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The Geographer's Library
A Novel
by Jon Fasman


7.2

based on 13 reviews
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based on 15 votes
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Official Publisher Site

Drawing comparisons to The Da Vinci Code and The Rule of Four, Jon Fasman's debut novel is a literary historical thriller about a reporter who stumbles across an international smuggling ring, stolen artifacts, and a mystery dating back almost a thousand years.

Penguin Press, 384 pages
02/03/2005
$24.95

ISBN: 1594200386

Fiction
General Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Kirkus Reviews

One of the year's most literate and absorbing entertainments.

Los Angeles Times Allen Kurzweil

A cabinet of wonders written by a novelist whose surname and sensibility fit comfortably on the shelf between Umberto Eco and John Fowles. [6 Feb 2005, p.R12]

Chicago Tribune Art Winslow

We are enamored of that Bright Lights tang of youth-facing-the-Real-World-for-the-first-time, which floats from the pages of The Geographer's Library like the scent of jasmine. [24 Apr 2005, p.C2]

TLS: The Times Literary Supplement Michael Caines

Accomplished and highly entertaining, The Geographer's Library keeps the reader guessing - about how seriously it should be taken, as well as about the who, how and why of an eccentric old professor's death.

The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Margaret Cannon

There is more than enough action and plenty of arcane references for the most adoring Dan Brown fan, along with some really good writing. [5 Mar 2005]

Library Journal Barbara Hoffert

The ultimately supernatural aspect of the brotherhood didn't quite work for this reader, but otherwise this debut tells a terrific story--it's gripping, intelligent, and beautifully wrought.

Washington Post David Liss

The Geographer's Library, in other words, is not only a genuine celebration of intellectual effort, it is also jarring in all the right ways.

Booklist Brad Hooper

A generally admirable historical thriller.

Entertainment Weekly Jennifer Reese

There's a grand underlying plot, but Fasman takes far too long stitching the pieces together, never achieving the momentum that makes The Da Vinci Code such a breathless read.

PopMatters Patricia Storms

Fasman obviously knows a great deal about history, alchemy and the former Soviet Union, which are all key elements in the story, but he lacks that magical, elusive gift -- the ability to spin a seamless, gripping narrative that sustains a reader's interest over nearly 400 pages of text.

San Francisco Chronicle David Lazarus

The material is uniformly interesting, but the structure of the book keeps the story from ratcheting up to a more exciting pace. Every time things get going, we take a break for yet another history lesson.

The New Yorker

The novel is inventive and spirited but, like its protagonist, prematurely ambitious.

Publishers Weekly

Appealing more to the intellect than to the emotions, the book is slowed by the catalogue-like descriptions of precious objects that close many chapters, while the protagonist, however likable, is often too nave to be entirely credible.

The average user rating for this book is 7.2 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
This was a nice thick read. Paul Tomm is wonderfully believable, and I find the elements of mystery well-timed. I quite like the change of gears and pace with the history chapters inserted into the story. The characters are all so well drawn; it's clear Mr. Fasman has considerable experience in foreign cultures. I thoroughly enjoyed his intertwining of fact, myth, rumor, and imagination.

John G gave it a5:
A fascinating subject, but the author's lack of experience makes it less than it should be. He should have taken a few creative writing classes before embarking on such an ambitious project - or at least his publishers should have given him a decent editor and some trial readers. As it is, I read it in order to find out what it was about rather than with any sense of involvement.

anonymous gave it a9:
Lacking the cachet of the current nihilsim (so well milked by the Da Vinci Code) it's strengths rest on an inherently better story, woven into the fabric of past and present; familiar and exotic.

[Anonymous] gave it a3:
There are two kinds of pageturners: one where you just can't stop reading, and another where you start turning the pages faster and faster just to get it over with! This book is definitely category 2.

Angel D gave it a9:
Found it intriguing. The alternating yet intertwined stories and time periods was a unique approach to a novel.

carol f gave it a1:
Dull Dull Dull Dull

Carlos P gave it a3:
Obvios first attempt at HACK. You would be better off to read Umberto Eco instead.

The Geographer's Library A Novel by Jon Fasman

The Geographer's Library
A Novel
by Jon Fasman