The Emperor of Ocean Park - Stephen Carter -------------------- 4 Stars

Well, after really struggling through my last book, The Name of the Rose (which earned a wretched review), I was so pleased to read The Emperor of Ocean Park. Not a book I was aware of, it was a nice surprise to read this enthralling legal thriller. 

Written about 20 years ago, it reminded me of a smarter version of some of the classic Grisham novels (the old ones!). It was just as much of a page turner as the classic legal thrillers I mentioned above and the author did a great job of always putting a bit of a teaser at the end of each chapter. I loved the arc of the novel and the subject mater focus. In this case, the death of powerful judge weighs heavily on the remaining members of the family. Most poignantly, the narrator, who the novel focuses on as he works to determine what exactly led to his father's death and the mysteries of his life.

The book felt "smarter" than a Grisham based on many of the higher level references, including many characters who are law professors. There is also many references to chess; including numerous plot connections. In fact, the solving of one of the book's many mysteries goes back to a fairly unknown chess challenge. The writing also comes off as a bit more intelligent with some of the language he uses and content that is focused upon.

Overall, it's a very engaging read. Checking in at over 600 pages, it is a long read but after the book gets going and you get what the focus is about, it picks up quickly. The story has great characters and the mystery really gets in full swing by about half way through. I really enjoyed how quickly the plot moved though it did get slow in some parts. Really, the book stands out what the plot is moving forward and the action was the centerpiece. The biggest negative were the many self-indulgent parts of the narrator. Most chapters include small, or larger parts, of him sharing his thoughts of musings about a situation. Normally, this would be great but often they really did not come off as interesting of insightful. In some ways, they just take away from the book.

As a whole, however, I strongly suggest this book. It's an interesting and exciting read.

The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco -------------- 1.5 Stars

The Name of the Rose was a huge hit when it was released in the 1980s. I recently came across it as it many said it was a great book and very engaging. Well, something went wrong because it was one of my last favorite books in the past few years.

As I am not sure how many of you are familiar with this book, as it was written a generation ago, quick synopsis - set in the Middle Ages (early 14th century), it tells the story of a monk and his assistant who go to a monastery to investigate a death. Once there, further deaths take place and a quasi-murder mystery takes place.

I include "quasi" above because about 5% of the novel is a murder mystery. Those parts are actually pretty engaging and would have made a good book. Unfortunately, the other 95% was about religion, and Jesus, and mostly a whole bunch of stuff from 700 years ago that was super archaic and incredibly confusing. There was multiple sentences, paragraphs, and pages where I was truly lost and, while I understood the words being used (except maybe Dominicans and Fraticelli), the words together made very little sense. The book was so in depth and nuanced in its focus on Catholicism that it really was not enjoyable.

Then, after reading 495 pages of this drivel, I decided to read the last 30 pages after the book ended. In this edition, the author offers answers to many questions that he apparently received over the years. I thought maybe I'd learn more about things I missed. No chance - instead I got even more maddening confusion and more answers that made no sense.

Overall, the book was a really challenge for me. Perhaps I just needed to pay more attention or have more prior knowledge about the Middle Ages and Christianity. Or, perhaps, this book is just not an engaging read for me as a modern, discerning reader. Either way, you have been warned should you decide to take it on.