The Assassini

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Story!
Review: This book has several mysteries spinning in it.One scenario
has the pope dying and several church members plotting to take his place.Another mystery has the question of a woman doing her
own investigation concerning a suicide during World War II.There
is also a prominant businessman whose sister,a nun is murdered.
The businessman starts his own investigation and discovers a
secret society that kills enemies of the church.He eventually
encounters another woman who is checking out the same situation
in the church.The investigation leads him all over the world
in search for answers.This is a very interesting book that will
keep you reading.Buy it.

Rating:
Summary: First rate
Review: Do you want a book that hooks you from the start?
Do you want a book you cannot put down?
Do you want a book that satisfies & leaves you wanting more?
This it it. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Assassini
Review: Fantastic! The storyline opens your eyes to the possible verses the probable. Well written and researched. Makes me wish I had done the research along side the author! This work made such an impression on me that I have suggested it to several folks over the past decade. Gifford's 'Assassini' was lent to me over ten years ago and it had such an impact, that I am here looking up a copy for my own.

Rating:
Summary: A one-volume argument for renewing the Inquisition
Review: I beg to differ with the other reviewers. This is a miserable piece of anti-Catholic claptrap. The book is endless and tiresome and has more false endings than I can count. Simutaneously contrived and stereotyped. Several time the characters stopped to confess that they did not know what was happening or whether they should continue with their pursuits. I had to agree with them -- I wish they'd just given up. The only reason I finished it was so that I could tell the person who lent it to me that it really was a waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: Misleading - in many ways
Review: I picked up this book having heard a lot about the Da Vinci Code and because I saw "The Da Vinci Code" referrenced on the cover and spine of this novel. Okay, I admit I should have read the quote properly and realised I wasn't buying a book by the same author but who would want to sell a book so slyly?!
Anyway, on to the book; what a potentially great story and how tedious it became to read it! The editor should have hacked about another 100 - 200 pages off the length of this book and it would only have benefitted! I agree with the reviewer above/below's annoyance about the amount of false endings. It became a real test of will to get the book finished.
And on a personal note: Mr. Gifford - it seemed you spent a long time researching everything in this book except for Ireland as a place and as a religious country, and this causes me offence. We are not the land of the bloody leprechauns, we do not say things like "Faith and begorrah", if your character, who noticed and described everything, was going to come to Ireland; a better description comes to mind than the one that describes the remote mess of weather with a road that goes to Dublin (where the airport is) from Donegal. Neither, in 1982 especially - considering the still popular at the time IRA's activities would you ever have got through the airport with a gun! How about other details? Like your character found it awkward driving on the left hand side of the road? In a manual instead of automatic car? etc... I was in Arizona a few years ago and someone asked me in all honesty did we have Pepsi in Ireland!!!! I reckon your book has just helped foster that lazy attitude towards international relations amongst thousands more of your readers.
But I digress. The Catholic guilt in the book was well written. There was a suitably chlaustraphobic atmosphere which the author did well to maintain - but which caused a lot of repitition (were there 2 parts where something was explained to a character only for them to find it out again in total surprise a few chapters later? Forgive me if that's not so but I got lost in a lot of the repitition).
I have always found that whenever I lend a favourite book to a girlfriend, the relationship turns sour and she departs with my much favoured book..such is my superstition in life at this point. I will be lending this book to any future girlfriends!

Rating:
Summary: Started off good, but kind of fizzled...
Review: I was pleasantly surprised when I started listening to this book. Quite frankly, the story was better than I had expected. There was good action, the hint of romance (that never came to fruition -- which was okay), and suspense. However, after awhile, the story seemed to get bogged down in historical details and lost some of its momentum. By the time I reached the ending, which by the way was pretty good, I'd lost some of my interest in the book. But overall, I'd say the book was a cut above average, but it could have been better. (Abridged audiobook version)

Rating:
Summary: Extremely long-winded, tedious and boring, with lousy hero
Review: If you are looking for a "unputdownable" book, this is not it. I found this book to be extremely, extremely long-winded, tedious and boring. I only finished it as I did not want to waste my money. 700 odd pages is far too long. I also found it difficult to sympathise with such a bitter-natured protagonist. The more I read, the more I wanted to slap the "hero" for being so self-righteous. This book is only for people who have a lot of patience and if you are looking for a fast-paced Da Vinci Code type thriller, please look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: The best vatican thriller I ever read!!!!
Review: It is a masterpiece! A great story in the fascinating world of the Vatican. Full of history and politics. Suspenseful and very sophisticated. And contraversial!
In times where the pope is about to die Assassini is even a more interesting book.

Rating:
Summary: An intriguing and believable Vatican mystery
Review: That Thomas Gifford was met by stiff opposition during his nine years of impeccable research for this work of art speaks volumes about the internal workings of the Catholic Church. It lends credibility to this intriguing array of subplots and characters, while verifying what the rest of the world already knows: that the Church is only marginally unlike any other major multinational corporation. This is a brilliant mystery containing many interesting characters illuminated by a rich tapestry of historical events. Like any roller-coaster ride, the initial pace is slow...but this is a small price to pay for the thrill of this gem.

Rating:
Summary: Superbly plotted but based on an absurd historical pretense
Review: The mosaic of the plot is skillfully put in place. Gifford's style is very refined and certainly entertaining. However, the book is full of historical hogwash. The excesses of the Borgias have as much to do with today's Vatican policy as Henry the VIII's divorce by decaputation has to do with the family life of the contemporary English royalty. Moreover, making any references to Paris as a center of any actual resistance to the Nazis is an insault to any even semi-informed reader. After nearly a decade of research, Mr. Gifford should know that only serious casualties suffered by the Germans in Paris were those inflicted by French prostitutes. C.K. Tchorznicki