catbert

http://www.26fun.com/bbs/attachm ... 4&checkid=35c11

Title: Angels & Demons

Author: Dan Brown

Price: Around HK$100

Where to buy: Any major bookstore

Plot: When world-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a mysterious symbol -- seared into the chest of a murdered physicist -- he discovers evidence of the unimaginable: the resurgence of an ancient secret brotherhood known as the Illuminati... the most powerful underground organization ever to walk the earth.

The Illuminati has surfaced from the shadows to carry out the final phase of its legendary vendetta against its most hated enemy... the Catholic Church.

Langdon's worst fears are confirmed on the eve of the Vatican's holy conclave, when a messenger of the Illuminati announces he has hidden an unstoppable time bomb at the very heart of Vatican City. With the countdown under way, Langdon jets to Rome to join forces with Vittoria Vetra, a beautiful and mysterious Italian scientist, to assist the Vatican in a desperate bid for survival.

Embarking on a frantic hunt through sealed crypts, dangerous catacombs, deserted cathedrals, and even to the heart of the most secretive vault on earth, Langdon and Vetra follow a 400-year old trail of ancient symbols that snakes across Rome toward the long-forgotten Illuminati lair... a secret location that contains the only hope for Vatican salvation.

An explosive international thriller, ANGELS & DEMONS careens from enlightening epiphanies to dark truths as the battle between science and religion turns to war...
[Source: www.danbrown.com]

Why I like this book?   I am sure a lot of you have read, or at least heard of "The Da Vinci Code".  It was the No.1 bestseller in Hong Kong last year, both the English version and the Chinese version.  Angels & Demons was written by the same author, Dan Brown, and in fact, it was published before The Da Vinci Code did.

I read The Da Vinci Code first and then followed by Angels & Demons.  In the fist 50 pages, I didn't think I would like it that much because the begining was so similar to The Da Vinci Code.  However, after the author covered all the bases and all the subplots started to intertwine together, I found that it was really hard to put down the book.  

I guess what I like the most about the book is the plot, and I personally think it is even better than the one of The Da Vinci Code.  Whilst the plots of the two books are similar, I found that the one in Angels & Demons is more convincing and conceivable.  

All in all, I think this is a very entertaining novel.  If you like The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons is a must-read for you.

[ Last edited by catbert on 2005-4-29 at 11:49 PM ]

catbert

http://www.26fun.com/bbs/attachm ... a5cd&download=1

Title: The Runaway Jury

Author: John Grisham

Price: Around HK$100

Where to buy: Any major bookstore

Plot: Every jury has a leader, and the verdict belongs  to him. In Biloxi, Mississippi, a landmark tobacco  trial with hundreds of millions of dollars at  stake beginsroutinely, then swerves mysteriously off  course. The jury is behaving strangely, and at  least one juroris convinced he's being watched. Soon  they have to be sequestered. Then a tip from an  anonymousyoung woman suggests she is able to predict  the jurors' increasingly odd behavior. Is the jury  somehow being manipulated, or even controlled? If  so, by whom? And, more important,why?
[Source: http://www.randomhouse.com]

Why I like this book? This is yet another novel-turn-movie by John Grisham - he's the guy who wrote The Firm, The Client and The Pelican Brief, to name a few.  I believe the movie was shown in HK last year or the year before but I am not sure how it did in terms of box office.

John Grisham loves to write legal thriller, and I like legal thriller so I've read most of his books.  Almsot all of his works are lawyers related, but this one he took a minor turn and focused on another party in a trial procedure - the jury.  Essentially, he is addressing the question whether a verdict can be bought and more importantly, how.  

What I like the most is plot, which is quite intelligent.  Of course, part of it was exaggerated but generally, it's fairly convincing.  More importanly, it shows how the main character - Nicholas Easter - manipulate the others smoothly without being noticed.  I would that is something handy for all of us in our daily lives.

I have seen the movie myself and I was disappointed as it did not capture half the brilliance in the book.  If any of you have seen the movie and liked it, you should definitely read the book.



Excellent description + comment,  +20:cool:

[ Last edited by crap on 2005-5-2 at 01:28 AM ]

catbert

http://www.26fun.com/bbs/attachm ... ---0&download=1

Title: Bringing Down the House

Author: Ben Mezrich

Pricer: US$12

Where to buy: Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, I haven't seen this book in HK but some of the major bookstores might have it

Plot: Welcome to the world of a group of audacious MIT math geniuses who legally took the Las Vegas casinos for over three million dollars -- and still found time for keg parties, football games, and final exams. The students were handpicked for a decades-old underground blackjack club dedicated to beating the system. While classmates worked long hours in labs and libraries, they traveled to gambling locales with hundreds of thousands of dollars from shady investors taped to their bodies. Filled with tense action and incredibly close calls, this is a real-life mix of Liar's Poker and Ocean's Eleven -- and a story Vegas doesn't want you to read.
[Source: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group]

Why I like this book? This is not a novel as it is based on a true story.  This books tells you how a bunch of MIT kids beated the casinos in their own games.  The most intriguing part is how those kids improved and executed the traditional card counting skills, which is all about probability, to almost perfect.  

Please don't get me wrong, I am not a gambler and I don't encourage it.  Nevertheless, this book shows us that gambling, blackjack specifically, can be more than just luck.  Actually, it is a calculated investment and with the right skills and execution, some people can actually make a living out of it.  In fact, a decent living.

In the book, you will see the ups and downs of those kids and how they lived their lives with millions of cash.  After reading the book, you might actually consider going to a casino and try the card-counting trick.  Remember though, I will not be liable for your loss on a gambling table.


(+15 and thx for sharing)

[ Last edited by crap on 2005-5-15 at 10:38 AM ]