Enigma

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Summary: Brilliant Englishman who finally comes of age.
Review: Wonderful story. Great history lesson. The image I carry away is of Churchill standing on a rooftop knowing where the German bombs are to fall and not being able to say a word to protect the Enigma secret. A well written extremely good read.

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Summary: A great follow up for Harris
Review: Harris does a great job following up the predecessor, FATHERLAND. When you have a book as great as FATHERLAND, it is going to be hard to write a novel without a tremendous amount of scrutiny from readers. Tom Jerico is the most unlikely of hereos that solves the mystery without the use of superhuman intellect and powers (alla James Patterson novels). The ending did not come with a suspenseful bang, but the tone of the book did not fortell a huge climax. A great book with a realistic ending. Definitely going to be stored on the shelf to be read again someday.

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Summary: Intriguing, intreseting - I could not leave it...
Review: I think this is a most interesting subject, and Harris really covers it very well, using a well built story with great attraction power. I could not leave the book all night, until I finished it!!!

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Summary: Don't expect another FATHERLAND
Review: After all the hype about this book I was a tad disappointed. It's not bad, but definitely doesn't compare to his first book. So if you haven't read Fatherland, wait with this.

Rating:
Summary: Don't expect another FATHERLAND
Review: After all the hype about this book I was a tad disappointed. It's not bad, but definitely doesn't compare to his first book. So if you haven't read Fatherland, read that.

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Summary: The real story is fascinating, this is contrived and dull
Review: The true story of the enigma and ultra codes in WWII is fascinating, but in trying to cook up a conventional thriller out of this material Harris creates a slow and thoroughly unconvincing mess. The 'spy' elements of the story are daft and the climax almost embarrassing. If you're taken with this period, read some of the excellent and entertaining histories around.

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Summary: Well written but a bit slow
Review: This book was a nice easy read. It was very well written but rather slow in parts and the ending was rather disappointing. It didn't have the depth of characters or the exciting back drop of Fatherland, also by Harris. But all in all worth the time.

Rating:
Summary: great research, well-paced, but awful ending
Review: i thought fatherland was one of the best thrillers i've ever read and rushed to buy enigma when it came out. the premise is good, the research is thorough and the moment when the hero uncovers a very nasty secret is done superbly. sadly, it seems as though the author lost all enthusiasm at this point and allows the book to deteriorate... i was very disappointed

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Summary: A joy to read.
Review: The subject of WWII and the Nazi war secrets are enough to interest me. But when Robert Harris puts pen to paper his command of the English language sings sweet songs in my head. Too bad all writers don't have his fantastic skill.

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Summary: Enigma a bland exercise in endurance
Review: Enigma lacks the characterization and action necessary to sustain itself. Put succinctly, this is a book that "reveals all" at the end without ever having given you a reason to care along the way. Characterization comes across more like mood and brief, out-of-place revery than real motivation, and the reader is asked too frequently too slow down through the use of throwaway description and an odd focus on externalities. When an author spends three hundred pages on an investigation into the disappearance of a woman and the implications of stolen German cryptographs, and fails to tell us anything of value about the woman or those who are concerned about her, I believe that the novel has failed. The novel's weakness is in its inability to make the reader care. Harris chooses to tell the reader too many things instead of showing her; you can only be told how desperate a situation is so many times before you want to see it for yourelf. Harris doesn't give you the opportunity. Who is Claire Rommilly? Who is Tom Jericho? Who is Hester Wallace? You'll never really know, but somehow it's supposed to be important.