pop culture, reviewed

So, I read my hundredth book of ‘06 this weekend and it was probably the worst one I read all year.   I do not think I can adequately express how much I hated The Book of Fate, by Brad Meltzer.  (I’m sorry to say that to my book club peeps, because it’s our book club pick for November.) 

Basically, The Book of Fate is a sloppier and less plausible rip-off of The Da Vinci Code.  (That’s right — I said LESS PLAUSIBLE than The Da Vinci Code.)  The characters are poorly developed, the plot is ridiculous and poorly explained, and the writing style is choppy and boring.  The reader is teased with a mildly intriguing Freemason conspiracy angle only to find out that it’s barely a footnote on the plot as a whole.  I was expecting a light, entertaining thriller and was sorely disappointed.  It wasn’t just bad — it was really bad.  I never sell books back, but I might have to get rid of this one.