The Lucifer Code

Thomas Lourds #2

by Charles Brokaw

Dr. Thomas Lourds, internationally-renowned linguist and archaeologist, has just arrived in Istanbul to lecture at the University.  But before he even leaves the airport, Lourds is kidnapped and finds himself fighting for his life—and for all mankind.

Deeply hidden somewhere in the city is an ancient scroll written by the author of the Bible’s Book of Revelation—a scroll whose secrets might save or destroy humanity. Lourds' religious extremist captors need him to help find the document to achieve their evil ends. After a desperate escape and chase, Lourds searches for the scroll with the help of a former lover, Olympia Adnan, and a deadly Irish mercenary he cannot trust.

Lourds and his dangerous allies must navigate ancient Constantinople's darkest depths to find the scroll before the Devil himself brings the world down around them and the war between good and evil comes to a final showdown.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Adventure, Suspense, Archaeology, Mystery Thriller

512 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Charles Brokaw is a pseudonym for an author, academic, and college educator living in the Midwest. He’s had a rich and varied life, and is fascinated by history, human accomplishment, and archeology. He began the book The Atlantis Code after seeing an article in a scholarly journal. The piece featured a satellite photo, and pointed out ruins visible in Spain which matched closely the description of Atlantis relayed in the writings of Plato. Because the ruins were located in a famous national park, he was certain they would never be explored. That got him thinking about just what treasures are buried beneath the earth. The result was The Atlantis Code. The book is the author’s first published adventure thriller.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/charle...

Reviews

[Anish Kohli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Umm… 1 second pls…I’ll be right there with you.
I’m wondering….still wondering…. All right, I give up..!!
I have no clue WTF happened in this book and WHY..?? And it hurts, it Physically hurts after getting through this book. Why god why..?? Why did you let me read this..??

This is the second book in the series and it is worse than the 1st one bcz the first one sucked from the page 1, but this book didn’t. It built me up and then pushed me down.

Recently, a Goodreads Librarian lectured me that it isn’t fair to address the books of this genre as a Rip-off of The Da Vinci Code. But this book, is a prime example of why Dan Brown has made it so big in this genre. This book has nothing to take you deep into the mythology. The secrets, the code breaking, the proverbial trail of breadcrumbs, the connection of all the ancient things to the sinister plot of present. Nothing of that sort. The most basic thing that would redeem this book, the code breaking by Lourds, is missing. How he manages to read an ancient coded & lost language has been given no thought. He just does.

Here’s what’s happening:

A world renowned professor, Thomas Lourds, is tangled up in a hunt for something that he isn’t aware of. He’s abducted, shot at, thrashed and bashed and is almost killed through his journey to find something, something that can “End the World.”
But being as good as he is, he not only finds the artefact that no one else could in the last 8 centuries, he deciphers the code and saves the World. It is a story line that traces the stories of myth and the current world politics, a race against time.

Sound’s exciting, right? What’s not to like, right?

Here’s where this book goes to the crapper:

The scroll that holds THE MOST UNHOLY secret, has never been seen or found since centuries. But now, all of a sudden, the CIA is looking for it, a bunch of thugs are looking for it and then there is a Secret Brotherhood that’s charged with the protection of the scroll, they too are looking for it. And somehow, all of these players in the hunt of the scroll know that Lourds, only Professor Lourds can find it. So they go after him and sic him after the scroll like a bloodhound on a trail.
Ok hold up, wait a minute, if the Brotherhood that is supposed to protect the scroll has not known about it for centuries, then why the hell have they not disbanded? Say they have too much love to be disbanded, tell me, why they need the scroll now..?? Cz F*ck Logic, that’s why.

The professor is given an ancient manuscript that holds the location of the much sought scroll. The only problem is, the manuscript is in an ancient lost language that also happens to be protected by some sort of a cipher. But hey, Lourds is the man, man. He breaks the code and that too on the run, all the while his life in danger. The secret brotherhood helps, it provides boarding and lodging to the professor. The bunch of thugs simply drop out of the race. Why? Cz they could..!! Now it’s just the CIA that’s on the professor’s ass.
Now the scroll that they locate, is nothing but another clue to a few more locations and artefacts that once found, would aid in deciphering the real message apart from the footnote stating: The Devil himself has been reincarnated as a mortal. Fun, too much fun, I tell you.
Then the part where the professor visits all the locations to get the artefacts is skipped by our beloved author, but never does he skip a carnal setting. Cz priorities, Bitch…!!

Finally, after all the toil, Lourds manages to locate everything of need to decode the message. He keeps at it for days. But nothing. He can’t break the code. But what he manages to do, is find chicks willing to sleep with him. Practically lining up and begging for it. Then all of sudden, the devil calls him up and beckons him. Lourds finds himself speaking to the DEVIL, face to face, mano-a-mano, but F*cked if he’s afraid. He be a smart mouth. He be pissing him off.
It is in a moment of heat, like lightening, his mind deciphers the final code, just like that and he manages to send the devil right back to where he came from, using the message that was on the scroll. And the world was saved. Thank you professor.

But not really, no.

This book manages to contradict itself. All through the book, everyone is looking for a scroll that could “End the World”. Professor Lourds not only finds it, he uses it to “Save the World.” Nothing is explained. The author has simply written a book but paid no mind to justifying it.
When I read The Atlantis Code, way back when, I thought it couldn’t have been any worse. After a long time, I dared to pick this author again, goading myself into it by thinking: “It’s likely that you read the book wrong.” And for a while I believed it. This book has better writing finesse, marginally, and for like halfway through the book, the story seemed to be building up to something of worth. But from then on, it was all downhill and it never stopped.

Highly disappointing read.

[Ishraque Aornob]

ইতিহাস, মিথ, কোড ব্রেকিং, টুকটাক ধাওয়া-পাল্টা ধাওয়া নিয়েই বইটা। এর ফাঁকে ফাঁকে উঠে এসেছে এসপিওনাজ, যুক্তরাষ্ট্র-আরব কূটনৈতিক সম্পর্ক, তেল অস্ত্রের ব্যবহার। বিশেষ করে যুক্তরাষ্ট্র ও মধ্যপ্রাচ্যের রাজনীতি নিয়ে বিস্তর আলাপ আছে।
যাদের উপর্যুক্ত বিষয়ে আগ্রহ আছে,তাদের হয়তো ভালো লাগবে বইটা।

[Shailesh Rojatkar · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book started off well for me but sadly from then on, it was a downhill journey and after fighting off thoughts of putting the book down never to return to it, I was laughing like crazy at the end of the book.The book really has the most ridiculous climax!!!!

The book never elaborates on the cryptic messages that are a key to unlock the code that is talked about in the book. Its just said that there is a message... a secret society and a bunch of goons both has a copy of that message... and our main protagonist, with his exceptional abilities just solves this message in to an isolated moment of enlightenment after dodging a gazillion number of dangers. That leads to some more encrypted messages which too are never elaborated upon. Its just that our protagonist solves them... this time after dodging even more dangers... to find a piece of knowledge that leads to the hilarious climax (The kind of climax which is supposed to be serious but is so ridiculous that it becomes hilarious).

[Tim Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again the main character has to have sex with every female character he encounters. The author has some issues to work out in my opinion.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not finish this book. I was in past 110 pages and the story wasn't going anywhere, I have to say I'm disappointed bc.

[Akash Rahman · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book started with a promising build up. But the author didn’t want the plot to go anywhere meaningful. That's where the problem began. Where should I start?

(1) Story: Utter trash. Why? Professor Thomas Lourds got kidnapped by a bunch of mysterious people. Their leader is named Cain. Throughout the story Cain is mentioned many times, but we never see him again for the rest of the story. Where did he go? Why didn’t he chase the professor again?
He got disintegrated cuz the author forgot about him.

(2) Agent Dawson is the clumsiest CIA agent in a fictional story. Think, how should a CIA agent complete his missions? Discreetly, right? Should a CIA agent send a bunch of armed, clueless men to an airport to escort an unarmed, untrained old man? Never. Airports have tight security, only a dumbass would send a bunch of armed men to an Airport. But our good old agent Dawson did that, and failed measurably 🤣🤣.

Then he doesn't take lesson from his mistake (cuz he's too dumb to understand that) and tries to extort the heroine's sister. How should he do it? Approach her when she's alone, have a bunch of words with her, right? No, this gorilla approaches her in the middle of a bar (or Cafe, I don't care) where dozens of people can see them, beats her boss with the handle of his gun and slaps the girl because he has huge male ego. He has the intelligence of a monkey, don't bother judging him. Actually, it's the author who has low IQ.

(3) General Eckart quickly finds Lourds at the Hagia Sophia catacombs (nobody knows how) but when Lourds flees from him and stays in a hotel close to Hagia Sophia, the general never managed to find him! A general who is smart enough to find a professor inside a catacomb but still cannot find him inside a hotel close to the vicinity. The writing is pure shite!

(4) Agent Dawson's car has a GPS in it, but his phone doesn't (cuz his brain has the size of a peanut). So when the heroine shoots him he dies in the middle of a street and nobody, not a single soul in CIA ever tries to investigate his murder. Hell, they didn't bother recovering his corpse and give him a burial, nope (proves that nobody care about him).

(5) American forces raise hell in Istanbul and Turkey intelligence is never seen anywhere, like they don't even exist.

(6) The heroine's hacker friend can hack police station cameras, hack police database, can also hack CIA database, can even hack a whole fucking satellite, all from his discount apartment and nobody can find out.

(7) The final twist, the presence of Lucifer himself. Turns out that he's also a dumb cunt just like the rest of the characters. My question is, who gave birth to him? How? Why? We'll never know cuz the author doesn't know either.

This book is a total waste of time.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

"The Lucifer Code" was a fairly interesting book. It was like if you mixed some of Indiana Jones in with a more bookish professor. It was filled with a lot of adventure and questions about why various groups of people were after this professor and why he was the only one who could translate a long lost document. It kept my interest fairly well and I didn't mind the mix of history and religion at all. The book flags at the end, though, to the point where they skip over how much of what the document that they finally found leads to, although I guess the author probably figured no one would want to read more searching, so I'll forgive that. However, I did find the ending a bit too rushed. You get this big reveal about who is the big bad, which you should have known all along, and then to get rid of the evil person it was written in a very underwhelming fashion. Entertaining, sure, but it did leave me feeling like the author ran out of ideas and just finished a fairly engrossing book rather poorly.

[Sakib A. Jami · Rating 1 out of 5]

[স্পয়লার রিভিউ]

এই বইটির কোনো কাহিনি সংক্ষেপ আলোচনা করছি না। পাঠ প্রতিক্রিয়ার আলোচনার ফাঁকে মূল গল্প নিয়ে আলোচনা থাকবে। শুরুটা শেষ দিয়ে করি।

"দ্য লুসিফার কোড" নামটি শুনলেই হয়তো ধারণা করা যায়, বইটি সম্ভবত শয়তান না এর উপাসনা জাতীয় কিছু একটা হবে। এই গল্পেও একজন লুসিফার আছে। কিন্তু কে সে? সে যেই হোক, গল্পের শেষে লেখক তাকে উন্মুক্ত করেন। ভালো কথা! টুইস্ট দেওয়ার জন্য হয়তো শেষ পর্যন্ত রেখে দিয়েছিলেন। কিন্তু যেভাবে শেষ করলেন, সেটা পড়ে কী অনুভূতি প্রকাশ করা উচিত ঠিক বুঝতে পারছি না। থ্রিলার গল্পে এভাবে হস্যকর উপস্থাপন কীভাবে করা যায় বুঝে উঠতে পারিনি। লুসিফার মানুষ হোক বা যেই হোক, তার একটি ক্ষমতা থাকা স্বাভাবিক। পৃথিবীর উপর নিজেকে প্রতিষ্ঠিত করার ইচ্ছে থাকবে অবশ্যই। এখানেও ছিল। কিন্তু তার আদৌ কোনো ক্ষমতা ছিল কি না এটা একটা প্রশ্ন। সেটাও না থাকুক, কিন্তু যেভাবে তাকে উধাও করে দেওয়া হলো, এই বিষয়টা এখনো হজম হচ্ছে না। এটা থ্রিলার, না অতিপ্রাকৃত গল্প? গাঁজাখুরি সমাপ্তি দেখে পুরো মেজাজটাই খারাপ হয়ে গিয়েছে। সবকিছু এর সহজে শেষ?

এত কিছু করার পর, যুদ্ধ করার পর; প্রভাবশালী একজন ব্যক্তি হওয়ার পর একজন প্রফেসরের কাছে এভাবে সহজে নাস্তানাবুদ হওয়া আমার কাছে বালখিল্য ঘটনা মনে হয়েছে। মনে হয়েছে লেখক তার মূল চরিত্রগুলোকে অতিমানবীয় হিসেবে দেখানোর চেষ্টা করেছেন। শত্রুপক্ষের এর আক্রমণের পরও সব জায়গা থেকে সহজেই বেঁচে ফেরা একটু বেশি বাড়াবাড়ি। বিশেষ করে যখন সুড়ঙ্গের মধ্য দিয়ে তারা পালাচ্ছিল। খুব সহজে গোপন দরজা খুঁজে পেয়ে পালিয়ে যাওয়া একটু বেশি অতিরঞ্জিত ছিল।

এখানে আরেকটি বিষয় আলোচনা করা দরকার। যেহেতু শুরু থেকেই আক্রমণের খেলা শুরু, মাঝের একটা ঘটনা বলছি। ইস্তাম্বুল বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে প্রফেসর লর্ডকে আক্রমণ করে সিআইএ এজেন্টদের একটি দল। সেখান থেকে ভাগ্যক্রমে পালিয়ে যায় ওরা। পরে যখন গুহার মধ্যে তারা তাদের লক্ষ্য খুঁজে বেড়ায় তখন কোনো না কোনোভাবে তাদের ট্র্যাক করে সেখানে চলে আসে সিআইএ এজেন্টরা। কিন্তু কীভাবে? কোন পদ্ধতিতে ট্র্যাক করা হয়েছিল? সেই ব্যাখ্যা দেওয়া হয়নি। অথচ সেই গুহার সুড়ঙ্গ পথ থেকে তারা যখন পালিয়ে যায়, তাদের আর খোঁজ পায় না। তাহলে তাদের সেই ট্র্যাক করার পদ্ধতি কোথায় হারিয়ে গেল?

এবার শুরুর দিকে আসি। প্রফেসর লর্ডসকে অপ হরণ দিয়ে শুরু। তাকে কেউ অপ হরণ করা হয়েছিল, এই ঘটনা বুঝতেই বা লেখকের ব্যাখ্যা করতেই পঞ্চাশ পৃষ্ঠার মতো লেগে গিয়েছিল। পরে বুঝতে পারলাম একটি ভাষার সমাধান করতে প্রফেসরকে নিয়ে যাওয়া হয়। কিন্তু সেই ভাষায় কী আছে, কেন এত গুরুত্বপূর্ণ তখনও বুঝিনি। সে যাই হোক, সেখানে পরে যুদ্ধ, আক্রমণ, পালিয়ে যাওয়া শেষে প্রফেসর নিজ হোটেলে ফিরে আসেন। কিন্তু যারা শুরুতে একটি ভাষার সমাধানের জন্য লেখককে অপ হরণ করেছিল, সেই ভাষার বই নিয়ে পালিয়ে এসেছিলেন লর্ডস। তাহলে তারা কোথায় উধাও হলো? সেই বইটি যদি তাদের কাছে এতটাই গুরুত্বপূর্ণ হয়, সেটি হারিয়ে যাওয়ার পর তাদের প্রফেসর ও তার দলকে ধাওয়া করে উচিত ছিল না? পরের পুরো কাহিনিতে তাদের কোনো অস্তিত্বই নেই।

শুরুতে আরও একটি গোঁজামিল দিয়েছেন লেখক। লর্ডসকে যখন অপ হরণ করা হয়, তখন আরও তিনজন প্রফেসরের উপর হামলা করে। ওরা কারা? জানা যায় সিআইএ থেকে তাদের নিয়োগ দেওয়া হয়েছিল শুধু জানতে যে বইটি প্রফেসরের কাছে আছে কি না। কিন্তু বলা হয় বইটি কোনোদিন ইস্তাম্বুলের বাইরে যায়নি। আর প্রফেসর মাত্রই ইস্তাম্বুলে এসেছেন। তাহলে কেন আগেই প্রফেসরকে ধাওয়া করা? অপ হরণ কারীদের কাছ থেকে পালিয়ে যাওয়ার পর প্রফেসরকে তুরস্ক পুলিশ ধরে নিয়ে যায়। সেখানে জিজ্ঞাসাবাদে বই সম্পর্কে লর্ডস কিছুই বলেননি। কিন্তু পাশের রুমে একজন সিআইএ অফিসার ঠিকই বই হাতে নিয়ে বসে ছিলেন পুলিশের সামনেই। তখন প্রশ্ন উঠেনি? পুলিশ যখন কাউকে ধরে তার ব্যাগ সার্চ করে দেখাটা স্বাভাবিক। এখানে তেমন কিছু ঘটেনি? আবার সেই সিআইএ অফিসার বই হাতে পেয়েই প্রফেসরকে ফিরিয়ে দিয়েছেন। যদি তাদের কাছে বইটা এতই মূল্যবান হয়, তাহলে ফিরিয়ে দিবে কেন? ফিরিয়ে দিয়ে আবার এই বইটা পাওয়ার জন্য অন্য জায়গায় হামলা চালানো হবে কেন? এ কোন থিওরি লেখক উপস্থাপন করেছেন?

বইটির একাংশে সৌদি আরবের কথা বলা হয়েছে। শিয়া, সুন্নির বিরোধ যেখানে প্রধান। এখানে ঢুকে গিয়েছে বিশ্ব রাজনীতি। কেননা যুদ্ধ শুরু হলে তেলের দামের উপর প্রভাব পড়বে। তবে এই ঘটনার উপর অন্য কারো হাত আছে কি না এটাই প্রশ্ন। সৌদি আরবের সেই ঘটনা মূল অংশের সাথে কীভাবে ফিট হয় আমি বুঝিনি। মনে হয়েছে বইটিকে আরও আকর্ষণীয় করতে লেখক এমন ঘটনাগুলোর অবতারণা করেছেন। এখানে লেখক একটি ভুল তথ্য দিয়েছেন। বলেছেন মহানবী (সা) এর আবির্ভাবের পর শিয়া-সুন্নির বিরোধ। এটা হবে মহানবী (সা) এর ওফাতের পর। তবে এই অংশ আসলেই বাড়তি মনে হয়েছে। সবচেয়ে বিরক্ত লেগেছে এখানে যুদ্ধ হচ্ছে, আর চরিত্রগুলো কথা বলে যাচ্ছে। লেখক মূল ঘটনার চেয়ে সংলাপে জোর দিয়েছিলেন, আমার বিরক্তির অন্যতম কারণ ছিল এটি।

এবার আসি মূল অংশে। বইটিকে দ্য ভিঞ্চি কোডের সাথে তুলনা করে প্রচার করা হয়েছিল। অথচ ভিঞ্চি কোডের এক অংশও না বইটি। ভিঞ্চি কোড বুদ্ধির খেলা। যুক্তি তর্কে এগিয়ে যাওয়া। কোড ভেঙে রহস্য সমাধান যেখানে মূল লক্ষ্য। এখানে একটি বই আছে, ভাষা সংক্রান্ত বিষয় আছে; সেহেতু ভাষার কোড ভাঙা এখানে মূল আকর্ষণ হবে ধরেই নেওয়া যায়। কিন্তু কীভাবে? প্রফেসর সব কোড ভেঙেছেন বলেই দাবি করেছেন, সব ভাষা বুঝেছেন। কিন্তু কীভাবে তার ব্যাখ্যা দেওয়া হয়নি। আমার মনে হয় লেখক কোড বা ভাষা নিয়ে নিজেই কাজ করেননি। তাই পাঠককে জানাতেও অপারগ ছিলেন। খুবই হতাশাজনক। শুধু দুয়েকটা তথ্য, ইতিহাস নিয়ে আলোচনা করলেই দারুণ কিছু হয়ে যায় না। উপস্থাপন আর এর গভীরে যাওয়াটাও জরুরি। যেভাবে দ্য ভিঞ্চি কোডের সাথে তুলনা করে প্রচার করা হয়েছে, এটা অপপ্রচার ছাড়া কিছুই না।

আরও অসংখ্য ভুলত্রুটি ছিল বইয়ে। যেমন একজন খুব সহজেই সরকারি ওয়েবসাইট, সিসি ক্যামেরার অ্যাকসেস নিচ্ছিল ব্যাপারটা অতিরঞ্জিত লেগেছে। এছাড়া শুরুর দিকের আক্রমণ, হেলিকপ্টার ধ্বংস হয়ে যাওয়া, কে মারা যাচ্ছে আর কে বেঁচে যাচ্ছে সেই বোঝাটাও কঠিন হয়ে যাচ্ছিল। এখানে লেখকের বর্ণনার দুর্বলতা অনেকাংশে দায়ী। আরো অসংখ্য ছোটখাটো ভুলত্রুটি ছিল, যেগুলো নিয়ে লিখতে গেলে একটা বই লিখে ফেলতে পারব! তাই বেশিকিছু আর বলছি না।

▪️অনুবাদ প্রসঙ্গ :

আমি মনে করি একজন অনুবাদক যখন অনুবাদ করেন, তখন তার সাহিত্য জ্ঞান থাকাটা জরুরি। ভাষাশৈলী, বাক্যগঠন, শব্দচয়ন - সবকিছুতেই জ্ঞান থাকা লাগে। এই বইয়ে কোনো কিছুই ছিল না। ভুল শব্দচয়ন যেমন ছিল, বাক্য গঠনেও অসঙ্গতি ছিল অনেক। অনেকক্ষেত্রে দুইবার পড়ার পর বুঝতে হয়েছে আসলে কী বোঝানো হয়েছে। সবচেয়ে যে বিষয়টি খারাপ লেগেছে, কিছু শব্দ অনুবাদক ইংরেজি হরফেই লিখেছেন। হোটেলের নাম, জায়গায় নাম, খাবারের নাম, পোশাকের নাম, বইয়ের নামগুলো কেন ইংরেজিতেই লেখা হয়েছে বোধগম্য হয়নি। বাংলাতে লিখলেই বেশি ভালো হতো। সবচেয়ে ভালো হতো কিছু বিষয়ের ফুটনোট লিখে দিলে।

▪️সম্পাদনা ও প্রোডাকশন :

কথায় আছে, "First impression is the best impression". একটি প্রকাশনী তাদের প্রথম বই বের করছে, সেই প্রথম বইতেই তাদের উচিত ছিল পাঠককে আকৃষ্ট করা। সেই কাজে ব্যর্থ হয়েছে প্রকাশনী। খুবই হতাশাজনক বিষয়। কনটেন্ট বাছাই যে মান সম্মত ছিল না, সেটা তো উপরের আলোচনাতে বোঝা যায়। তাও যদি সম্পাদনা ঠিকঠাক হতো। এমন যাচ্ছেতাই সম্পাদনা ভীষণ রকমের মর্মাহত করেছে।

অনুবাদের ভুলত্রুটির অনেকাংশ প্রকাশনীর উপর বর্তায়। প্রকাশনীর উচিত ছিল সম্পাদনায় জোর দেওয়া। অনভিজ্ঞ কেউ অনুবাদ করলে একটু ভালো সম্পাদনা প্রত্যাশিত। অবশ্য এই বইয়ের সম্পাদনা হয়েছে কি না এটাও এক সন্দেহ। মনে হয়েছে অনুবাদক যে ফাইল দিয়েছে, সেটাই ছাপিয়ে দেওয়া হয়েছে। প্রচুর পরিমাণে বানান ভুল। কিছু জায়গায় ছাপার ভুল হিসেবে ধরে নিতে চাচ্ছিলাম, কিন্তু একই নানান সব জায়গায় যদি ভুল থাকে তাহলে সেটা বানান না জানার অজ্ঞতা ��্রকাশ পায়। চন্দ্রবিন্দু আছে এমন বানানের প্রায় ৯৫% বানানে চন্দ্রবিন্দু ছিল না।

এছাড়া বাক্য গঠনে অসঙ্গতির কথা তো বলেছি। শব্দের মধ্যে অক্ষর উধাও, কোনো কোনো বাক্যে শব্দ উধাও! কোথাও স্পেস বেশি, যতিচিহ্ন নেই, ইনভার্টেড কমা আলাদা; পুরোটাই যাচ্ছেতাই অবস্থা। যেন টাকার শ্রাদ্ধ ছাড়া কিছুই না। প্রথম বইয়ে যে প্রকাশনী এমন কান্ড করতে পারে তাদের পরবর্তী বই কেনার সময় দ্বিতীয়বার ভাবতে হবে বৈ কি!

প্রোডাকশন কোয়ালিটিও ভালো না। দুই পৃষ্ঠা পড়ার পর প্রথম ফর্মা হাতে খুলে এসেছে। মাঝের দুই ফর্মা খুলবে খুলবে করছে। এত দুর্বল বাঁধাই! কেবল প্রচ্ছদটাই জোস। এছাড়া কিছুই না।

▪️পরিশেষে, কী বলব? থাক! অনেক কিছু বলে ফেলেছি। শুধু পুরস্কারে বইটি নিয়েছিলাম বলে টাকার মায়ায় হাহাকার করতে পারছি না। তবে আরও ভালো বই নিতে পারতাম, এই আফসোস থেকেই যাবে।

▪️বই : দ্য লুসিফার কোড
▪️লেখক : চার্লস ব্রোকাও
▪️অনুবাদক : নিজাম উদ্দিন আপু
▪️প্রকাশনী : অধ্যায় প্রকাশনী
▪️পৃষ্ঠা সংখ্যা : ৩২০
▪️মুদ্রিত মূল্য : ৫৬০ টাকা
▪️ ব্যক্তিগত রেটিং : ১/৫

[Aaron Cochrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot. It was suspenseful and intriguing and hit very few slow spots. It was well written with good character development, but the end wrapped up a little to conveniently.

[Jason Golomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I got through the first quarter of "Lucifer's Code", I started considering whether I should give this pulp archaeo-historical-thriller four or three stars. The introductory scenes were that good. High action, quick and witty dialogue and a reasonably smart storyline. Honestly, I was teetering on the 4-stars v 3-stars debate through the first half of the book. Unfortunately for me, and for the potential 4-star rating, this is when things started falling apart.

The first half of the book is a single, continuous, non-stop action sequence. A kidnapping leads to to an escape, involving international travel, gunplay, witty reparte (with sexual innuendo), interspersed with clues surrounding a mysterious scroll and the potential for the "end of the world". The story is nothing unique: a world-renowned linguist has a knack for reading ancient languages; he's already discovered Atlantis (in a previous book), and is now pulled into another world-shattering mystery. Yes, it sounds an awful lot like Dan Brown's Robert Langdon, but I assure you that this is but a comic book in comparison to the depth and breadth of Brown's best.

The opening sequences read right out of a strong mainstream thriller and would be totally film-ready. It perhaps points to its lack of originality that one could easily envision the car chases through Turkey and gun-shot dodging escape through the catacombs near Istanbul. But the writing is smooth and the reading is fast, easy and fun. I'm not ashamed to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the early going.

I really wanted the mystery to have a strong payoff, but it was not to be. In fact, I lost interest in keeping tabs on all of the loose ends and only hours after finishing, I'm still not sure if they were tied up, nor do I particularly care. All aspects of the final quarter of the book felt like the author was in a rush to be done...or that an editor got a little eraser-happy and managed to strip out all semblances of the strong build up from the first part of the book. I liked the characters, I liked the dialogue, and I liked the outline of the story...but they all dissipated like ancient paper blown in the wind.

If you like this style of story: Dan Brown Lite (VERY lite), then this is worth a read...in paperback, or perhaps borrowed from a friend. All that said, I've put Charles Brokaw's first book, "The Atlantis Code" on my wishlist, and I'll keep an eye out for his second. There's more good than bad in "Lucifer's Code", but beware of the second half.

I received "The Lucifer Code" as part of the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lucifer Code is the second book to feature Dr. Thomas Lourds, but the first one I've read. Thomas is rather famous, between being the foremost expert in languages, discovering the lost city of Atlantis and penning a popular novel that make the ladies swoon. Each of these accomplishments goes hand-in-hand with different sides of Thomas's personality. He's a highly educated, intelligent and knows it. He's got a lust for adventure. And he's a ladies man who fancy's himself quite attractive to the opposite sex, especially those much younger than himself.

Sounds like Indiana Jones to me, except Thomas lacks self-defense abilities and has no real instinct of self-preservation when faced with danger. Where Indy would whip the gun from the bad guy's hand, Thomas just kind of sits there waiting to be shot -- or saved by a much more impressive woman. Thomas is not exactly a womanizer, but feels as though he must take all carnal opportunities presented to him. He's visiting a former lover, currently sleeping with her (a lot) and yet jumps right into bed with a pretty young thing. When the former lover catches them, he expects her to be okay with it, because that's just who he is. Thomas's way with women will likely impress some and offend others.

The adventure starts off quickly and proceeds at a jaunty pace. Lots of shooting and explosions occupy the first chapters of the book. The pace slows once Thomas is tasked with deciphering an ancient coded language. The translations lead him on a race to save the world against the ultimate evil. The believability of this premise will depend on your religious beliefs. Personally, I found it to be a wildly entertaining ride, as long as I didn't try to see it as possible.

The Dr. Thomas Lourds series has been and will continue to be compared to the Robert Langdon series by Dan Brown. An academic racing to solve an ancient mystery that effects the world today could easily be the description of The Da Vinci Code or The Lucifer Code. The difference is that the Da Vinci Code felt like it had a much higher probability of actually happening in the real world, even for religious skeptics. The Lucifer Code felt more supernatural towards the end.

Dr. Thomas Lourds isn't quite Indiana Jones or Robert Langdon. He's less likable that either as far as I'm concerned. The Lucifer Code is an exciting book that will appeal to fans of intelligently written adventure mysteries, as long as they don't mind rolling their eyes at the main character from time to time.

[Deniz Atakan Çamlıca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Öncelikle Dan Brown kalitesinde bir roman bekliyorsanız bu kitap size göre değil arkadaşlar... Maalesef ben o moda girerek okudum kitabı ve hayal kırıklığına uğradım. Keşke takip ettiğim kitap bloglarında bir yorumları tarasaydım dedirtti bana... Kitapta oldukça eksiklikler var. Baş karakterimiz Thomas maşallah nasıl bir adamsa kadınlara olan ilgisi onun tek zayıflığı...Peki bu karşılıksız mı? Tabii ki de değil... Nasıl oluyorsa çevresindeki herkesin ilgisini çekebiliyor. Bu tarz karakterleri sevmiyorum, bana inandırıcı gelmiyor. Ayrıca neden her romanda bu karakterin birden fazla kadınla ilişkisi oluyor onu da anlamış değilim. Ayrıca Thomas'ın dilbilimci olması da ayrı bir konu... Dan Brown'dan önce dilbilimcinin ne demek olduğu bilinmezken şimdi romanlarda elimizi sallasak dilbilimciye çarpıyoruz. Karakter de biraz çakma geldi bana bu nedenle... Anlatıma gelirsek de kitabı okurken hep takıldım durdum bazı şeylere... Anlatımda bazen öyle gereksiz ayrıntılar verilmiş ki koparıyor sizi olaydan... Bu arada kitap tam 459 sayfa arkadaşlar... Gereksiz bir uzatma mevcut. Kitabın neredeyse ilk 200 sayfasında kaçma kovalamacadan başka hiçbir şey öğrenemiyoruz. Tamam bir süre olaylar olur, ama o sırada da adım adım sırlar çözülür onu anlarım da, bu şekilde hiç ilgi çekici değildi. Kitap neredeyse son 150 sayfaya falan sığdırılmıştı. Ayrıca ortada kimsenin bilmediği sıfırdan yaratılmış simgelerle oluşturulmuş bir dil var ve biz bu simgeleri ne görüyoruz ne de Thomas'ın nasıl çözdüğünü biliyoruz. Okuyabildim diyor ve okuduğunu anlıyoruz o kadar... Tam ipuçları takip ediliyor, adım adım çözülüyor derkeeen tüm kitap boyunca beklediğiniz sahnelerin tek paragrafla anlatılması da ayrıca kötü tarafıydı kitabın... Okuyan arkadaşlar ne demek istediğimi anlayacaktır. Bizi kitabın yarısı boyunca o kadar gereksiz ayrıntıya boğup asıl önemli sahneleri hızlıca geçmesini hiç sevmedim. Kitabın sonu da öyle aman aman değildi. Klasik bir Şeytan Çıkarma durumundan çok da farklı gelmedi bana... Okurken sürekli Atlantis'den bahsediyordu, hep ilgimi çekmiş bir konuydu. Bunu beğenirsem onu da mutlaka okurum diyodum. Şimdilik hiç sanmıyorum. Biraz araştırmam lazım sanırım... Kitabın Goodreads deki puanı da şaşırttı beni açıkçası... Fazla yüksek geldi bana... Tabii ki herkesin kendi zevki ;) İyi okumalar...

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brokaw's second novel brings our main character back on the scene, newly made famous for his work on the rediscovery of Atlantis and a mainstream '50 Shades-like' novel, with a new discovery in the heart of Turkey. While the reader is tossed back into the world of ancient relics written in long-dead languages, one cannot wonder the extent of the Dan Brown/Sam Bourne influence, especially as the biblical connections rise to the surface. That said, it is the intricate detail in which Brokaw lays out the story, and the fast-paced nature of the overall plot, that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from beginning to end. Layered within biblical speculation, the mystery of these documents and validity of the languages found thereon, Brokaw acts as history professor and posits many Christian happenings. He does so from more of a historical point of view, a la Brown and Bourne, than trying to inculcate the reader in conversion, as Joel C. Rosenberg might do. The end pushes the envelope to the brink of far-fetched, though one might be able to hold their nose, as the plot needs somewhere to culminate.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and its intricacies, as well as some of the new characters introduced and developed. It is, however, a little weak that all but our main character, Lourds, who is new to the scene, though mention of the adventures from the first book are front and centre in this novel. With a US politics undertone, one cannot help but chuckle at the character created for the Administration. Brokaw does utilise his obvious like of trashy erotica novels to portray Lourds as a modern day Bond with his need to jump into bed with any woman willing. Luckily, it does not overtake the novel, but it does seem a little far-fetched or overly described. Though, if that is the larger fault I can find in this book, I suppose I can swallow the pill and move forward.

Kudos Mr. Brokaw on an awesome book and I look forward to the next book you have on offer.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings on this book. I like the action and history in it, but I felt that the storyline was a little far fetched and I am becoming not too fond of the main character. I like that he is really smart but he is so full of himself and sleeps with every woman he comes in contact with, it becomes a little annoying at times. There is also a part at the end of the book where they are searching for other pieces of the puzzle that the author completely skips over. They find the first piece and then the author cuts to after they found all the rest of the pieces. I felt as if I was cheated out of the adventure. It's a fast read, but I thought his first book Atlantis code was better. I hope he is not falling onto the same road as Dan Brown where his books get worse and worse.

[Asia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kolejna częś�� przygód profesora Thomasa Lourdsa już od pierwszych stron emanuje akcją i W MIARĘ spójną fabułą ale da się zauważyć, że gdzieś poza połową książki autor chyba za bardzo się spieszył przez co powstał trochę taki nienaturalny przeskok czasowy, powodujący wrażenie zbyt pospiesznego i niezgrabnego zamknięcia niektórych wątków. I to mój jedyny zarzut względem tej książki bo cała reszta, choć nie grzeszy oryginalnością to w połączeniu z ciekawym sposobem przedstawienia tego, co nasunie autorowi wyobraźnia daje efekt całkiem przyjemnego, lekkiego i ciekawego czytadła na bazie powieści sensacyjnej i niekończących się niespodzianek.

[Jim affleck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute cliffhanger

Brilliantly written novel, based on apocalyptic biblical connotations. The story of Cain, being either the son of, or the devil himself has been well documented, and this book certainly plays on these historical fears. Professor Lourds, follows a trail of well hidden codes which reveal that Lucifer, is alive and well, and is in fact the embodiment of the Vice President of The United States of America. Would HIGHLY recommend to any would be reader who enjoyed The Da Vinci Code. Five star rating. Well written ,well researched, touching on the believable side of fiction.

[Sarah Haque · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s an action packed book. Fast, yet somewhat stuck with Mr. Lourd's *Ladies man* type of tendencies. If I had to compare with Dan Brown, I'd stick with that one because I can see what exactly is happening. Whereas, Lourds is a mysterious aman, he tends to keep his observations to himself.

Whatever, what the hell was that ending!! I don't understand how it fits, changed the genre of the book because maybe, the author wanted to give it a *wicked* conclusion.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed the story. Not overly complicated, what I call an easy read. Good characters and much history involved. An entertaining book well worth reading. I look forward to the next in the series.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars - English Ebook

Review follows later.

[Mia P'zel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Professor Thomas Lourds (and I'm sure Professor is his first name and Tom his middle, given how he's referred to throughout this book) is the best at languages and knowing things. Every woman wants to have sex with Professor Thomas Lourds. Professor Thomas Lourds found Atlantis and banished the Devil with the power of his penis. (Maybe not literally but certainly in spirit, seeing how much this book goes on about Professor Thomas Lourds' lecherous ways.) All hail Professor Thomas Lourds!

[Shuadi99 · Rating 2 out of 5]

It builds the hype only to destroy it in the last few chapters, becoming exceedingly difficult to tolerate as it moves on.

The story starts with Professor Lourds being called by "a girl old enough to be his daughter" and being an outright creep while staring at her cause he has a thing for young women to just go further in the story where she finally has sex with him (cause ofc)

The rest of the things happen in the middle, his kidnapping, him being the BEST LINGUISTIC PROFESSIONAL EVER, him having both the main girls drooling over him and the one in love with him forgiving his habit of just staring and sleeping with young women cause "he so smart" 🙄, him decoding the clues that the brotherhood couldn't, and him along with his love interest and her brother randomly breaking into history lessons, which if you have even a slightly imaginative brain would know how awful it would be if it happened in a play, let alone real life.

Professor Lourds is an outright hero. He does EVERYTHING, fight, escape, sleep with women and save the world all while not falling in traps of lucifer willing to give him his life's desire and all the while being clueless as to why he is doing that (cause he is not brave). I rolled my eyes throughout the book, especially when the author took the liberty to describe a randomly introduced sex scene with the young woman but not how he gets the rings required to translate the joy scroll. Also where exactly does the Qayin gang go? Do they accept defeat and we the readers have to infer it? what happens after lucifer's destroyed? what about the 4 close aids? The writer thinks he is being clever with the epilogue but OMG is he not.

I still give the book 2 stars cause kudos to his knowledge about religious history of Istanbul and all that is needed for the book. That much i can give and also that he managed to build enough narrative to get you hooked in the first few chapters despite the sexist staring at the girl right there in the first chapter.

All in all in the end i can just say this is the first book of his that i picked up, will i pick up another? That'll take a lot of thinking and convincing.

[Kristina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Are you looking for excitement? Do you enjoy conspiracy theories that involve the end of the world that don't make you roll your eyes?

Then don't bother with this book. I spent most of the book bored, wondering why I was continuing to read it, or just rolling my eyes. It starts off with the main character Lourds, being kidnapped. And it stays interesting until he escapes. Which happens relatively quickly. Then a bunch of stuff happens, I forget what because it was so boring. And then the ending comes and it's sorta exciting again.

I don't mind being able to figure out some things before it is actually revealed to the reader. But when I figure out 95% of it, then that's no fun. It was just too predicable. VP Webster as Lucifer in the flesh and blood? Called it. Lourds sleeping with 2 of the women that was with him? Called it. (yes, he sleeps with 2 women, one of which is half his age)

Another major problem I had with the book is the multiple points of view. As a writer, you should not introduce a character that seems like a major play in the 1st quarter of the book, then introduce another character that does the same role but in a more brutal fashion, and then not mention him again until you randomly decide to kill him off towards the end. There's the problem of not know who just got shot and why it's significant because he hasn't been mentioned in like 150 pages, or whatever.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the Lucifer Code the main character, Dr. Thomas Lourds a linguistic specialist arrives in Turkey only to be kidnapped upon arrival. It seems that Lourds is a commodity that everyone wants. His specialty is what is needed to decipher an ancient scroll.

This is my first time to read Brokaw’s work and I felt as though the characters were a little flat. Lourds, for instance, was a dirty old man bordering on being a pervert. I really couldn’t stand this character. In my opinion, he didn’t fit the hero role and I just couldn’t get past that. The story was reminiscent of Dan Brown’s novels and I felt as though the story had been told in one way or another. From page one you are subjected to Lourds encounter with a young woman in the airport that seemed irrelevant to the mystery and adventure. I was completely turned off at this point and had a hard time recovering from the dirty old man that was to be the hero. Let’s just say Lourds is no hunk. He seriously lacks the James Bond quality.

I was excited to receive this novel for review, only to find out that the story was just Eh! If you enjoy novels that have a historical feel or action-packed mysteries you may enjoy Brokaw’s work. Personally, it missed the mark in my book. If there were no other book on earth I still wouldn’t read this one.

[Syazwanie Winston Abdullah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 because Lourds is such a womaniser!

[Caroline · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to persevere I really did! Every few days I read 30-50 pages but eventually 3/4 through... I gave up, I didn't care and swiftly gave it away...to the charity shop! I only gave it 1 star because it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't presume someone, somewhere would think it a good read. Otherwise I wouldn't have rated it at all. I certainly wouldn't have past it on to a friend. It's a book that reads like an action/thriller MOVIE with a thin plot, far to many characters and had I strained my bored brain any further I presume either an over the top explosive or fizzled out ending. Disappointment, frustration and exhaustion....well at least it made me feel something! In summery: Wait for the movie, if it even deserves to be one. In my mind the only reason this book has been written!

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why must all protagonists be handsome and brilliant? Why must all of them be obsessed with sex and have no compunction about sleeping with every woman in the book? Maybe this never used to bother me. Maybe it says more about me than it does about the author. Whatever, it was distracting to me, when I just wanted the details about the clues (which were really never revealed and all the riddles were solved off page within the hero's allegedly creative brain).

The plot was OK (not quite up to the intricate plots written by the other "Code" author, Dan Brown), but the writing was certainly a step up from that plodding prose. Not a huge step, though. If Brokaw could leave out the gratuitous sex scenes and write the Brown stories, we just might have something worth reading. As it is, meh.

[David Matthews · Rating 1 out of 5]

This guy should give up writing! Okay i little harsh, i admit. I had just read the 7TH Scroll by Wilbur Smith, which i quite enjoyed and was hoping this might be in the same mould but Wilbur Smith is a far more superior writer
This is a sort of Indiana Jones type of tale. Its far fetched and i suppose the author meant it to be that way but by the end of the first 60 pages, i was hoping the hero's would get killed ( i didnt like any of them ) The plot was boarding on ludicrous, the script cheesy and the character too unbelievable even if you know its only a fictional book. I forced myself to about page 200 but lost the will to live after that.

[Scott Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first foray into reading a work of Charles Brokaw. The first half of the book was full of action and plot and well written, too. The third quarter slowly got progressively worse, as though the author was himself getting tired of writing this particular book, or was writing to a very tight deadline.

The end of the book, I can only describe as being bad. The ending pages left me speechless. Not in a good way, it must be pointed out.. I was debating with myself on giving this book a 2 or a 3 stars, but the final chapter or two pushed it firmly into 2 category.

In spite of it's obvious drawbacks, I did enjoy the character of Thomas Lourdes so I would read more of this author.

[Sidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A light page-turner about the pursuit of a lost companion document to the Book of Revelation. Dr. Thomas Lourdes, a linguist, maybe the world's best linguist, is swept into the quest for the Scroll of Joy while in Istanbul.

As events go awry in the Middle East, Lourdes reels from one conflict to the next, trying to avert the end of the world.

There are some fun moments, a great sidekick in gun-smuggling gun for hire Cleena and a lot of fun chases through catacombs and underground chambers.

The book edges into dark fantasy territory but is really a cousin to the Da Vinci Code. Those who enjoy authors such as Dan Brown, Steve Berry and Raymond Khoury should like it.

[Mary Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I had never read anything by Charles Brokaw before. The Lucifer Code was fast paced, funny, and kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters were all likable and the story was well written. The only thing about the book that I was midly disappointed in was the last 3 pages or so. I thought the ending was a little rushed and I was left wanting more. But overall I definitely give this book 5 stars and look forward to reading more books written by Charles Brokaw.
Also a big thanks to Goodreads as I was able to read this book after being chosen to be a 'first-reads" winner.