Rezension zu The Medusa Amulet von Robert Masello
A good read with little flaws
von pattyliest
Kurzmeinung: A good read with little flaws. History is combined with thrill & fantasy. The ending was satisfying, however the 2nd part was rather slow.
Rezension
pattyliestvor 8 Jahren
PLOT
A mysterious widow offers David Franco, an art historian who admires the great artist Benvenuto Cellini, the chance of his lifetime - to save his dying sister by paying him a million dollars to find a legendary amulet crafted by Cellini himself. The woman believes this amulet crested with the face of the medusa is supposed to give immortality. Whoever stares into the mirror of the Medusa Amulet on a moonlit night, shall live an eternal life. With this David sees the opportunity to pay of Sarah's medical bills, but also sees the difficulty of the quest as he doesn't believe in the powers of the amulet, but he has to have faith in the existence in order to save his sister. He throws himself into a desperate search that soon turns into a race against time. His search leads him to Italy and France, where he finds information that lasted throughout the centuries and brings him closer to finding the amulet. But there are others who want to stop him and they will do anything to keep the powers of the amulet for themselves. Together with his new acquaintance Olivia he starts to discover unbelievable things which soon let him believe in eternal life.
"All he wanted was eternity... and it never occurred to him that eternity could be the loneliest destination of all." ~ S. 413
OPINION
The story is split into two time sequences. We start of by getting to know the historical figur of Benvenuto Cellini in the 16th century and later on meet David in the present. I really enjoyed the mix between past and present and the way those times were connected. Through this and the combination of thriller, fantasy, mystery and historical elements I actually felt as a part of the quest for eternal life and for at least 464 pages I actually believed in the existence of immortality. The overall plot is a great mix between fact and fiction, which makes the story all more exciting, because you actually get to know Cellini's work and can't always tell what is true and whatnot.
"David, who was so good when it came to talking about an edition of Dante, was again at a loss for words." ~ S. 190
Even though the story itself is gripping, the characters aren't so much. Especially David and Olivia are likeable, but they are still rather shallow to me. The reader finds out how much David is willing to do for his sister, but that's about it. I didn't really get a hang for him. Also the love story between the two characters was really forced and I wouldn't have needed it - they could have just continued to work together. The mysterious widow Caterina was much more interesting, despite her not being very detailed either, but her story and love to Cellini was just really fascinating. Which leads to Benvenuto Cellini, who I actually enjoyed getting to know. He wasn't always a pleasure for his fellows and this made him such a pleasure for me to learn more about him. Both, Cellini and Caterina, were a lot more credible and plausible for me. I wouldn't have minded them taking up more of the story.
CONCLUSION
I had a great time while I read The Medusa Amulet, but especially during the second half of the story I lost my interested, but it was actually regained at the end. Even though I mostly enjoyed the book, I can only give 3 out of 5 points due to the rather shallow characters and some other minor flaws, which I can't tell without giving away parts of the story.
@ Das Bücherchamäleon
A mysterious widow offers David Franco, an art historian who admires the great artist Benvenuto Cellini, the chance of his lifetime - to save his dying sister by paying him a million dollars to find a legendary amulet crafted by Cellini himself. The woman believes this amulet crested with the face of the medusa is supposed to give immortality. Whoever stares into the mirror of the Medusa Amulet on a moonlit night, shall live an eternal life. With this David sees the opportunity to pay of Sarah's medical bills, but also sees the difficulty of the quest as he doesn't believe in the powers of the amulet, but he has to have faith in the existence in order to save his sister. He throws himself into a desperate search that soon turns into a race against time. His search leads him to Italy and France, where he finds information that lasted throughout the centuries and brings him closer to finding the amulet. But there are others who want to stop him and they will do anything to keep the powers of the amulet for themselves. Together with his new acquaintance Olivia he starts to discover unbelievable things which soon let him believe in eternal life.
"All he wanted was eternity... and it never occurred to him that eternity could be the loneliest destination of all." ~ S. 413
OPINION
The story is split into two time sequences. We start of by getting to know the historical figur of Benvenuto Cellini in the 16th century and later on meet David in the present. I really enjoyed the mix between past and present and the way those times were connected. Through this and the combination of thriller, fantasy, mystery and historical elements I actually felt as a part of the quest for eternal life and for at least 464 pages I actually believed in the existence of immortality. The overall plot is a great mix between fact and fiction, which makes the story all more exciting, because you actually get to know Cellini's work and can't always tell what is true and whatnot.
"David, who was so good when it came to talking about an edition of Dante, was again at a loss for words." ~ S. 190
Even though the story itself is gripping, the characters aren't so much. Especially David and Olivia are likeable, but they are still rather shallow to me. The reader finds out how much David is willing to do for his sister, but that's about it. I didn't really get a hang for him. Also the love story between the two characters was really forced and I wouldn't have needed it - they could have just continued to work together. The mysterious widow Caterina was much more interesting, despite her not being very detailed either, but her story and love to Cellini was just really fascinating. Which leads to Benvenuto Cellini, who I actually enjoyed getting to know. He wasn't always a pleasure for his fellows and this made him such a pleasure for me to learn more about him. Both, Cellini and Caterina, were a lot more credible and plausible for me. I wouldn't have minded them taking up more of the story.
CONCLUSION
I had a great time while I read The Medusa Amulet, but especially during the second half of the story I lost my interested, but it was actually regained at the end. Even though I mostly enjoyed the book, I can only give 3 out of 5 points due to the rather shallow characters and some other minor flaws, which I can't tell without giving away parts of the story.
@ Das Bücherchamäleon