Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16977 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 652 pages

Synopsis
Three book editors, jaded by reading far too many crackpot manuscripts on the mystic and the occult, are inspired by an extraordinary conspiracy story told to them by a strange colonel to have some fun. They start feeding random bits of information into a powerful computer capable of inventing connections between the entries, thinking they are creating nothing more than an amusing game, but then their game starts to take over, the deaths start mounting, and they are forced into a frantic search for the truth.

From the Publisher
Brilliant
'Brilliant...A novel that is deeper and richer that The Name of the Rose' New York Times

'Brilliant, funny, encompassing everything you ever wanted to know about practically everything (including numerology, James Bond's foes, and the construction of sewers), this book is both extraordinarily learned and well plotted' Sunday Times

'Endlessly diverting...Even more intricate and absorbing than his international bestseller The Name of the Rose' Time

Three book editors, jaded by reading far too many crackpot manuscripts on the mystic and the occult, are inspired to have some fun by an extraordinary conspiracy story told to them by a strange colonel. They start feeding random bits of information into a powerful computer capable of inventing connections between the entries, thinking they are creating nothing more than an amusing game, but then their game starts to take over, the deaths start mounting, and they are forced into a frantic search for the truth.

'An intellectual adventure story, as ensational, thrilling and packed with arcana as Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Count of Monte Cristo' Washington Post Book World

'Umberto Eco is literature's great magician...He offers us many passages of brilliance, and treats us to a Shakespearean alternation of paroxysm and intimacy, madness and wisdom. There is something here for everyone. His genius affords his readers a selection of delights that will make their heads spin' Le Monde

Customer Reviews

Not a novel, a reference book of science and the occult
This is really not a novel at all, but a kind of narrative reference book that is surely aimed at rather obsessive enthusiasts of science and the occult in the middle ages. You don't learn much about the characters in this book, some of which are almost as cartoony and undeveloped as those you may find in a Dan Brown novel, and the plot moves on painfully slowly, constantly bogged down by pages of scholarship which, by about 400 pages in, I was happy to skip with no loss of continuity. Only in the last 150 pages or so does the plot start to move along at a more respectable pace. But the climax is frankly a bit of a let down.
I suppose the interesting thing this book does is establish that the real cranks and crackpots who are into all this stuff are prepared to believe almost anything. But if you're not obsessed with the subject matter to the same degree as the characters in this book, you can't help but ask: so what?
This is a long book, demanding many hours to plough through, and the result was disappointing.

Engaging but requires keen attention
This is the third of Eco's novels I have read. I am enamoured of his style and ultimately, this is why I enjoy his novels. As an Italian he displays mastery of the literary genre in another language - a remarkable ability.

Ultimately, I was unable to appreciate this particular novel's deep knowledge and arcana. That is a failing on my part. I imagine that many readers may face the same degree of bewilderment at the level of historical detail that fills many of the pages, and for those that can, you are in for a treat.

My admiration for Eco is definetely for style. I still enjoyed Foucault's Pendulum, but for the sound of the words rather than the plot.

What exactly do theoretical physicists know?
When one starts a review of a book with the words, "I am a theoretical physicist", one instinctively knows that what is to follow can only be regarded as twaddle. I could for instance, start this review with the words "I am an amateur astronomer" as my love for astronomy knows no bounds. But would that make me eligible for reviewing a book? Regarding ones occupation or interest as a pre-cursor for starting a review, tends one to think that the reviewer thinks he or she knows something that the rest of us do not, and so therefore is more knowledgeable or qualified to give us a critical insight about the subject in hand. Even now, I could probably bore the reader of this review, if indeed anyone is reading this, about light speed and its effects on us when travelling at said speeds, or how about the principles of thermonuclear dynamics as an aside? Or to change subjects completely, how about an in-depth analysis of Bolivian wood sculpture?
None of this makes me more competent than you to review a book!
But I digress. To put it plainly and straight to the point, this book is superb.
Taking the reader on a liteary and mind expanding adventure, Umberto Eco explores many subjects on which he seems to be greatly at home with, and manages to wrap it all into a compelling tale. When one considers some of the mindless pap that passes for number 1 best sellers, it eludes me as to why his books are not more popular, or is it all too much for theoretical physicists?
Either way, anyone looking for a great and different read, should attempt this as soon as possible. I do not think you will be disappointed, and thats in my capacity as an amateur astronomer. ;)