The Alexandria Link
by Steve Berry
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 485
Rating: 4/5
Read: April 8 – 17, 2011
Challenge: TBR Dare; TwentyEleven Challenge
Yearly Count: 19
Format: Print
First Line: George Haddad’s patience ended as he glared at the man bound to the chair.
Blurb: “You have something I want. You’re the only person on earth who knows where to find it. Go get it. You have 72 hours. If I don’t hear from you, you will be childless.” Cotton Malone’s teenage son has been kidnapped, and an anonymous e-mail from those responsible proves they will stop at nothing to get their hands on a coveted prize: the legendary lost Library of Alexandria, which vanished 1,500 years ago. Within that vast reserve of 500,000 manuscripts, one holds the key to ultimate power – a revelation so shocking it could fundamentally alter modern geopolitics. Pursued by a lethal mercenary, Malone crosses the globe in search of this vast bounty of wisdom. His quest will lead him to England and Portugal, even to the highest levels of American government – and the shattering outcome, deep in the Sinai desert, will have worldwide repercussions.
Review: The last 200 pages of this book made the first 300 pages that I suffered through made this book entirely worth it. There were spots that were just too much for me. I am not a religious person and I found myself skipping over whole passages discussing the Bible and the Holy Land and how the Bible was fundamentally changed in translation. However, I still enjoyed this book. And honestly, I loved the conspiracy part of the book. And once the climax occurred, the book flew by for me. It was just getting to that point that was a little difficult to me. But I toughed it out because I remembered how much I enjoyed the first Cotton Malone book, The Templar Legacy, and I was just patiently waiting for the break-neck thrill ride that I know Steve Berry is capable of writing to happen. I’m glad I stuck with it, because it was honestly a great ending. I already have the third book in this series on my shelf and I hope to get to it quicker than I got to the second book after the first. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys fast-paced thrill-packed adventure!
Tales of a Book Addict 
Interesting…I haven’t read this author before but I do love a good thriller. I don’t know if I would have been able to stick with a book for that long if I wasn’t enjoying it. Glad to hear that the ending made up for it 🙂
To be completely honest, I contemplated reading the last 50 pages and giving up. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I usually don’t have that much patience with a book either, but now I definitely need a quick read to get me back into the reading mood 🙂