other Ludlum books I've read, the story and characters take a little while to get established but after that it's extremely fast paced and you have to try hard to put the book down. I especially enjoyed how dynamic and round all the significant characters were. I was pleasantly suprised at the depth ludlum put into the many main characters in the novel compared to , for example Jason Bourne. Although Vittorio/Victor is not Quite as developed or Dynamic as Bourne, this is to be expected because there are three borne novels nearly twice the size of this book. Another one of the many good things about the Gemini contenders, is that later on in the book you get to experience the points of view of both the hero and villain of the story and observe the villains descent into madness. As is characteristic of Ludlum's novels, there is of course explicit blood and gore and some sex. I'll let you (the reader) decide whether or not you like that. Finally the only issue I had with the book is that, for the most part, there isn't much grey area in the balance between good and evil as the villains are more or less crazed, bloodthirsty psychopaths. Still this doesn't take much away from the book and it could be that Ludlum was making a comment on something that completely just flew over my head. Either way I extremely enjoyed this book and reccomend that you read it on a day that you don't have to get up early the next morning because it's likely you will be up until two in the morning and still reading this book.For those of you who want a quick overview of the pros cons here it is:pros:-Engaging dynamic characters-various main characters give a fuller understanding of the plot-interesting plot-Action packed nearly all the way through-many morecons:-Villains too obviously evilOther than that I would recommend this book to anyone who likes thrillers, action, adventure and a bit of mystery.
ISBN 0440128595 - Long before The DaVinci Code there were The Gemini Contenders - proving that fictional thrillers and religion have a long history of making good books together.Savarone Fontini-Cristi has a 2000 year old secret. It's been in safe hands for a long time, but Hitler is leaving very few places safe enough for a secret like this one. To keep it hidden, the monks of The Order of Xenope turn to Savarone, who is among the first of many who die to protect it, or just because of it's existence. His son Vittorio spends a lifetime not knowing, or even caring all that much, about this secret - but many men, for many reasons, believe he knows more than he realizes or admits and are determined to find where Savarone has it hidden, at any cost. Only shortly before his death does Vittorio - now living in America as Victor Fontine - decide that the vault that disappeared thirty years before must be found. Knowing his death is near, he turns the secret over to his sons, the Geminis, twins who could not possibly be more different from one another. The future of the Christian world hinges on the right twin finding it.There are a few things that bothered me about this book. For one thing, a review of it is hard to do in just a few short paragraphs, because it does span thirty years and gets a bit convoluted. Apparently, in the 1970s, black people were Black people, which was just distracting. Deaths were frequent and sudden, but I wrote that off as part of WWII and, later in the book, as necessary to the story. It would have seemed bizarre if the story had had a completely peaceful ending, considering all the death leading up to it. Still, the characters I came to care most about died without fanfare and the twins of the title weren't developed much at all. The story itself outweighs the nitpicking, however, and I'd definitely recommend it!- AnnaLovesBooks
What do You think about The Gemini Contenders (1989)?
This is a 1976 entry in the fanatical/psychotic Christian sect - world shattering Religious Artefact supressed for centuries sub-genre of the thriller. It's a good deal more competent than a more recent such book that also features a trip to the Louvre, but then so are my schoolboy fictions.It deviates somewhat from the standard Ludlum formula, being one of the few with a historical setting and straggling through three generations of protagonists. This latter is a bit disconcerting but this volume is still a swift read, full of incident. Neither in the top nor bottom rank of Ludlum's many works.
—Robert
This is up there with Ludlum's best work, which for me includes "The Matarese Circle" and "The Holcroft Covenant." A superbly written thriller spanning almost 5 decades and WWII. Plus if you're into books with religious intrigue by author's not named "Dan Brown," you might wanna give this one a try.::SPOILER ALERT::As a student of theology, one problem I had with the book was the way that Ludlum talked about the filioque controversy and how it led to denials of Christ's divinity. In reality, the Eastern Orthodox have never denied Christ's divinity at all, rather the understanding of trinitarian unity is different for the East and West. Roman Catholics (and most western offshoots of them) believe that Christ is co-equal with the Father and the Spirit in trinitarian theology. The East does NOT deny Christ's divinity or trinitarian right, rather they believe that because God is the source, the original creator, that the Holy Spirit cannot proceed through the Father AND the Son since the Father is the source (despite what is written in the Nicene Creed). Finding sources is very critical to eastern thought and it once again proves that religion (no matter what you believe) is often viewed through the lens of culture. I did my senior paper on the filioque controversy so I felt compelled to add this. It did not detract from what was otherwise a marvelous read, rather just was a recurring annoyance. Were I raised in the Eastern tradition, I would probably have been more upset.
—Jake
Een echte Ludlum. De fontini strijders. Op de kaft staat : Roman van een huiveringwekkend mysterie. Nu dat kan kloppen want het is echt een verhaal wat je meeneemt naar een wereld waarvan wij niet echt een weet hebben. Natuurlijk lezen we over gevonden bijbelteksten, de tweede wereld oorlog, MI 6 en de italiaanse fasisten maar dit verhaal aaneengesmeed tot een geheel neemt je mee naar een wereld waar van wij als gewone burgers niet veel van af weten. Het ontwikkeld zich als een goed geregisseerde film. The bourne Identity is dan ook van zijn hand dus je kunt je wel voorstellen waar het over gaat. Het verhaal begint in Griekenland met een orde die al eeuwen een kluis bewaakt met documenten die de wereldse geloofsbelevenis op zijn grondvesten kan doen schudden. Om de onderzoekers van Hitler voor te blijven wordt de kluis vervoerd door een monnik en zijn broer die trein machinist is. Er is nog een andere persoon die van deze trein af weet. De monnik pleegt zelfmoord na zijn broer te hebben gedood. Dit om te voorkomen dat men weet waar de kluis is verstopt. Alleen Savarone Fontini Christie weet nog waar deze zich bevind. Hij laat op zijn landgoed wat aanwijzingen achter. Gelukkig voordat zijn hele familie wordt uitgemoord. Op een na Victtorio Fontini, die te laat op het familie treffen komt en gered word door de oude stalmeester. Victtorio wordt naar Engeland gesmokkeld waar hij in schotland wordt voorbereid op infiltratie. Hij werd naar Engeland gebracht voor het geheim.......... maar hij weet er niets van alleen de laatste woorden die zijn vader hem toeriep.......... of riep hij ze naar iemand anders? Iemand met een witte baan in zijn haar?
—Belinda
