il calice della vita (2013)

If you enjoy Dan Brown, you will enjoy Glenn Cooper. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat. As Arthur Malory searches for the Holy Grail, you will watch the intensity of his search grow until the book's conclusion.

Arthur Malory is a descendent of Sir Thomas Mallory and from nobility carrying the blood and an extra rib right from the time of King Arthur. The story is told in two different periods of time, the present by Arthur and the past by Sir Thomas Mallory and King Arthur. When Arthur is fired from his job, he has a lot of time to devote to his search. He is a member of a group called the "Loons" who are searching for the Holy Grail. The other group searching for the Grail are the "Khems", an ancient society of over 2000 years who have been on a quest for the Grail for their own purposes; to study and achieve immortality by using it. When Arthur's friend and fellow Loon calls excitedly to tell him about a discovery related to the Grail, he dies before he can share the information. Arthur believes that it was not an accident and things start to happen. As Arthur and a mysterious french woman named Claire travel around Europe and Northern Africa they are watched carefully by the Khem. Thrust into a life-or-death quest to find the Holy Grail, Arthur must follow a chain of clues left by his ancestor, Thomas Malory. His search takes him to King Arthur’s Cornwall, Renaissance England, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, a modern physics lab in Modane, France, and ultimately, inevitably, to Jerusalem and the legendary tomb of Christ.

Of course the question behind all these books is "Does the Holy Grail really exist?" This book does not answer that question, but it gets the reader asking more questions and believing that maybe it just might.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This is quite a fascinating book which, although set in modern times, needs the actions of figures from history to assist the development of the plot. Historical interludes, involving Judas Iscariot, King Arthur, Thomas Mallory (author of Morte d’Arthur) and Antonio Gaudi, designer of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. All of these feature at some point as Arthur Mallory, a descendant of Thomas, pursues a quest for the Holy Grail. Assisted by a French girl, Claire, who is a physicist, he is also the subject of intense scrutiny by a group calling themselves the Kem, Khem or even Qem, a centuries old organisation who wish to get their hands on the Grail. They were all alchemists seeking power.
I have read a number of Glenn Cooper’s books before, and they are always intriguing and well developed. His research is excellent, although I must admit that I did not look up everything that he included. My opinion of Merlin has been altered by his inclusion in the book, assisting King Arthur, but for his own devious ends. It cracks along at a good pace and held my attention all the way through. The book raised a number of questions, but didn’t actually challenge Christian beliefs which it could so easily have done. One remaining question at the end – whose resurrection? As a hopeless romantic I do hope that it was Claire’s.
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The Resurrection Maker is a modern day quest for the Holy Grail, with brief forays back in time to AD 33 and the final days of Jesus Christ, to 498 AD with King Arthur and to the 1400’s with Thomas Malory-author of the famous ‘Le Morte de Arthur’. Glenn Cooper blends fact and fiction, history and modern day to create an exciting quest. The story gets a bit bogged down in science (I admit it, I know nothing of physics with it’s quarks and neutrinos!). Yet it makes for a fascinating theory for the Grail. ( )

Arthur Malory is a direct descendant of Thomas Malory, author of legendary “Le Morte D’Arthur,” He has always had an obsession with the Holy Grail and has always believed that the Holy Grail was a real object, just hidden somewhere. The quest for the Grail takes Mallory to a variety of places while trying to be one step ahead of the Khem, who believe that the Holy Grail represents a way of achieving eternal life through the power of science rather than through any type of mythical powers.

I enjoyed the way the author explored the story and legend by using flashbacks set in biblical and medieval times. I think the book started out great but hit a snag when he focused on the elaborate chemistry and physics part of the book. The book is plotted very intelligently and I couldn't help but compare it to Steve Berry, who does a better job at this type of genre. Nevertheless, I thought the book was well worth reading. I definitely plan to read another book by this author.
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Soms valt het mee, en soms valt het tegen, aangeraden boeken.

Glenn Cooper dacht zeer duidelijk “Huh, Da Vinci Code Schma Vinci Code, ik kan dat ook.”

En dus schrijvelaarde hij een boek bij elkaar met Jezus Christus en Heilige Graal en Koning Arthur en in de hoofdrol een afstammeling van Thomas ‘Le Morte d’Arthur’ Malory en een beetje fysica-mumbo jumbo, met een love interest, met toeval op toeval op toeval op toeval, met Schlechte Schlechteriken die al sinds de nevelen der tijd Schlechte Schlechteriken zijn, met internationale zoektochten en achtervolgingen en detectivewerk rond eeuwenoude dingen waar niemand ooit oplossingen voor vond maar Onze Helden het allemaal ontcijferen tusen hun soep en hun patatten.

Ja, het heeft de verdienste dat het snel leest. Dat wel. Maar het heeft de onverdienste dat hoe verder in het boek, hoe ongeloofwaardiger alles wordt. Suspension of disbelief, er is iets voor te zeggen, maar in casu waren drie takelwagens samen niet tegen de taak opgewassen.

En ja, het heeft ook zeer nauwkeurig gelezen in het Tenenkrullen Voor Gevorderden-boek van Dan Brown. Zoals deze, die alleen kon geschreven zijn door iemand die niet zeer veel in Frankrijk zal geweest zijn:

“You seemed taken by the Black Madonna,” he said.

“It was very beautiful.”

“You’re Catholic?”

“Of course. I’m French.”

Huu. Of deze, die een letterlijke copy-paste had kunnen zijn van Renowned Dan Brown:

“Have a look at this, over the Europa letterhead. I thought it was a doodle but it’s not. It’s letters.”

AΩ JHS

“Let me see,” Claire motioned, and he rejoined her on the bed.

“Yes, for sure,” she continued, squinting at the scrawl. “They are letters. The first two are alpha an omega, the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet. The last three are J-H-S.”

“Someone’s initials?” Arthur wondered.

“Maybe. What if this isn’t some random notation, Arthur?” […]

Arthur nodded. “Maybe. J-H-S. We need to find out who that is.”

Aaargh! En expositie, en expositie, en expositie! Hier, nóg een infodump. Hiér ook nog eens de copy-paste uit de toeristenbrochure.

En de personages opgetrokken uit plakband en bordkarton! Maar dus vooral: mwuaaargh wat een bere-slecht einde. Bespaar u die paar uur lezen en laat dit zeer ver links liggen. ( )