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The Thousand
In 500 BC, a mysterious ship appeared off the coast of what is now Italy. A man disembarked to address the frightened crowd along the shore. He called himself Pythagoras, and when he was done speaking, a thousand men and women abandoned their lives to follow him; his disciples would influence western philosophy, science, and mathematics for all time.
Chicago, the present. Solomon Gold has tapped into valuable and dangerous secrets while composing his magnum opus: the Gold Completion of Mozart's infamous unfinished requiem. After he is murdered, his brilliant daughter—a girl whose uncanny mental gifts have left her both powerful and troubled—finds herself racing to understand his composition, his murder, and, as violence erupts all around her, a fractured, ancient cult descended from the original disciples of Pythagoras.
The Thousand is ringing confirmation of Kevin Guilfoile's enormous talent.
Chicago, the present. Solomon Gold has tapped into valuable and dangerous secrets while composing his magnum opus: the Gold Completion of Mozart's infamous unfinished requiem. After he is murdered, his brilliant daughter—a girl whose uncanny mental gifts have left her both powerful and troubled—finds herself racing to understand his composition, his murder, and, as violence erupts all around her, a fractured, ancient cult descended from the original disciples of Pythagoras.
The Thousand is ringing confirmation of Kevin Guilfoile's enormous talent.
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First published August 24, 2010
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About the author
Kevin Guilfoile
17 books28 followersBorn in Teaneck, New Jersey, Guilfoile was raised in Cooperstown, New York, where his father was an executive at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Guilfoile graduated from The University of Notre Dame in 1990, and worked briefly in media relations for the Houston Astros baseball club. He was a founding partner of the Chicago design firm Coudal Partners, and a creative director at that company for 11 years. Guilfoile's first novel Cast of Shadows was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2005. It was named one of the Best Books of 2005 by the Chicago Tribune and Kansas City Star, and has been translated into more than 15 languages.
Guilfoile is a contributor to The Morning News, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. His essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and Salon.com. His work has been anthologized in Mirth of a Nation, 101 Damnations, Chicago Noir, and Chicago Blues.
He is a frequent collaborator with John Warner.
Guilfoile is a contributor to The Morning News, McSweeney's Quarterly Concern and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. His essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, and Salon.com. His work has been anthologized in Mirth of a Nation, 101 Damnations, Chicago Noir, and Chicago Blues.
He is a frequent collaborator with John Warner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 164 reviews
February 26, 2020
3,25 sterren - Nederlandse paperback 🦋🦋🦋
Sleept zich hier en daar voort. Niet echt een spannende pageturner die het had kunnen zijn voor mij, als de schrijver het tempo erin had gehouden. Jammer. 🌹🌹🌹
Sleept zich hier en daar voort. Niet echt een spannende pageturner die het had kunnen zijn voor mij, als de schrijver het tempo erin had gehouden. Jammer. 🌹🌹🌹
March 13, 2011
This book was somewhat diverting at first, but so full of stereotypes and conventions that I had to struggle to finish it. The protagonist, Canada Gold, furnished another example of a male author creating a book around a fantasy girl who behaves almost nothing like a real woman would (even a woman with a robotic device implanted in her head and a name like a brand of cigarette). I think I've railed before about how the heroines in this sort of spawn-of-Da-Vinci-Code book are always gamine, elfin, tough yet vulnerable, blah blah blah yawn yawn yawn. Wayne, the main male character, was more sympathetic, because more believable. Other characters, including the attorney who is the only one who manages to keep his secret to the end, were underdeveloped. I'm still searching for a story of this type that manages to marry an exciting plot with roots in history to solid characters and (do I ask too much?) interesting writing. The only one I've ever read that actually captured my imagination was The Name of the Rose. Any writer out there care to step up? Anyone? Anyone?
June 3, 2022
3,25 sterren - Nederlandse paperback
Tien jaar na de onopgeloste moord op haar vader, de prominente componist Solomon Gold, keert Canada Gold terug naar haar geboorteplaats Chicago voor een op het oog vreemde opdracht. In Las Vegas, waarheen ze was gevlucht na de dood van haar vader, heeft ze door haar bijzondere gaven – een onbeperkt geheugen en ongekende wiskundige vermogens – een discutabele reputatie opgebouwd aan de pokertafels, in rechtbanken en casino’s.
Eenmaal in Chicago ontdekt Canada een verband tussen de moord op haa19r vader en een geheim genootschap. Deze verborgen groepering van machtige individuen, genaamd De Duizend, wil een eeuwenoude wetenschap en traditie in stand houden: de geheime leer van Pythagoras. Canada’s ouders hadden banden met de De Duizend en ongewild raakt Canada verzeild in een moorddadige strijd tussen twee partijen: zij die haar willen gebruiken en zij die haar willen vermoorden.
Na de moord op haar vader, tien jaar geleden, is Canada Gold naar Las Vegas gevlucht. Tijdens haar tienerjaren is in haar hoofd een neurostimulator ingebracht. Sindsdien beschikt ze over bijzondere en speciale begaafdheden. In de casino’s van Las Vegas heeft ze daar handig gebruik van gemaakt. Voor een nogal merkwaardige opdracht keert ze terug naar haar geboorteplaats Chicago. Daar vindt ze uit dat haar ouders lid waren van De Duizend, een geheim genootschap. Ook ontdekt ze dat er een verband is met dit genootschap en de moord op haar vader. Vanaf dat moment wil Canada weten wie er werkelijk verantwoordelijk is voor de dood van haar vader. Spannend zeker, eng ook. Maar de verhaallijn is niet altijd even duidelijk en de spanningsboog golft van hoog, naar laag en dan weer naar hoog.
Tien jaar na de onopgeloste moord op haar vader, de prominente componist Solomon Gold, keert Canada Gold terug naar haar geboorteplaats Chicago voor een op het oog vreemde opdracht. In Las Vegas, waarheen ze was gevlucht na de dood van haar vader, heeft ze door haar bijzondere gaven – een onbeperkt geheugen en ongekende wiskundige vermogens – een discutabele reputatie opgebouwd aan de pokertafels, in rechtbanken en casino’s.
Eenmaal in Chicago ontdekt Canada een verband tussen de moord op haa19r vader en een geheim genootschap. Deze verborgen groepering van machtige individuen, genaamd De Duizend, wil een eeuwenoude wetenschap en traditie in stand houden: de geheime leer van Pythagoras. Canada’s ouders hadden banden met de De Duizend en ongewild raakt Canada verzeild in een moorddadige strijd tussen twee partijen: zij die haar willen gebruiken en zij die haar willen vermoorden.
Na de moord op haar vader, tien jaar geleden, is Canada Gold naar Las Vegas gevlucht. Tijdens haar tienerjaren is in haar hoofd een neurostimulator ingebracht. Sindsdien beschikt ze over bijzondere en speciale begaafdheden. In de casino’s van Las Vegas heeft ze daar handig gebruik van gemaakt. Voor een nogal merkwaardige opdracht keert ze terug naar haar geboorteplaats Chicago. Daar vindt ze uit dat haar ouders lid waren van De Duizend, een geheim genootschap. Ook ontdekt ze dat er een verband is met dit genootschap en de moord op haar vader. Vanaf dat moment wil Canada weten wie er werkelijk verantwoordelijk is voor de dood van haar vader. Spannend zeker, eng ook. Maar de verhaallijn is niet altijd even duidelijk en de spanningsboog golft van hoog, naar laag en dan weer naar hoog.
July 16, 2012
(Spoilers, yo.)
The Thousand advertises itself as a conspiracy thriller in the vein of The Da Vinci Code, centering on normal people who find themselves at odds with a powerful secret organization and then have to go through 300 pages of chase scenes, violence, and detective work to...save the world? I don't know, I refrained from reading the jacket going into it to avoid spoilers, but it was described to me as a "potato chip book," so I expected to be entertained and not much more than that.
And The Thousand is entertaining, to a point. The first quarter sets up a wide cast of interconnected characters and a series of ominous Chekhov's Guns. And then the rest of the book, instead of firing them, just kind of pokes at them and makes threatening gestures.
To begin with, the book focuses on one of the least threatening fictional conspiracies ever, and reveals it to the reader way too early. The Thousand are a group of evil mathematicians who somehow use secret equations discovered by Pythagoras to do nefarious things like cheat at blackjack, build really good computers, and cause week-long blackouts for funsies. They also make planes crash with un-turned-off cell phones on board (listen to the pilot next time, kids!) and are implied to have orchestrated Hurricane Katrina (how?) and 9/11 as cover-ups to keep their existence a secret. The ancient families who make up the organization are engaged in a 100 Bullets-style civil war, which, of course, the main characters get caught up in. The goal of the more evil side of this war is to keep the status quo of the world exactly as it is, which is obviously incredibly boring as an objective for an evil secret organization.
I kept waiting for some globe-threatening plot to emerge as the book wore on, but since the antagonists only care about not letting anything change, it eventually becomes clear that both sides just want the senses-enhancing computer chip implanted in the heroine's head, which is apparently a really big deal (even though the book reminds you like, five times that the Thousand still have the inventor's files and are totally capable of building a new chip). The climax finally brings all the characters together in the middle of a power outage-induced riot in Chicago, which makes you realize that the book has too many characters and not enough important ones. A lot of them also switch sides seemingly on a whim, which I think is supposed to create a threatening, nothing-is-as-it-seems atmosphere, but fails because we don't care about them in the first place. Most of the more interesting characters also get dropped, along with a bunch of intriguing plot threads, after this climax.
The Thousand has a promising setup, but soon staggers under the weight of too many characters and not enough good writing, becomes incoherent, and fails to deliver the mind-blowing payoff I was hoping for. It's thoroughly mediocre and you shouldn't read it.
(And an afterthought: the names in this book are absurd. Within the first 25 pages, we are introduced to Canada Gold, Reggie Vallentine, and English Judson. Literally, his first name is "English." I would speculate about what drugs these characters' parents were on when they named their children, but I've wasted too much time writing this review already.)
The Thousand advertises itself as a conspiracy thriller in the vein of The Da Vinci Code, centering on normal people who find themselves at odds with a powerful secret organization and then have to go through 300 pages of chase scenes, violence, and detective work to...save the world? I don't know, I refrained from reading the jacket going into it to avoid spoilers, but it was described to me as a "potato chip book," so I expected to be entertained and not much more than that.
And The Thousand is entertaining, to a point. The first quarter sets up a wide cast of interconnected characters and a series of ominous Chekhov's Guns. And then the rest of the book, instead of firing them, just kind of pokes at them and makes threatening gestures.
To begin with, the book focuses on one of the least threatening fictional conspiracies ever, and reveals it to the reader way too early. The Thousand are a group of evil mathematicians who somehow use secret equations discovered by Pythagoras to do nefarious things like cheat at blackjack, build really good computers, and cause week-long blackouts for funsies. They also make planes crash with un-turned-off cell phones on board (listen to the pilot next time, kids!) and are implied to have orchestrated Hurricane Katrina (how?) and 9/11 as cover-ups to keep their existence a secret. The ancient families who make up the organization are engaged in a 100 Bullets-style civil war, which, of course, the main characters get caught up in. The goal of the more evil side of this war is to keep the status quo of the world exactly as it is, which is obviously incredibly boring as an objective for an evil secret organization.
I kept waiting for some globe-threatening plot to emerge as the book wore on, but since the antagonists only care about not letting anything change, it eventually becomes clear that both sides just want the senses-enhancing computer chip implanted in the heroine's head, which is apparently a really big deal (even though the book reminds you like, five times that the Thousand still have the inventor's files and are totally capable of building a new chip). The climax finally brings all the characters together in the middle of a power outage-induced riot in Chicago, which makes you realize that the book has too many characters and not enough important ones. A lot of them also switch sides seemingly on a whim, which I think is supposed to create a threatening, nothing-is-as-it-seems atmosphere, but fails because we don't care about them in the first place. Most of the more interesting characters also get dropped, along with a bunch of intriguing plot threads, after this climax.
The Thousand has a promising setup, but soon staggers under the weight of too many characters and not enough good writing, becomes incoherent, and fails to deliver the mind-blowing payoff I was hoping for. It's thoroughly mediocre and you shouldn't read it.
(And an afterthought: the names in this book are absurd. Within the first 25 pages, we are introduced to Canada Gold, Reggie Vallentine, and English Judson. Literally, his first name is "English." I would speculate about what drugs these characters' parents were on when they named their children, but I've wasted too much time writing this review already.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2019
saçma sapan detaylar, ne anlattığı belli olmayan ilk 100 sayfa.. gereksiz uzatılmış bir kitap.. sonu da havada kalmış..
March 23, 2019
Απλά απογοητευτικό. Βαρετό....
August 1, 2022
I was excited to read this book since a good part of the story took place in Chicago. The premise of the book was interesting and poses some interesting questions about who controls what happens in the world - read conspiracy theory similar to that of the conspiracy of the Masonic Order, even but it took all I could garner to actually get to the meat of the book and stay with it. If I had had another book with me, I might have given up. There were a ton of characters to keep up with and some probably could have been eliminated, as there was A LOT of redundancy.
March 13, 2015
Συνήθως πριν αγοράσω ένα βιβλίο που μόλις κυκλοφόρησε και δεν γνωρίζω τον συγγραφέα, αλλά μου αρέσει κάπως η υπόθεση, συμβουλεύομαι το goodreads για να πάρω μια εικόνα. Η εικόνα του βιβλίου στο goodreads είναι μάλλον μέτρια, ενώ στο amazon είναι κάπως καλύτερη αλλά στο amazon είναι λιγότερο αυστηροί μου φαίνεται. Αλλά παρ'όλα αυτά εγώ το βιβλίο το αγόρασα, λόγω κάποιων συγκεκριμένων κριτικών που έκαναν ανάλυση και δεν έθαβαν απλά - και τα λεφτά του τα άξιζε (όχι "και με το παραπάνω" όμως!).
Πρωταγωνίστρια είναι η Κάναντα Γκολντ, κόρη ενός πλούσιου μουσικοσυνθέτη, του Σόλομον Γκολντ. Για πολλά χρόνια αναρωτιέται δυο πράγματα: Αν όντως ο πατέρας της είναι ένας δολοφόνος και τελικά ποιος σκότωσε τον πατέρα της. Δεν έχει ιδέα για την μυστική αδελφότητα των "Χιλίων" και για τον εμφύλιο που μαίνεται ανάμεσα στα μέλη της εδώ και πολλούς αιώνες. Κάποια στιγμή θα μάθει βέβαια... Δεν είναι καθόλου συνηθισμένη κοπέλα. Πρώτα-πρώτα έχει ένα ειδικό τσιπάκι στον εγκέφαλό της, έναν νευροδιεγέρτη. Αρκετοί άνθρωποι είχαν αυτό το τσιπάκι για διάφορους λόγους, όμως οι περισσότεροι από αυτούς τρελάθηκαν και έκαναν φόνους ή αυτοκτόνησαν. Η Κάναντα όμως τα πήγαινε καλά. Και της έδωσε πολλές δυνάμεις: Διάβαζε τα χείλη από μακριά, απομνημόνευε εύκολα πληροφορίες, καταλάβαινε τι σκεφτόταν ο άλλος και ούτω καθεξής. Πολλοί δικηγόροι την χρησιμοποιούσαν για διάφορες υποθέσεις τους, αλλά της χρησίμευε και στα καζίνο στο Λας Βέγκας, αν και λίγο-πολύ ήταν ανεπιθύμητη εκεί. Υπάρχουν και πολλοί άλλοι χαρακτήρες στο βιβλίο: η μητέρα της, ο δικηγόρος που υπερασπίστηκε τον πατέρα της στα δικαστήρια, μια φίλη της δικηγόρος, ένας μεγάλος γιατρός, ο πρώην φίλος της, ένας άντρας της ασφάλειας ενός καζίνου που σύχναζε η Κάναντα και που την αγαπούσε, ένας μπάτσος μάλλον συμπαθής αλλά σεξομανής και φυσικά πολλά μέλη της μυστικής αδελφότητας των Χιλίων.
Συμβαίνουν αρκετά πράγματα και οι τελευταίες σελίδες είναι αρκετά συναρπαστικές, χωρίς όμως να είναι και τόσο ανατρεπτικές. Γενικά ενώ η πλοκή είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα και η ατμόσφαιρα ηλεκτρισμένη, με τις σκηνές να εναλλάσσονται συνεχώς, οι αποκαλύψεις και οι ανατροπές δεν είναι και τόσες πολλές, δεν έπεσα και από τα σύννεφα δηλαδή. Μένουν αρκετά αναπάντητα ερωτήματα για την μυστική αδελφότητα και τα μέλη της, θα ήθελα πολύ να γινόταν μεγαλύτερη εκβάθυνση στην όλη συνωμοσία που υπάρχει πίσω από τους Χίλιους. Ίσως σε επόμενο βιβλίο...;
Από κει και πέρα, η γραφή μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ, οι περιγραφές, οι παρομοιώσεις, το χιούμορ, οι διάλογοι, τα πάντα σχεδόν, μάλιστα μου θύμισε ελάχιστα από Γουίλιαμ Γκίμπσον. Οι σκηνές δράσης μπόλικες, ενδιαφέρουσες και καλά δοσμένες. Οι χαρακτήρες χωρίς ιδιαίτερο βάθος, όμως άλλους λιγότερο και άλλους περισσότερο τους συμπάθησα ή ενδιαφέρθηκα γι'αυτούς.
Άνετα θα μπορούσε να μεταφερθεί στους κινηματογράφους. Ο Κέβιν Γκίλφοϊλ έχει γράψει επίσης άλλο ένα βιβλίο, το Cast Of Shadows, το οποίο παίρνει καλύτερες κριτικές και φαίνεται πάρα πολύ ενδιαφέρον και λίγο πρωτότυπο. Ελπίζω να μεταφραστεί και αυτό κάποια στιγμή.
Πρωταγωνίστρια είναι η Κάναντα Γκολντ, κόρη ενός πλούσιου μουσικοσυνθέτη, του Σόλομον Γκολντ. Για πολλά χρόνια αναρωτιέται δυο πράγματα: Αν όντως ο πατέρας της είναι ένας δολοφόνος και τελικά ποιος σκότωσε τον πατέρα της. Δεν έχει ιδέα για την μυστική αδελφότητα των "Χιλίων" και για τον εμφύλιο που μαίνεται ανάμεσα στα μέλη της εδώ και πολλούς αιώνες. Κάποια στιγμή θα μάθει βέβαια... Δεν είναι καθόλου συνηθισμένη κοπέλα. Πρώτα-πρώτα έχει ένα ειδικό τσιπάκι στον εγκέφαλό της, έναν νευροδιεγέρτη. Αρκετοί άνθρωποι είχαν αυτό το τσιπάκι για διάφορους λόγους, όμως οι περισσότεροι από αυτούς τρελάθηκαν και έκαναν φόνους ή αυτοκτόνησαν. Η Κάναντα όμως τα πήγαινε καλά. Και της έδωσε πολλές δυνάμεις: Διάβαζε τα χείλη από μακριά, απομνημόνευε εύκολα πληροφορίες, καταλάβαινε τι σκεφτόταν ο άλλος και ούτω καθεξής. Πολλοί δικηγόροι την χρησιμοποιούσαν για διάφορες υποθέσεις τους, αλλά της χρησίμευε και στα καζίνο στο Λας Βέγκας, αν και λίγο-πολύ ήταν ανεπιθύμητη εκεί. Υπάρχουν και πολλοί άλλοι χαρακτήρες στο βιβλίο: η μητέρα της, ο δικηγόρος που υπερασπίστηκε τον πατέρα της στα δικαστήρια, μια φίλη της δικηγόρος, ένας μεγάλος γιατρός, ο πρώην φίλος της, ένας άντρας της ασφάλειας ενός καζίνου που σύχναζε η Κάναντα και που την αγαπούσε, ένας μπάτσος μάλλον συμπαθής αλλά σεξομανής και φυσικά πολλά μέλη της μυστικής αδελφότητας των Χιλίων.
Συμβαίνουν αρκετά πράγματα και οι τελευταίες σελίδες είναι αρκετά συναρπαστικές, χωρίς όμως να είναι και τόσο ανατρεπτικές. Γενικά ενώ η πλοκή είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα και η ατμόσφαιρα ηλεκτρισμένη, με τις σκηνές να εναλλάσσονται συνεχώς, οι αποκαλύψεις και οι ανατροπές δεν είναι και τόσες πολλές, δεν έπεσα και από τα σύννεφα δηλαδή. Μένουν αρκετά αναπάντητα ερωτήματα για την μυστική αδελφότητα και τα μέλη της, θα ήθελα πολύ να γινόταν μεγαλύτερη εκβάθυνση στην όλη συνωμοσία που υπάρχει πίσω από τους Χίλιους. Ίσως σε επόμενο βιβλίο...;
Από κει και πέρα, η γραφή μου άρεσε πάρα πολύ, οι περιγραφές, οι παρομοιώσεις, το χιούμορ, οι διάλογοι, τα πάντα σχεδόν, μάλιστα μου θύμισε ελάχιστα από Γουίλιαμ Γκίμπσον. Οι σκηνές δράσης μπόλικες, ενδιαφέρουσες και καλά δοσμένες. Οι χαρακτήρες χωρίς ιδιαίτερο βάθος, όμως άλλους λιγότερο και άλλους περισσότερο τους συμπάθησα ή ενδιαφέρθηκα γι'αυτούς.
Άνετα θα μπορούσε να μεταφερθεί στους κινηματογράφους. Ο Κέβιν Γκίλφοϊλ έχει γράψει επίσης άλλο ένα βιβλίο, το Cast Of Shadows, το οποίο παίρνει καλύτερες κριτικές και φαίνεται πάρα πολύ ενδιαφέρον και λίγο πρωτότυπο. Ελπίζω να μεταφραστεί και αυτό κάποια στιγμή.
August 16, 2015
Είναι μερικά βιβλία που εκεί λες ότι το έχουν αισθάνεσαι ότι το έχασαν στο δρόμο. Η ιστορία έχει συναρπαστική αρχή με ελπιδοφόρα συνέχεια που ώρες σε απογοητεύει ενώ προς το τέλος ανακάμπτει. Αποσκοπεί στο να είναι ένα θρίλερ συνωμοσίας χωρίς απόλυτα να σε πείθει κιόλας. Θα μπορούσε να είναι και ένα θρίλερ απλά καταδίωξης χωρίς την πινελιά της κρυφής κοινότητας των δυνατών Πυθαγορείων.
Η Κάναντα Γκολντ είναι η κόρη ενός διάσημου μουσικοσυνθέτη, ο οποίος αφού ο επίσης διάσημος δικηγόρος του Ρέτζι τον αθώωσε στο δικαστήριο από την κατηγορία της δολοφονίας της βιολοντσελίστριας ερωμένης του, δολοφονείται και ο ίδιος από τον πατέρα της νεκρής, ο οποίος στη συνέχεια αυτοκτονεί.
Αυτό είναι το ένα φαίνεσθαι της ιστορίας.
Ταυτόχρονα, έχουμε την Κάναντα, της οποίας σε εφηβική ηλικία (του μπαμπά της προτρέποντος) της εμφύτευσαν στον εγκέφαλο ένα νευροδιεγέρτη με το πρόσχημα της αντιμετώπισης του προβλήματος της ελλειμματικής προσοχής και τον οποίο η ίδια ονομάζει αράχνη και της έχει δώσει ιδιαίτερες μαθηματικές ικανότητες που τις εκμεταλλεύεται στα καζίνα.
Ο Γουέιν είναι εργαζόμενος στην ασφάλεια του καζίνο με το οποίο η Κάναντα συνεργάζεται και ερωτευμένος μαζί της.
Όταν δολοφονείται το φιλικό ζευγάρι νομικών της Κάναντα, Μπι και Ντόναλντ, και ο πρώην φίλος της, Ντέιβιντ, ψύλλοι στα αυτιά του Γουέιν μπαίνουν ότι Κάποιοι ψάχνουν τη Νάντα να τη σκοτώσουν. Ψάχνοντας να τη βρει για να την προστατέψει, ανακαλύπτει ότι ο ίδιος έχει πέσει θύμα των Κάποιων καθώς φέρεται ως ο δράστης των δολοφονιών...
Η Κάναντα Γκολντ είναι η κόρη ενός διάσημου μουσικοσυνθέτη, ο οποίος αφού ο επίσης διάσημος δικηγόρος του Ρέτζι τον αθώωσε στο δικαστήριο από την κατηγορία της δολοφονίας της βιολοντσελίστριας ερωμένης του, δολοφονείται και ο ίδιος από τον πατέρα της νεκρής, ο οποίος στη συνέχεια αυτοκτονεί.
Αυτό είναι το ένα φαίνεσθαι της ιστορίας.
Ταυτόχρονα, έχουμε την Κάναντα, της οποίας σε εφηβική ηλικία (του μπαμπά της προτρέποντος) της εμφύτευσαν στον εγκέφαλο ένα νευροδιεγέρτη με το πρόσχημα της αντιμετώπισης του προβλήματος της ελλειμματικής προσοχής και τον οποίο η ίδια ονομάζει αράχνη και της έχει δώσει ιδιαίτερες μαθηματικές ικανότητες που τις εκμεταλλεύεται στα καζίνα.
Ο Γουέιν είναι εργαζόμενος στην ασφάλεια του καζίνο με το οποίο η Κάναντα συνεργάζεται και ερωτευμένος μαζί της.
Όταν δολοφονείται το φιλικό ζευγάρι νομικών της Κάναντα, Μπι και Ντόναλντ, και ο πρώην φίλος της, Ντέιβιντ, ψύλλοι στα αυτιά του Γουέιν μπαίνουν ότι Κάποιοι ψάχνουν τη Νάντα να τη σκοτώσουν. Ψάχνοντας να τη βρει για να την προστατέψει, ανακαλύπτει ότι ο ίδιος έχει πέσει θύμα των Κάποιων καθώς φέρεται ως ο δράστης των δολοφονιών...
September 23, 2021
Şimdi ne desem bilemedim ki. Hani bazı kitaplar vardır ya arkasında ki özeti okuduğunuzda sizi bir şeyler cezbeder. Ancak okumaya başladığınızda bir türlü o cezbedici duyguyu bulamazsınız, hah işte benim için tam böyle bir kitaptı. Şahsen okurken yer yer çok sıkıldığım, tam gaz gidecekken çok gereksiz betimlemelere boğulduğum, bir kitap değil de bir den fazla kitabı aynı anda okuyormuşum gibi hissettiren çok fazla karakter geçişleri olan ve bunu da bence sıkıntılı şekilde yapan bir kitaptı. Hani resmen kitap nasıl yazılmaz sorusunun canlı örneği gibi geldi. Ki şahsen polisiye sevsem de ve defalarca kendimi "güzel kitaba benziyor ya okuyayım bir an evvel de bitsin" gibi telkinlerle ikna etmeye çalışmama rağmen yok bu kitap BENCE cidden güzel değil. Başlıca sebepleri aşırı dağınık bir anlatımı olması ve çok gereğinden fazla gereksiz betimlemeler ve sırf kitap uzasın diye yazılmış sahnelerden ötürü kitabı ne kadar uğraşsam da sevemedim. Ki bu da kitabı çook uzun bir sürede bitirmemi sağladı. Resmen okurken zaman zaman, "hadi bit artık" diye diye kendimi zorlarken buldum.
December 26, 2017
When it comes to description and details, Guilfoile is a talented writer. But "The Thousand" suffers from some big picture problems. I didn't find the characters very likable or compelling, and the setting--especially compared to other mysteries--felt mundane. The narrative didn't have much flow--not because the writing was poor, but because the author filled the pages with more detail than was probably necessary. Too much narration and description, not enough dialogue. "The Thousand" was just engaging enough to keep me reading, and did tie up its loose ends with a few surprises, but they weren't enough to distinguish it from a valley of mediocrity.
March 26, 2024
Step aside Dan. Brown, there is another author who writes absolute drivel even worse than you, this is the biggest load of crap I have read in some time
Ridiculous plot, even worse characters, totally pathetic ending
Ridiculous plot, even worse characters, totally pathetic ending
August 23, 2019
interesting plot. good characters, a little confusing at times
May 23, 2018
Na de moord op haar vader, tien jaar geleden, is Canada Gold naar Las Vegas gevlucht. Tijdens haar tienerjaren is in haar hoofd een neurostimulator ingebracht. Sindsdien beschikt ze over bijzondere en speciale begaafdheden. In de casino's van Las Vegas heeft ze daar handig gebruik van gemaakt. Voor een nogal merkwaardige opdracht keert ze terug naar haar geboorteplaats Chicago. Daar vindt ze uit dat haar ouders lid waren van De Duizend, een geheim genootschap. Ook ontdekt ze dat er een verband is met dit genootschap en de moord op haar vader. Vanaf dat moment wil Canada weten wie er werkelijk verantwoordelijk is voor de dood van haar vader.
De Duizend is de tweede thriller van journalist, schrijver en humorist Kevin Guilfoile en is vijf jaar na de uitgifte van zijn eerste boek, Moordenaar zonder gezicht, verschenen. Het boek werd een internationaal succes voor deze bij ons toch relatief onbekende schrijver.
Het boek is ingedeeld in verschillende delen die wiskundige benamingen zoals monade, dyade en triade hebben. Deze wiskunde is een beetje de rode draad in het boek, want De Duizend wil de geheime leer van Pythagoras in stand houden. Dat wiskunde een belangrijke rol in het boek heeft, is zeker in het begin goed te merken. Want pagina's lang wordt er doorgezeurd over allerlei wiskundige terminologie.
Omdat Canada's vader, Solomon Gold, een beroemde componist was, wordt er in het verhaal ook veel aandacht besteed aan de klassieke muziek, en dan in het bijzonder een onafgemaakte requiem van Mozart. Dat is natuurlijk niet erg, maar ook hiervoor dat dat soms veel te veel is waardoor het verhaal wel heel erg langdradig wordt.
Onder andere deze factoren zorgen ervoor dat het boek bijzonder moeilijk leesbaar is. Sommige zinnen en paragrafen moet je zelfs opnieuw lezen om goed tot je door te laten dringen wat Guilfoile precies bedoelt. Daarna kun je het met enige moeite wel volgen en wordt het iets duidelijker. Bovendien lijkt het hele verhaal een onsamenhangend geheel waardoor het boek grotendeels verwarrend is.
Wat ook niet meewerkt aan een aangename leesbelevenis is de snelheid van het verhaal. Deze ontbreekt volledig. De schrijver probeert het op sommige momenten wel, maar is daarin helaas niet geslaagd. Het verhaal worstelt zich vanaf het allereerste moment naar een ontknoping toe die erg gezocht lijkt te zijn. De Duizend is, ondanks de lovende woorden op de achterkaft, een slaapverwekkende teleurstelling zonder enige mate van spanning.
De Duizend is de tweede thriller van journalist, schrijver en humorist Kevin Guilfoile en is vijf jaar na de uitgifte van zijn eerste boek, Moordenaar zonder gezicht, verschenen. Het boek werd een internationaal succes voor deze bij ons toch relatief onbekende schrijver.
Het boek is ingedeeld in verschillende delen die wiskundige benamingen zoals monade, dyade en triade hebben. Deze wiskunde is een beetje de rode draad in het boek, want De Duizend wil de geheime leer van Pythagoras in stand houden. Dat wiskunde een belangrijke rol in het boek heeft, is zeker in het begin goed te merken. Want pagina's lang wordt er doorgezeurd over allerlei wiskundige terminologie.
Omdat Canada's vader, Solomon Gold, een beroemde componist was, wordt er in het verhaal ook veel aandacht besteed aan de klassieke muziek, en dan in het bijzonder een onafgemaakte requiem van Mozart. Dat is natuurlijk niet erg, maar ook hiervoor dat dat soms veel te veel is waardoor het verhaal wel heel erg langdradig wordt.
Onder andere deze factoren zorgen ervoor dat het boek bijzonder moeilijk leesbaar is. Sommige zinnen en paragrafen moet je zelfs opnieuw lezen om goed tot je door te laten dringen wat Guilfoile precies bedoelt. Daarna kun je het met enige moeite wel volgen en wordt het iets duidelijker. Bovendien lijkt het hele verhaal een onsamenhangend geheel waardoor het boek grotendeels verwarrend is.
Wat ook niet meewerkt aan een aangename leesbelevenis is de snelheid van het verhaal. Deze ontbreekt volledig. De schrijver probeert het op sommige momenten wel, maar is daarin helaas niet geslaagd. Het verhaal worstelt zich vanaf het allereerste moment naar een ontknoping toe die erg gezocht lijkt te zijn. De Duizend is, ondanks de lovende woorden op de achterkaft, een slaapverwekkende teleurstelling zonder enige mate van spanning.
February 20, 2024
This book started off very slow and almost lost my interest. Once it started picking up it kinda went off the rails. There were a lot of different point of views to keep up with and shorter chapters that kept hopping from place to place. There were inconsistencies with the names, switching between first and last when identifying people, that made me think there were more characters than there actually were.
The plot seemed interesting and slightly complex but that is probably due to my lack of knowledge in music and math. I enjoyed the ideas of music, math, and science all being interconnected and I think this book had potential to be longer or even made into a series. However, Canada, the main character isn't very developed. Her main descriptors always have something to do with her abilities from her brain implant or her sex life. She seemed more like a simple subject that the book centered around that an actual character.
The Author's writing was not very deep. I feel like he put more emphasis on how to pronounce the organization names and mathematical concepts then actually explaining them. Canada's abilities of deduction and inference seemed to make the author think his readers had the same abilities. I was frequently confused in many scenes that were not fully explained. It could've been more obvious to some other readers, but I found this book to be very disorienting.
The plot seemed interesting and slightly complex but that is probably due to my lack of knowledge in music and math. I enjoyed the ideas of music, math, and science all being interconnected and I think this book had potential to be longer or even made into a series. However, Canada, the main character isn't very developed. Her main descriptors always have something to do with her abilities from her brain implant or her sex life. She seemed more like a simple subject that the book centered around that an actual character.
The Author's writing was not very deep. I feel like he put more emphasis on how to pronounce the organization names and mathematical concepts then actually explaining them. Canada's abilities of deduction and inference seemed to make the author think his readers had the same abilities. I was frequently confused in many scenes that were not fully explained. It could've been more obvious to some other readers, but I found this book to be very disorienting.
October 20, 2024
Frustrating read as the biggest mystery of the story — the Pythagoras secret society (the titular Thousand) — is extremely under-explored and turns out not really relevant to the story at all. I thought this was going to be a nice mystery that would be unraveled and instead it is just a giant McGuffin. Also, the spider neural implant in one of the protagonists is initially presented as something that will really help the character but does basically nothing towards the end. It is like the author had some great ideas in the first half of the book but got bored and just put in some boring action scenes at the end.
January 18, 2018
This is a really riveting book that I don’t think if I can another one like this. The book compells you making researches about classical music history and notions besides a very beneficial maths history. Also the fiction that Kevin Guilfoile is very creative. The antogonist and progonist are both telling their stories from different mouths which I think is a rare and a nice way of story-telling.
April 19, 2021
Ξεκίνησε πολύ ωραία, με ενδιαφέρον η ιστορία και κάπου μετα το μισό σαν να διάβαζες άλλο βιβλίο. Το τέλος ειδικά ήταν άσχετο και λίγο απλοϊκό. Δεν κατάλαβα και πολλά. Πέταξε μέσα και μια είδους συνωμοσία και από εδώ πάνε και οι άλλοι. Καμια εξήγηση δεν έδωσε για κάποια σημαντικά κομμάτια της πλοκής. Ευχάριστο ανάγνωσμα αλλα μέχρι εκεί.
May 7, 2017
Με κούρασε ....
June 24, 2017
This book sounded sooo promising but I was pretty disappointed. It could have been cut down by at least a third. It took ages for anything to happen and the end was unsatisfying a real shame.
June 28, 2017
It was a slightly better than Dan Brown Dan Brown novel.
August 26, 2022
Dan Brownvarî girişimler, yer yer lüzumsuz ayrıntılı bölümler ve gerilime uymayan bir final. Final bu kadar dümdüz, heyecansız, "anticlimactic" olmasa kalanını affedebilirdim ama bu ne allasen?
January 4, 2026
Extremely boring book. Managed half (p. 252) and just couldn't bother to find out the end. I didn't even check the last chapters. A torture to read.
November 20, 2010
It seems like there is a never-ending supply of conspiracy theory novels out there. This one is unique at least in that its "secret" is related to the beliefs and teachings of Pythagoras, and revolves around the idea that math is central to the universe. Though the history and story are fairly interesting, the writing was descriptive and easy to follow, and I enjoyed reading this one for the most part, I feel like in the end there were quite a few things that were lacking.
There were too many characters, and it felt like really didn't really get to know any of them, not even the central ones, like Canada. Plus, what we did get to know, I didn't really like. The characters weren't really sympathetic to me - I really, really tried to like Nada, but I couldn't figure her out. She falls into the category of "I don't hate her, and I'm happy to see her end up ok, but I don't really care." At the end of the novel, I feel like there should be characters you at least care about, that you want resolution for. Who is that supposed to be in this one? Elizabeth? Clearly not. Della? No, and how did she suddenly become important? Detective Bobby? Eww, no. I always found him gross, but then suddenly he's a stalker? Am I supposed to feel like he's justified? Because that's never going to happen. Reggie? Not really, because he never really had a definite character to me. Derek Liu? Though he logically seems like the least at fault in this whole scenario, and thus the most ripe for sympathy, no. We never really get to know who he is.
So, was there any characters I did like? Wayne was perhaps my favorite, because he at least felt something, and was honest and true. He was stubborn and loyal, even to the end. I don't think he deserved what he got in the end, even though he would probably disagree with me. I think he deserved much more, though. And strangely enough, I liked Solomon. Yes, he was a crazy womanizer, and yes, he was taunting the father of a dead girl, but at least you could see that he loved his daughter.
There were also a few plot points that were never explained and therefore bug me. Was the "spider" device developed using the secret Pythagoras technology? And was it impossible to manufacture more with the doctor dead? How did the spider hook into the universe? It seemed to be a spiritual, all-seeing sort of device, considered it gave Solomon and Burning Patrick some sort of vision of the world as a whole. Also, what was the significance of the decad - they talked about it at one point, and the parts of the book were sort of named after it, but did it really mean anything? These questions linger.
In the end, how much do the characters matter? This novel is certainly rife with fast-paced action sequences, and I could easily see it being made into an interesting movie. In the end, I enjoyed the process of reading it, which alone merits it 3 stars in my book. If there had been any sort of character development that rating might have risen, but alas, that is not meant to be.
There were too many characters, and it felt like really didn't really get to know any of them, not even the central ones, like Canada. Plus, what we did get to know, I didn't really like. The characters weren't really sympathetic to me - I really, really tried to like Nada, but I couldn't figure her out. She falls into the category of "I don't hate her, and I'm happy to see her end up ok, but I don't really care." At the end of the novel, I feel like there should be characters you at least care about, that you want resolution for. Who is that supposed to be in this one? Elizabeth? Clearly not. Della? No, and how did she suddenly become important? Detective Bobby? Eww, no. I always found him gross, but then suddenly he's a stalker? Am I supposed to feel like he's justified? Because that's never going to happen. Reggie? Not really, because he never really had a definite character to me. Derek Liu? Though he logically seems like the least at fault in this whole scenario, and thus the most ripe for sympathy, no. We never really get to know who he is.
So, was there any characters I did like? Wayne was perhaps my favorite, because he at least felt something, and was honest and true. He was stubborn and loyal, even to the end. I don't think he deserved what he got in the end, even though he would probably disagree with me. I think he deserved much more, though. And strangely enough, I liked Solomon. Yes, he was a crazy womanizer, and yes, he was taunting the father of a dead girl, but at least you could see that he loved his daughter.
There were also a few plot points that were never explained and therefore bug me. Was the "spider" device developed using the secret Pythagoras technology? And was it impossible to manufacture more with the doctor dead? How did the spider hook into the universe? It seemed to be a spiritual, all-seeing sort of device, considered it gave Solomon and Burning Patrick some sort of vision of the world as a whole. Also, what was the significance of the decad - they talked about it at one point, and the parts of the book were sort of named after it, but did it really mean anything? These questions linger.
In the end, how much do the characters matter? This novel is certainly rife with fast-paced action sequences, and I could easily see it being made into an interesting movie. In the end, I enjoyed the process of reading it, which alone merits it 3 stars in my book. If there had been any sort of character development that rating might have risen, but alas, that is not meant to be.
October 24, 2010
The Thousand isn’t typically a book I would have picked up to read. I don’t tend to read thrillers and try to avoid anything involving math. But I happened to win a copy of the book in a contest on twitter (which I didn’t know I entered). And because the book is set partially in Chicago and Guilfoile is a Chicago author I felt compelled to give it a shot.
I’m so glad I did because I found the story to be completely captivating. It’s one of those books that as soon as you think you have figured something out… guess again.
The Thousand is a group of people who for generations have followed the teachings of Pythagoras. His teachings have to do with the relationship between numbers and the order of the universe.
Set in Chicago and Las Vegas, the book centers around a woman named Canada Gold. When Canada, or Nada as she is known to friends, was a child she received a neurostimulator implant in her brain as a last attempt to control her severe attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The neurostimulator or spider (as Nada called it) gave her special abilities. She notices things that people didn’t see. She hears things that people didn’t hear. She uses these abilities to her benefit in Las Vegas first counting cards and then as a private investigator.
Because she is so skilled she is hired by a businessman to return to Chicago and help him acquire art from an eclectic artist named Burning Patrick. Nada grew up in Chicago the daughter of a famed musician who was murdered shortly after he was acquitted for the murder of a young student. As the story progresses the reader finds that everything believed to be truth is really part of an elaborate scheme. And everything is connected. Both factions of The Thousand are looking for Nada and she doesn’t know who she can trust.
As a life-long Chicagoan, I found Guilfoile’s descriptions of the city to be gripping. He nails the descriptions of the people and the places. I found the scene involving the riot in the park to be particularly haunting. I also fell in love with some of the characters. I felt for Wayne Jennings, the head of security who loves Nada. I was sad for Nada’s best friend, the prosecutor. Kloska, the veteran Chicago Police Officer, seemed like someone you want to hate but underneath it all there’s something oddly appealing about him. He’s looking for the truth even if it costs him everything.
The one problem I had with the book was that I had a hard time keeping track of the two waring groups, Acusmatici and the Mathematici. I had to keep thinking back to try and remember which group was which. But it didn’t keep me from enjoying this story. In fact it probably helped enhanced the story since I couldn’t quite remember which group was responsible for which activities.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good thriller. You won’t regret it.
I’m so glad I did because I found the story to be completely captivating. It’s one of those books that as soon as you think you have figured something out… guess again.
The Thousand is a group of people who for generations have followed the teachings of Pythagoras. His teachings have to do with the relationship between numbers and the order of the universe.
Set in Chicago and Las Vegas, the book centers around a woman named Canada Gold. When Canada, or Nada as she is known to friends, was a child she received a neurostimulator implant in her brain as a last attempt to control her severe attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The neurostimulator or spider (as Nada called it) gave her special abilities. She notices things that people didn’t see. She hears things that people didn’t hear. She uses these abilities to her benefit in Las Vegas first counting cards and then as a private investigator.
Because she is so skilled she is hired by a businessman to return to Chicago and help him acquire art from an eclectic artist named Burning Patrick. Nada grew up in Chicago the daughter of a famed musician who was murdered shortly after he was acquitted for the murder of a young student. As the story progresses the reader finds that everything believed to be truth is really part of an elaborate scheme. And everything is connected. Both factions of The Thousand are looking for Nada and she doesn’t know who she can trust.
As a life-long Chicagoan, I found Guilfoile’s descriptions of the city to be gripping. He nails the descriptions of the people and the places. I found the scene involving the riot in the park to be particularly haunting. I also fell in love with some of the characters. I felt for Wayne Jennings, the head of security who loves Nada. I was sad for Nada’s best friend, the prosecutor. Kloska, the veteran Chicago Police Officer, seemed like someone you want to hate but underneath it all there’s something oddly appealing about him. He’s looking for the truth even if it costs him everything.
The one problem I had with the book was that I had a hard time keeping track of the two waring groups, Acusmatici and the Mathematici. I had to keep thinking back to try and remember which group was which. But it didn’t keep me from enjoying this story. In fact it probably helped enhanced the story since I couldn’t quite remember which group was responsible for which activities.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a good thriller. You won’t regret it.
October 1, 2010
Trying to summarize The Thousand would be only slightly easier than attempting to herd a pack of cats across a rushing river. How can one adequately summarize a book that includes as major plot points Mozart’s infamously unfinished Requiem in D Minor, Greek mathematician / philosopher Pythagoras, experimental brain implants, a ten-year-old murder case, a manufactured blackout of Chicago, and an ancient conspiracy guarded by a secret society known as the Thousand?
Right, you can’t. So let’s just get on to why it all works. Brilliantly. Author Kevin Guilfoile has the amazing ability to create perfect order out of what should rightfully be utter chaos. He takes multiple, complicated plot lines and seamlessly weaves them into an almost suffocatingly intense blanket of action and suspense.
He does this in large part with his absolutely pitch-perfect characterizations, both of the people and locales. The story takes place in Las Vegas and Chicago, both of which are described with such vivid detail the reader feels as if he was actually there. The descent of Chicago into rioting and disorder during a blackout manufactured by the Thousand as cover for their activities is particularly harrowing.
But there is no question that the star of The Thousand is Canada Gold, Nada to her friends. As a young teenager Nada was the recipient of an experimental neurostimulator implanted directly into her brain as a last ditch effort to control her severe attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Not only did it cure her, it left her with some powerful unintended side-effects which the adult Nada learned to use to her benefit, first as a gambler then as a private investigator.
Unfortunately for Nada, because of the unique abilities it has the power to bestow there are members of one faction of the Thousand who want her implant – over her dead body if necessary – so they can give it to someone handpicked by them who will use its enhancing powers to help the Thousand achieve their goals. The resulting race between the two factions to get to Nada first, and her dawning comprehension of the true power of her implant, make for 350 pages of conspiracy-fueled, page-turning plot twists and turns.
Guilfoile has created something truly special in The Thousand. He’s managed to take heavy-hitting concepts like the relationship between math and music (indeed, math and the nature of the universe itself), as well as the moral implications of advanced scientific research and testing and wrap them up in a package as enticing and thrilling as any Hollywood blockbuster; but much more intelligent.
Quite simply, The Thousand is amazing! It’s what The Da Vinci Code wants to be when it grows up… and it still won’t be close.
Right, you can’t. So let’s just get on to why it all works. Brilliantly. Author Kevin Guilfoile has the amazing ability to create perfect order out of what should rightfully be utter chaos. He takes multiple, complicated plot lines and seamlessly weaves them into an almost suffocatingly intense blanket of action and suspense.
He does this in large part with his absolutely pitch-perfect characterizations, both of the people and locales. The story takes place in Las Vegas and Chicago, both of which are described with such vivid detail the reader feels as if he was actually there. The descent of Chicago into rioting and disorder during a blackout manufactured by the Thousand as cover for their activities is particularly harrowing.
But there is no question that the star of The Thousand is Canada Gold, Nada to her friends. As a young teenager Nada was the recipient of an experimental neurostimulator implanted directly into her brain as a last ditch effort to control her severe attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Not only did it cure her, it left her with some powerful unintended side-effects which the adult Nada learned to use to her benefit, first as a gambler then as a private investigator.
Unfortunately for Nada, because of the unique abilities it has the power to bestow there are members of one faction of the Thousand who want her implant – over her dead body if necessary – so they can give it to someone handpicked by them who will use its enhancing powers to help the Thousand achieve their goals. The resulting race between the two factions to get to Nada first, and her dawning comprehension of the true power of her implant, make for 350 pages of conspiracy-fueled, page-turning plot twists and turns.
Guilfoile has created something truly special in The Thousand. He’s managed to take heavy-hitting concepts like the relationship between math and music (indeed, math and the nature of the universe itself), as well as the moral implications of advanced scientific research and testing and wrap them up in a package as enticing and thrilling as any Hollywood blockbuster; but much more intelligent.
Quite simply, The Thousand is amazing! It’s what The Da Vinci Code wants to be when it grows up… and it still won’t be close.
April 14, 2015
I really only wanted to read about Canada Gold. I loved her character and when the story moved to another character, it was all I could do to finish that section to get back to Canada.
AWFUL name by the way. In the book, Canada decides never to smoke pot because someone tells her that her name would be a great type of weed. Her name is awful because it could be anything - a variety of rose, a stripper name, the name of a dog, a rock band, a clothing line, a model. Ugh.
So the book starts out very strong with Canada and her spider which is the equivalent of a super power. She should be in high demand but in her chosen line of work she's become infamous and unhireable because her super power makes everyone leery of her. I didn't quite buy that. She just needs better disguises or better surveillance equipment.
Anyway, I wanted the book to be all about her but instead it was about the Thousand - a secret society with fighting factions that are trying to manipulate world events. So despite what you think about the Da Vinci code as a piece of litturachur, Dan Brown did a decent job of writing a fun wacky suspenseful novel about a similar society. As much as I loved Canada, this novel was no Da Vinci Code. It was mostly not fun. Canada wasn't in it as much as she needed to be for me and the later parts of Canada underutilize her. There were all these other people with pieces of the puzzle but they didn't really matter. Like the police detective who tries to singlehandedly stop a riot, witnesses what he thinks is a murder and then becomes completely sidelined because of all the powerful people in the secret society who decide he's irrelevant. He WAS irrelevant. I didn't care about him. He had no impact on the story. He didn't uncover anything particularly valuable. Let Canada have his airtime.
There's the possibility that this is the start of a series because there were lots of loose ends. What happens to Burning Patrick and his amazing mural, for example. Or actually, what does Canada find out about Burning Patrick and his amazing mural? But unless the sequel is called "Canada Gold changes her name and has amazing adventures", I don't think I'm going to read it.
AWFUL name by the way. In the book, Canada decides never to smoke pot because someone tells her that her name would be a great type of weed. Her name is awful because it could be anything - a variety of rose, a stripper name, the name of a dog, a rock band, a clothing line, a model. Ugh.
So the book starts out very strong with Canada and her spider which is the equivalent of a super power. She should be in high demand but in her chosen line of work she's become infamous and unhireable because her super power makes everyone leery of her. I didn't quite buy that. She just needs better disguises or better surveillance equipment.
Anyway, I wanted the book to be all about her but instead it was about the Thousand - a secret society with fighting factions that are trying to manipulate world events. So despite what you think about the Da Vinci code as a piece of litturachur, Dan Brown did a decent job of writing a fun wacky suspenseful novel about a similar society. As much as I loved Canada, this novel was no Da Vinci Code. It was mostly not fun. Canada wasn't in it as much as she needed to be for me and the later parts of Canada underutilize her. There were all these other people with pieces of the puzzle but they didn't really matter. Like the police detective who tries to singlehandedly stop a riot, witnesses what he thinks is a murder and then becomes completely sidelined because of all the powerful people in the secret society who decide he's irrelevant. He WAS irrelevant. I didn't care about him. He had no impact on the story. He didn't uncover anything particularly valuable. Let Canada have his airtime.
There's the possibility that this is the start of a series because there were lots of loose ends. What happens to Burning Patrick and his amazing mural, for example. Or actually, what does Canada find out about Burning Patrick and his amazing mural? But unless the sequel is called "Canada Gold changes her name and has amazing adventures", I don't think I'm going to read it.
August 29, 2010
Source: Received from publicist. Many thanks goes to Dana from Kaye Publicity for sending me this book for review. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
My Rating: 4/5
Canada Gold has spent the last several years working in the casinos and the courthouses of Las Vegas. She returns to the city where her father had been murdered and she is swept up in the violence and scheming of a secretive organization. She is nothing but a puppet for the organization and is in a race against time to find her father's killer, and to save her own life. With everything at stake, she must decide who to trust, who is out to kill her, and who is willing to use her capabilities for their own gain.
Canada has had a tough life. Her father was murdered, and her mother left her, leaving her all alone. She is a character that I felt empathy for. She has no one, except for a few close friends. She is definitely a character that I can relate to.
The Thousand, is an organization that has been around for centuries. They are a secretive group searching for mathematical theory in everything--philosophy, music, art, and science. They are an elitist group divided, at war with themselves with Canada sitting unwittingly in the line of fire.
This book had an excellent blend of history, philosophy, science, music, and art without detracting from the suspense and mystery. The characters were memorable, and the tension was palpable throughout the novel. The plot was intricate in detail, and fast paced in execution. I was drawn in almost immediately and enjoyed the many dimensions of the book. It was a thoroughly engaging read which captured, and maintained my attention.
All in all, a phenomenal book which marries history, math, science, music, art, and suspense together for a thought provoking, detailed, and well executed read. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Dan Brown's work, as well as James Rollins. Guilfoile is an author to watch.
My Rating: 4/5
Canada Gold has spent the last several years working in the casinos and the courthouses of Las Vegas. She returns to the city where her father had been murdered and she is swept up in the violence and scheming of a secretive organization. She is nothing but a puppet for the organization and is in a race against time to find her father's killer, and to save her own life. With everything at stake, she must decide who to trust, who is out to kill her, and who is willing to use her capabilities for their own gain.
Canada has had a tough life. Her father was murdered, and her mother left her, leaving her all alone. She is a character that I felt empathy for. She has no one, except for a few close friends. She is definitely a character that I can relate to.
The Thousand, is an organization that has been around for centuries. They are a secretive group searching for mathematical theory in everything--philosophy, music, art, and science. They are an elitist group divided, at war with themselves with Canada sitting unwittingly in the line of fire.
This book had an excellent blend of history, philosophy, science, music, and art without detracting from the suspense and mystery. The characters were memorable, and the tension was palpable throughout the novel. The plot was intricate in detail, and fast paced in execution. I was drawn in almost immediately and enjoyed the many dimensions of the book. It was a thoroughly engaging read which captured, and maintained my attention.
All in all, a phenomenal book which marries history, math, science, music, art, and suspense together for a thought provoking, detailed, and well executed read. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of Dan Brown's work, as well as James Rollins. Guilfoile is an author to watch.
January 20, 2011
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
Although I've been an acquaintance of local author Kevin Guilfoile for nearly a decade now, I've never actually read any of his full-length work, mostly because of him working in the crime/mystery genre that I neither follow nor care for that much; so I was glad to randomly spot his latest, the DaVinci-Codesque The Thousand, on the "new release" shelf at my neighborhood library this month, because it meant I could make my way through it fairly quickly and without a lot of fuss, frankly just like how I read through most novels in this genre. And indeed, this book is full of the kind of stuff that makes me kind of roll my eyes a bit when it comes to titles like these, which is why I try for the most part simply not to review these kinds of books, because of knowing that I'm far from its ideal audience; our main character, for example, is basically Lisbeth Sanders meets the Bionic Woman, a plucky female private investigator who received a sort of experimental body-wide pacemaker thingie as a child which now gives her nearly supernatural physical abilities, which she uses to slowly uncover a secret society that worships the hidden codes found in the work of the Greek mathematician Pythagorus, a group which believes our tomboyish hero to be the star-child or something that will finally bring all the ancient prophecies to fruition. Or, er, something like that. It's certainly as good as the other novels of this sort that I've read over the years, so I feel confident in recommending it to those who are naturally into this genre; but to really see Guilfoile at his best, you should instead check out the short, smart, bitter humor writing he's done in the past for places like McSweeney's and Funny Or Die.
Out of 10: 8.0
Although I've been an acquaintance of local author Kevin Guilfoile for nearly a decade now, I've never actually read any of his full-length work, mostly because of him working in the crime/mystery genre that I neither follow nor care for that much; so I was glad to randomly spot his latest, the DaVinci-Codesque The Thousand, on the "new release" shelf at my neighborhood library this month, because it meant I could make my way through it fairly quickly and without a lot of fuss, frankly just like how I read through most novels in this genre. And indeed, this book is full of the kind of stuff that makes me kind of roll my eyes a bit when it comes to titles like these, which is why I try for the most part simply not to review these kinds of books, because of knowing that I'm far from its ideal audience; our main character, for example, is basically Lisbeth Sanders meets the Bionic Woman, a plucky female private investigator who received a sort of experimental body-wide pacemaker thingie as a child which now gives her nearly supernatural physical abilities, which she uses to slowly uncover a secret society that worships the hidden codes found in the work of the Greek mathematician Pythagorus, a group which believes our tomboyish hero to be the star-child or something that will finally bring all the ancient prophecies to fruition. Or, er, something like that. It's certainly as good as the other novels of this sort that I've read over the years, so I feel confident in recommending it to those who are naturally into this genre; but to really see Guilfoile at his best, you should instead check out the short, smart, bitter humor writing he's done in the past for places like McSweeney's and Funny Or Die.
Out of 10: 8.0
November 17, 2010
I fear I read this book too quickly to give a comprehensive review, too quickly because it was so awful I wanted to get through it as fast as possible. It was awful both on the writing level and the story level--I can often enjoy a book that is lacking in one of those departments. First, this author just isn't a very good writer, even on the level of word choices, like verb choices. In one instance, a character "pulls up" to the table. Is the character in a wheel chair? Is the character pulling up to the table in a car? No on both counts. What is wrong with a character simply sitting down? Next, the author offers up character descriptions that (I presume) are supposed to sound profound and provocative (She could only have sex with someone if it was meaningful or meaningless, nothing in between) but just sound stupid. Yet he makes this exact same observation throughout the book. Next, there are so many characters in this book, it's incredibly hard to keep them straight or figure out who's going to be important until you're about halfway through. Another pet peeve--on one of the character's arc he keeps thinking of a character with whom he used to work. He thinks of him so often, you just know that minor character is actually the major character's boyfriend, or the bad guy (spoiler alert--he's the bad guy!). Finally, the plot is ridiculous--a secret society based on the teachings of Pythogreas! Other reviewers have noted that the author seems to be trying to combine two popular books--DaVinci Code and Girl With a Dragon Tattoo, and I totally agree. Unfortunately, he fails on both counts--the plot is ludicrous and the female lead too confusing to be interesting. I did finish it yes, but only because I wanted to see what howler came next. And yes, this book did get a great review in Entertainment Weekly.
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