The Parsifal Mosaic

I'm a big Ludlum fan and have read several of his works. I have to say, Parsifal Mosaic is definitely one of his best works. The characters are well developed, plot is deep, and descriptions of places and events are vivid and well put together. Ludlum has built the characters very well, and this book is really a thriller from the protagonist's (Michael Havelock) perspective, as opposed to some of this other works where the focus is almost entirely the plot and sequence of events. Even with a plot that gets complex towards the second half of the book, the suspense is very engaging, and it's hard to put the book down. I would highly recommend this book!

I was introduced to Ludlum in the late 70's by my brother who claimed that if I thought Clive Cussler was a good author, I needed to check out somebody who could really plot a story well.I started off with The Bourne Identity, which I still rank as one of the most original stories I have ever read. I waited quite some time before attempting 'Parisfal', and by the time I finally got around to doing so, it didn't take long to realize that I had cheated myself out of quite an adventure.I was going through my library here not long ago fixing up my book shelves when I ran across my old copy, and decided it was time to crack it open yet again. I was amazed at how well it has held up over the years, and just how REALLY GOOD it really is. I won't attempt to go into the details of the plot, because quite frankly, Ludlum puts just too many twists and turns into his average novel that just to attempt to summarize 'Parsifal' in such a short amount of room would be incredibly disrespectful to the memory of Robert Ludlum (in my opinion). No, instead I would rather go into what makes his novels so darned fun...Ludlum will never be confused with what some consider 'True Literature' but what he lacks in major character development, he more than makes up for with the sheer speed of his plots and how his stories seem to be several plots all going at once on a runaway train with no brakes...yet he manages to keep control at all of the crucial moments and never gives you more peeks into what is really happening than you absolutely MUST have, and yet you still have a grasp of what is going on, without knowing what is going to happen next. Is someone going to die in his books?Yes...PLENTY of bodies stack up over the course of the typical Ludlum novel, but that really isn't what drives the story...it's the amazing creativity in which the story unfolds and the complexity in which the circumstances seem to rope you in to the point where if you don't continue to keep reading, you just may find yourself lost because of just how sophisticated he writes his thrillers. Many have called Ludlum the Master of the Superthriller, and I echo that in a HUGE way. In my opinion, 'The Parsifal Mosaic' is easily one of his top 2 books, which is high praise indeed when you consider his earlier & later works.Simply put, if you have toyed with the idea of reading a Robert Ludlum novel and you have yet to check out 'Parsifal' than you are in for one incredible treat. Pick it up and get lost in one of the greatest imaginations in adventure thriller fiction of the past 40+ YEARS. Simply put, this is an absolutely amazing novel that is more fun than I can put into words...and I have to say, it is JUST as fun the 2nd time around, too. HIGHLY recommended.

One feels almost shame in enjoying the works of Robert Ludlum. The dialogue steps out of the Stone Age onto the paper (the phrases "my friend" and "spell it out" are used overgenerously), the melodrama is suffocating (ditto the words "madness" and "insanity", always in italics and always followed with an exclamation point), and the characters are photocopies of each other from book to book. Meanwhile, the good-guy spy is over-romanticized, the stuff of a fourteen year-old girl's wildest fantasies. The problem is, Ludlum is so darned fun to read. And, as his novels go, The Parsifal Mosaic is among the best. This might be directly related to the sky-high body count, but it's Ludlum: get used to it. I felt almost guilty the first time I acknowledged to myself that the bloodbath trick--someone getting killed every four pages or so--never gets old. No one said this guy was Tolstoy. He's not even John LeCarre or Frederick Forsyth. But nor are they Robert Ludlum. If you want pragmatism, realism, and a spy hero who gets his hands dirty, eats corn flakes, and drives a Taurus, then read LeCarre (the master of characterization) or Forsyth (the master of the political thriller). But none of their work gives you quite the same thrill as sitting down with Robert Ludlum......while he blows away five hundred people with machine guns.

This book represents Ludlum at his best, bar none!!! My only problem with this book is the dialogue which strikes me as unrealistic. I found myself repeatedly thinking that people do not speak to each other as the characters do in this novel. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the plot development and, well, just about everything else. In fact, I have read this book at least ten times. For my money, I would strongly recommend this novel and the following: The Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, Scarlatti Inheritance, Aquitaine Progression, Matarese Circle, The Holcroft Covenant and The Gemini Contenders. Please, PLEASE, avoid the following: The Matarese Countdown, The Road to Omaha, The Scorpio Illusion and The Bourne Ultimatum.

Firstoff, I am a huge Ludlum fan. I was one of the first people to write a review of his latest novel "The Matarese Countdown" which I really enjoyed. Sadly though many people did not agree with my assessment and I even received email inquiring about my mental state! While I certainly believe that people are entitled to their opinions it really bothers me when people talk about giving up on an author just because they haven't enjoyed their latest effort(s). By doing that they seemingly have forgotten why they chose to read that same author in the first place. To anyone who read "Matarese Countdown" or "Apocalypse Watch" and then couldn't bear to read anymore I beg you to reconsider and before giving up on of the best authors of escapist thillers take a chance with this book or one of his other earlier works (Aquitaine Progression, Chancellor Manuscript, or the Bourne Trilogy). Years ago, when I had discovered Ludlum and was in the process of reading all his books I earmarked this one for the grand finale, hoping to close out the collection with a BANG! I was not let down one bit! In fact I was astonished by how great it was!! From the opening scene on the Costa Brava to the climax in the woods of Pennsylvania this book is filled with vivid characterizations, exotic locales, and shocking twists of fate which helped to earn Ludlum his reputation as the "Unsurpassed Master of the Superthriller"! It's probably true that no one will ever mistake Ludlum's work for "literature", if that's what you look for in espionage novels try Johm LeCarre or Frederick Forsyth(Both of whom I also throughly enjoy!) but if you are looking for action and escape a la Clive Cussler, David Morrell, or the lesser known but equally as exciting David Hagberg and Jon Land then by all means stick with Robert Ludlum!! The way I look at it Ludlum is like a superstar athelete in the twilight of his career...He may not be able to do everything he used to in his prime, but he is still capable of providing some highlights and I'm still willing to pay to see(read) him!! END