Il codice perduto dei massoni

by Gil Cope

Un thriller che non finisce mai di stupire
Azione, mistero e storia sulle tracce di una cospirazione millenaria
Jack Monroe è un cacciatore di preziosi oggetti d’arte. Dopo aver tenuto una lezione al Metropolitan Museum di New York, un terribile evento lo sconvolge: assiste all’omicidio del suo amico Urie Roskopf. Il delitto sembra collegato in qualche modo alla cosiddetta “ottava meraviglia del mondo”, la Camera d’Ambra: una leggendaria stanza dalle pareti rivestite d’ambra e oro, scomparsa dalla Russia dopo la seconda guerra mondiale. Roskopf era da anni uno dei massimi conoscitori della sua storia e uno studioso dei documenti relativi a un tesoro incredibile in essa contenuto. Fortunatamente Jack Monroe non sarà solo a cercare di risolvere l’enigma più complicato che abbia mai affrontato, perché Kira, la nipote di Roskopf, intende aiutarlo a fare luce sulla morte del nonno. Se i loro sospetti si rivelassero fondati, la scia di sangue risalirebbe fino all’inquietante società segreta degli Illuminati. Ma non sarà per niente facile sventare i piani di chi da secoli si prepara a una resa dei conti…
La ricerca della camera d’ambra condurrà un cacciatore di antichità sulle tracce di una cospirazione millenaria
«Questo romanzo è vivido come un film. Un perfetto mix di storia, religione e avventura. Prende una storia classica e le restituisce freschezza.»
«Se Dan Brown e Robert Ludlum avessero avuto un allievo, sarebbe stato Gil Cope.»

Gil Cope

Fotografo e regista, ha girato il mondo per immortalare sensazionali immagini. Dalle sabbie dell’Africa fino alla Grande barriera corallina, i suoi scatti per alcuni tra i più importanti brand internazionali si alternano a testimonianze sulle condizioni di vita difficili delle popolazioni più povere. La sua curiosità l’ha fatto finire spesso nei guai, ma ha alimentato la sua fervida immaginazione e l’attenzione ai dettagli grazie alle quali si è deciso a scrivere il suo primo romanzo, Il codice perduto dei massoni, che è stato un grandissimo successo negli Stati Uniti.

457 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 8, 2014

About the author

Director/Photographer and first-time Author Gil Cope spent his career traveling the globe shooting print campaigns, commercials and fashion editorials. Work has taken him from the sands of Africa to the Great Barrier Reef, from medieval cities to politically charged hot spots. He’s shot for some of the worlds most recognized brands - Revlon, Christian Dior, Dewar's, Mercedes, Coke & Boeing – to name but a few - while capturing the human condition. His line of work, coupled with his sense of curiosity and adventure have led to several close calls, detentions, misunderstandings and calls to consulates.

Fueled by these life experiences, his attention to detail, and his imagination, Gil proudly releases his first literary work of fiction, The Amber Conspiracy.

When not in an airplane, Gil is most likely in Los Angeles or London.

Reviews

[D.A. Bale · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATE: After an extensive re-edit, the majority of structural issues referenced in my original review below have been fixed. Therefore, I am changing my rating to a five star.

First off, I want to say that I have never read any of Dan Brown or the myriad other Catholic conspiracy thrillers out there. However, I've read a multitude of World War II, Russian and Amber Room historical accounts. I'm also a huge thriller buff, so I will approach this review from that of an historical thriller.

And in that context, I really enjoyed reading The Amber Conspiracy.

Our story opens in Constantinople in the year 1204 where a priest is desperate to save the Relic from marauders and crusaders. From the hands of a cowering, young boy to those of William de Chartress, the Relic is placed into the protective custody of The Order while a forgery is sent to the Vatican.

Forward to present day, Jack Morgan, author, explorer, and treasure-hunter extraordinaire, is hired by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to assist in sagging attendance by announcing an expedition to trace, discover, and retrieve the long-lost Amber Room, panels and furniture constructed in the 1700's entirely out of rare and precious amber. However, on the evening of this glorious announcement, Jack's long-time friend and fellow researcher is murdered on his way to their rendezvous - in his briefcase a small piece of crafted amber.

With the assistance of Urie's granddaughter, Kira, a former Mossad operative, Jack sets out to discover not only the final resting place of the Eighth Wonder of the World, but who killed his dear friend - and why.

There were so many aspects I loved about The Amber Conspiracy. The historical reality of what is known about the Nazi's and the Amber Room's last known location in the final days of World War II and the speculative fictional pieces were woven very nicely throughout this story to give a seamless account in that regard.

Intrigue about who killed Urie, the why's and how he came to possess a piece from the Amber Room's panel led our characters on an exploration of explosive proportions (literally). From the lecture hall at the Met to Urie's study to an underwater dive and a hijacking amid the high seas, the thrills and chills ramped up and kept pushing our hero and heroine across the globe.

The slips back in time to follow the path of the Relic from the hands of the Knights Templar to the Freemasons and into the hands of those known as the Illuminati never felt jarring and wove through the overall tale in such a way to keep you guessing - for the most part.

I do have to admit, it was pretty easy to figure out who was in charge of the Illuminati and their ultimate goal, but the action amid the journey was still a rush. I got a good chuckle of the intended irony when introduced to the character of Mary-Jo. Read it and see if you catch the little funny there.

Even with the good story, there were still some issues with structure. Point-of-view within a scene slipped in and out of so many characters sometimes it was hard to engage with them, to feel what they felt and to see what they saw. Much of the time I felt like I was merely watching events from afar instead of embodying the characters. Many times even scene went from one locale to another without any sort of scene break. These were especially jarring and more numerous toward the novel's end. However, pacing moved along at a nice clip throughout most of the story, with only a few bog-downs when it deviated from the main storyline and action too long or description grew overlong.

Editing needs a second round, though much of this is easily fixable. Periods instead of comas were used most of the time to separate dialogue from the corresponding dialogue tag. At one point Jack and Kira checked into a hotel as Mr. and Mrs. Johnson but on the very next page turn the concierge called them Mr. and Mrs. Baxter. Several times a correctly spelled but wrong word was used (ie. prosperity instead of posterity) and small words missing or needing an 'ed' on the end.

Lastly, there was one thing that stuck in my craw - probably because I'm a woman. I'm trying to avoid spoilers here, but skip this paragraph if you don't want to know even the teeniest smidge of something in the story. About a third of the way into the novel, a couple got engaged during the first week of July and then the two women are on their honeymoon in Europe for a certain procedure (that in itself would probably take months of screening) not even a month later??? Two wealthy women. No wedding planning. No time allotted for preparations for either the honeymoon or the procedure. Nuh-uh. The time scale didn't compute in my book - though I do understand the necessity to rush this for the story to work. It just left me shaking my head - and yes, I know I'm being picky here so again, chalk it up to my being a woman and the ingrained need to 'plan' to the nth detail when it comes to such events. :-)

But like I said, I still enjoyed The Amber Conspiracy overall - a nice action/adventure conspiracy thriller. Just as a caution - there is plentiful usage of the f-word and lots of assorted rough language. A few gruesome scenes and a couple of tame sexual situations. If you don't think you can read a novel for the story only and are concerned about getting caught up on philosophical or theological entanglements, this probably isn't something you'll enjoy. But if you like a novel that speeds through, has lots of action, murder and mayhem and engages the brain with intriguing historical elements, then The Amber Conspiracy might just be for you.

Even with the aforementioned structural issues, the solid and engaging plot (and my love of Amber Room lore) lead me to a solid four-stars.

I received a free copy of this novel in exchange for review and was not financially compensated for my opinion.

[Djana Mazzaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un romanzo che non mi ha lasciato nulla impresso. Bisogna essere molto concentrati per leggerlo perché è impegnativo e ha molti contenuti storici con descrizioni puntuali che appesantiscono la narrazione interrompendola con capitoli ambientati nei secoli passati. Interessante la questione degli Illuminati e dei Massoni che nel tempo si sarebbero intrecciati ai vertici della politica. Ho gradito il colpo di scena finale, la spiegazione del piano malefico del cattivo di turno, ma è un libro fin troppo lungo e verboso, sembra la brutta copia dei romanzi di Dan Brown. In alcuni passi la traduzione era pessima, e non parlo solo di errori di battitura ma di tempi verbali sbagliati e di terribili scelte di vocaboli. Non è stata chiarita nemmeno la relazione tra i due protagonisti: stanno insieme oppure no? Tutto sommato sconsigliato a meno di non avere tanta pazienza e tanto tempo da buttare via.

[Luigi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devo dire che inizialmente non mi stava prendendo ma con il passare delle pagine e l'aumento del ritmo, soprattutto negli ultimi capitoli, è diventato avvincente. Per certi versi le tematiche trattate, in un contesto ovviamente avventuroso, che emergono a fine libro, sono molto attuali. Di sicuro è una lettura piacevole che consiglio vivamente.

[Giulia Binatti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sicuramente il finale è inaspettato e originale, tuttavia non ci mettevo così tanto a finire un libro da non so quanti anni. La storia non è neanche brutta o particolarmente noiosa, forse non è scritta in modo intrigante, non saprei dire cos’ha che non va.
Io comunque non lo consiglierei, nè lo regalerei.

[Gil Cope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gil Cope writes an epic cloak and dagger thriller. The Amber Conspiracy takes you back into history and then catapults you into the present. Cope easily fluctuates back and forth in time, chronicling the journey of the relic and the location of the Amber Room. The vast array of characters, past and present, were easy to visualize; they were described with intricate precision. The historical accuracy of the Nazi regime, Knights Templar, and the origins of the Free Masons gave foundational depth to the plot scheme. Full of action, sensory descriptions and on the edge adventure, The Amber Conspiracy reads like a motion picture. As the plot develops, it broadens, taking you down many curious pathways before it ultimately narrows into its climax. By not disclosing the true nature of the relic, Cope keeps the reader curiously engaged in the mystery. He waited to reveal the truth until the pinnacle of the plot. Descending the falling action of the story, I was pleasantly surprised with The Amber Conspiracy’s clever ending.



Reviewed By Cheryl E. Rodriguez