Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing Premise, Disappointing Ending
Review: Despite an intriguing premise, this mystery novel was utlimately a disappointment.The early chapters on the puzzle contained within a 16th century painting make it worth reading. The descriptions of the various levels of the painting and the way in which the modern characters were drawn into it were brillaintly done. The language is often beautiful even in translation. But the book loses its way midstream. The modern mystery drags; the ending is both disappointing and unconvincing. There is also an uncomfortable degree of homophobia.
Rating: 
Summary: A Wonderful Piece
Review: I am quite pleased with this novel. It starts out with a rather intriguing question, Who took the knight? With such a lackadaisical beginning, Arturo Perez-Reverte begins a masterpiece of storytelling and intrigue. But, before I continue with wonder and awe at the ability of the author to link 500-year apart events, let me make two technical notes. First, the translator was a breath of fresh air. I am hesistant to pick up novels by foreign authors, despite wonderful reviews, simply because the translations are often so sketchy. I don't know if it is the languages (Russian and German seem especially hard to understand), or if it is merely poor translation of phrases, but translated works often leave me wanting for more. Second, I have read all of the comments about understanding chess, and I think that they are a bit silly. Granted, you have to know what chess is and have an inquiring mind to care about the retroanalysis sections (which were fascinating, by the way), but you should have that kind of attitude toward learning anything new in a book, be it art history, archaeology, numismatics, or whatever the case may be. Just because it is chess doesn't mean that it is hard to understand. Anyway, the technical parts aside, there was only one part of the book that I could have done without: The "flashbacks" (if such a term is accurate for memories that don't belong to any of the main characters) are interesting enough and are fun, but how real can they be? The Renaissance was a completely different time, and, like any different culture, is likely completely not understandable by us today. But for that, I enjoyed the entire book, even the ending that is losing stars on other reviews. I believe that most of the people who criticize it don't understand it, but if you read carefully the comments of all of the characters (in the whole book; you can't start slacking toward the end), you will understand why the antagonist did what he/she did. Enjoy this book. Buy it, rent it, I don't care, but enjoy it and think about all that it represents. Then, pass it along and discuss it with others. It is a treasure, far greater than the piece of art which it spends so much time discussing.
Harkius
Rating: 
Summary: Checkmate
Review: A wonderful mystery for chess lovers and art historian buffs (though knowledge of neither is required to fully enjoy this book). I had a few problems with the ending, but overall I found the characters to be engaging, the story to be fascinating, and the writing to be compelling. He's one of my favorite contemporary authors. Ah...I love writers with brains who write for readers with brains.
Rating: 
Summary: Finger Painting
Review: This novel starts off with a promising premise: a fifteenth-century Flemish painting conceals clues about a centuries-old murder. The protagonist, a beautiful, chain-smoking art restorer, is determined to solve the puzzle. Soon she herself becomes the target of a murder plot that appears to mimic the chess game depicted in the painting. An interesting lesson in art collecting and chess? Well, not really. The fifteenth-century murder was what hooked me at the beginning of the book, but this mystery is imprecisely resolved and summarily dismissed in favor of the modern cat-and-mouse game that embroils the heroine. If Perez-Reverte had managed to supply a cast of characters with more depth, this present day plot might have proved just as interesting as the older one. Instead, he reminds us endlessly of how beautiful our protagonist is, and how fond she is of vodka, but does little else in the way of character development. Her friends, a drably portrayed chess player and a flamboyantly gay antiques dealer, are equally one-dimensional. With each, Perez-Reverte latches onto a single trait (alternately expressive and vacant eyes and a supposedly endearing father-figure role, respectively) and repeats them ad nauseum. This is annoying, not enlightening. By the time I reached the end of the book, the flimsy solution and lack of a convincing motive were no surprise at all. This is my first experience reading Perez-Reverte. I may give him another chance, but not soon. My advice on this one? Read the first few chapters for an intriguing set-up (it's worth the two stars I'm giving it), then write your own conclusion. Chain smoking and vodka are optional.
Rating:
Summary: razor sharp plot, interesting characters
Review: After I read this book, I went on to read everything else of the author (= everything that has been translated into Danish or English:-) This one is still my favourite though.
It's about a mystery, that begins when the main character uncovers a hidden picture in the painting she is restoring. She starts looking into it, and becomes involved in a mystery/ crime story with its very own style and flavour. I like the puzzle elements in the novel, and I find the plot both original and intriguing. It's not deep and intellectual, but more of an adventurous and intersting experience to read this book. A perfect book for a holiday or a long train ride.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent, gripping mystery
Review: Julia, an art restorer by trade, is given a new painting to work on--the painting of two men playing chess and a woman reading in the background, by a 15-th C. Flemish artist. She sends to a lab, and an X-Ray of the paint layers comes back with a surprise: under the paint, there is a hidden inscription, asking the viewer "who killed the knight." Since it's a mystery and each new twist is really quite a delight, I shall say no more of the plot. Except that Julia will soon have two mysteries on her hands: who killed the knight in 1470-something, and, in her time, who killed... but that would be a major spoiler... As to the quality of the work, it is more difficult to read than an average paperback mystery, but it is also more rewarding. The book is full of curious literary and art history references; the plot is as twisted as it comes (but, surprisingly enough, it all fits together in the end); the characters are certainly memorable and well-written. In general, a very pleasurable read that won't leave you feeling empty.
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent, Good Characters, Entertaining
Review: This was my first read of any Perez-Reverte novel and I must say I enjoyed it thoroughly. In fact, I was hoping that some of the characters would continue in a series of future books. I thought all the characters were well-drawn, and the pace was good. I also liked the European flavor. The bonus for me was the chess puzzle itself, which added another dimension to the story.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but not great.
Review: This was the first Perez-Reverte book I bought. The premise of the book sounded interesting to me, and it was, for a time. The discussion of the painting and the chess was interesting, and did make the book a page turner. However, after a time it was easy for me to see where the story was going to end up and that is why I do not rate this book higher. I found it enjoyable enough to read other Perez-Reverte books, but this is my least favorite.
Rating:
Summary: Naive light-weight
Review: This book has an interesting theme at heart, however the
execution is lacking in any real unique features. Much of the
'philosophical' or 'meta-physical' depths of the characters
are simply naive renditions of themes discussed in Hofstadter. The translation perhaps was an obstacle to ennjoying the pace
of the story with a very varied style and no real attention to
detail or consistancy. The book does have the desired quality of a real page turner, though this reader was glad to turn the last page. Beter off with 'Godel, Escher, Bach'!
Rating:
Summary: Well written story, not necessarily the best translation
Review: Definietly a good read, but with some dissapointments.
First of all, I have found in more than a couple of cases that Reverte writes extremely well stories that are poorly translated. Do yourself a favor and order the book from the UK. The english translations are far better and more complete than the Americian ones. The Club Dumas was such a better story from the UK, and it wasn't bad in American. I have not tried this with other authors yet. Also, the chess in the book was only mediocre. Even if the base setup were correct, and even considering Munoz's intuitions, the moves made by him and the mystery player were quite illogical. I was really let down by that. I played the game several times and their moves were never even considered by myself or my opponents. I was suprised by the ending as the poor chess moves made me suspect someone other than the real person.
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