Dan Brown: Deception Point

Dan Brown: Deception Point  - 583 oldal

értékelés, szerintem: ★★☆☆☆

When a new NASA satellite spots evidence of an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory...a victory that has profound implications for U.S. space policy and the impending presidential election. With the Oval Office in the balance, the President dispatches White House Intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton to the Milne Ice Shelf to verify the authenticity of the find. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charismatic academic Michael Tolland, Rachel uncovers the unthinkable: evidence of scientific trickery -- a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversy. 

But before Rachel can contact the President, she and Michael are attacked by a deadly team of assassins controlled by a mysterious power broker who will stop at nothing to hide the truth. Fleeing for their lives in an environment as desolate as it is lethal, their only hope for survival is to find out who is behind this masterful ploy. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all. 

In his most thrilling novel to date, bestselling author Dan Brown transports readers from the ultrasecret National Reconnaissance Office to the towering ice shelves of the Arctic Circle, and back again to the hallways of power inside the West Wing. Heralded for masterfully intermingling science, history, and politics in his critically acclaimed thriller Angels & Demons,Brown has crafted another novel in which nothing is as it seems -- and behind every corner is a stunning surprise. Deception Point is pulse-pounding fiction at its best.

"In my mind, the men and women of NASA are history's modern pioneers. They attempt te impossible, accept failure, and then go back to the drawing board while te rest of us stand back and criticize." 

"all challenges can be overcome by speaking the truth, no matter how it comes out."

"When multiple explanations exist, the simplest is usually correct."

"You did not become the most powerful man in the world without a killer instinct."

"Peace on this planet will not be forged by military strength. It will be forged by those who come together despite their cogernments' differences."

"sooner or later we've all got to let go of our past"

"There's just no substitute for the truth."

Stephen King: Outsider

Stephen King: Outsider    - 576 oldal

értékelés, szerintem: ★★★☆☆

An unspeakable crime. A confounding investigation. At a time when the King brand has never been stronger, he has delivered one of his most unsettling and compulsively readable stories.

An eleven-year-old boy’s violated corpse is found in a town park. Eyewitnesses and fingerprints point unmistakably to one of Flint City’s most popular citizens. He is Terry Maitland, Little League coach, English teacher, husband, and father of two girls. Detective Ralph Anderson, whose son Maitland once coached, orders a quick and very public arrest. Maitland has an alibi, but Anderson and the district attorney soon add DNA evidence to go with the fingerprints and witnesses. Their case seems ironclad.

As the investigation expands and horrifying answers begin to emerge, King’s propulsive story kicks into high gear, generating strong tension and almost unbearable suspense. Terry Maitland seems like a nice guy, but is he wearing another face? When the answer comes, it will shock you as only Stephen King can

"Reality is thin ice, but most people skate on it their whole lives and never fall through until the very end."

"I believe there’s another dozen thoughts lined up behind each one I’m aware of."

"People are blind to explanations that lie outside their perception of reality."

"Dreams are the way we touch the unseen world"

"If you can’t let go of the past, the mistakes you’ve made will eat you alive."

Ken Follett: A Column of Fire

A Kingsbridge trilógia harmadik része,   

Ken Follett: A Column of Fire  - 885 oldal.

értékelés, szerintem:  ★★★★☆


Kevesebb Kingsbridge, több történelem, de tetszett.

"Christmas 1558, and young Ned Willard returns home to Kingsbridge to find his world has changed. The ancient stones of Kingsbridge Cathedral look down on a city torn by religious hatred. Europe is in turmoil as high principles clash bloodily with friendship, loya lty and love, and Ned soon finds himself on the opposite side from the girl he longs to marry, Margery Fitzgerald. Then Elizabeth Tudor becomes queen and all of Europe turns against England. The shrewd, determined young monarch sets up the country's first secret service to give her early warning of assassination plots, rebellions and invasion plans. Elizabeth knows that alluring, headstrong Mary Queen of Scots lies in wait in Paris. Part of a brutally ambitious French family, Mary has been proclaimed the rightful ruler of England, with her own supporters scheming to get rid of the new queen. Over a turbulent half-century, the love between Ned and Margery seems doomed, as extremism sparks violence from Edinburgh to Geneva. With Elizabeth clinging precariously to her throne and her principles, protected by a small, dedicated group of resourceful spies and courageous secret agents, it becomes clear that the real enemies - then as now - are not the rival religions. The true battle pitches those who believe in tolerance and compromise against the tyrants who would impose their ideas on everyone else - no matter the cost."

"royal children enjoyed every good thing in life, except freedom"

"Might there come a time, when people of different faiths did not kill one another?"

"The simple idea that people should be allowed to worship as they wished caused more suffering than the ten plagues of Egypt."

"Most men treated their wives like children, the only difference being that women could work harder. Perhaps there were men somewhere who did not regard wives as property, but she had never met one." 

"In a crisis, frightened people would obey anyone who sounded as if they knew what they were doing."

"His mother urged him to keep his doubts to himself, but he could not: he was seventeen, and for him right was right and wrong was wrong."

"English people were illogical about foreigners, Ned found: they hated Turks, and they believed Jews were evil, but they regarded Africans as harmlessly exotic."

"Roger's welfare was more important than Ned's: that was what it meant to be a parent."

"there are no saints in politics, but imperfect people can make the world a better place"

"The curch was Catholic, and Ned was Protestant, but he had long believed that God cared little about such distinctions."

"A child will always be what he is, she thought, and not what you want him to be."

Ken Follett: World without end

Ken Follett: World without end       -  1256 oldal

értékelés, szerintem: ★★★★☆

World Without End takes place in the same town of Kingsbridge, two centuries after the townspeople finished building the exquisite Gothic cathedral that was at the heart of The Pillars of the Earth. The cathedral and the priory are again at the center of a web of love and hate, greed and pride, ambition and revenge, but this sequel stands on its own. This time the men and women of an extraordinary cast of characters find themselves at a crossroad of new ideas--about medicine, commerce, architecture, and justice. In a world where proponents of the old ways fiercely battle those with progressive minds, the intrigue and tension quickly reach a boiling point against the devastating backdrop of the greatest natural disaster ever to strike the human race--the Black Death.

"there's always a reason for a secret"


" 'Loreeen would be better off if she'd never married.'
   He spoke over his shoulder. 'What else would she do?'
   That was the problem, Caris thought resentfully as she entered her house. What else was a woman to do?"


" 'How could the church be wrong?'
  'Well, the Muslims have different beliefs.'
  'They're heathens!'
  'They call us infidels - it's the same thing. And Bounaventura Caroli says there are more Muslims than Christians in the world. So somebody's church is wrong.' "


"A woman's life was a house of closed doors: she could not be an apprentice, she could not study at the university, she could not be a priest or a physician, nor shoot a bow nor fight with a sword, and she could not marry without submitting herself to the tyranny of her husband."


" We're all good when it suits us, he used to say: that doesn't count. It's when you want so badly to do something wrong - when you're about to make a fortune from a dishonest deal, or kiss the lovely lips of your neighbour's wife, or tell a lie to get yourself out of terrible trouble - that's when you need the rules."

Heather Morris: The tattooist of Auschwitz

Reptéren vettem, jobb nem akadt, kár volt érte. Stílusa semmi... :-( 

Heather Morris: The tattooist of Auschwitz - 288 oldal

értékelés, szerintem: ★☆☆☆☆

The incredible story of the Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist and the woman he loved.

Lale Sokolov is well-dressed, a charmer, a ladies’ man. He is also a Jew. On the first transport from Slovakia to Auschwitz in 1942, Lale immediately stands out to his fellow prisoners. In the camp, he is looked up to, looked out for, and put to work in the privileged position of Tätowierer– the tattooist – to mark his fellow prisoners, forever. One of them is a young woman, Gita, who steals his heart at first glance.

His life given new purpose, Lale does his best through the struggle and suffering to use his position for good.

This story, full of beauty and hope, is based on years of interviews author Heather Morris conducted with real-life Holocaust survivor and Auschwitz-Birkenau tattooist Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov. It is heart-wrenching, illuminating, and unforgettable.

"If you wake up in the morning, it is a good day."

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: La rueda de la vida

Nem szoktam ilyen jellegű könyveket olvasni, de ajándékba kaptam, elolvastam, és nem bántam meg.

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: La rueda de la vida      - 368 oldal

értékelés, szerintem: ★★★★☆

La rueda de la vida puede considerarse el testamento espiritual de Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. Es un libro tan singular como lo fue la vida de la autora, una existencia dedicada al alivio del sufrimiento de los enfermos y de todos los que sufren la pérdida de un ser querido.

"EL RATÓN (infancia) Al ratón le gusta meterse por todas partes, es animado y juguetón, y va siempre por delante de los demás."
EL OSO (edad madure, primeros años) El oso es muy comodón y le encanta hibernar. Al recordar su mocedad, se ríe de las correncías del ratón.
EL BÚFALO (edad madura, últimos años) Al búfalo le gusta recorrer las praderas. Confortablemente instalado, repasa su vida y anhela desprenderse de su pesada carga para convertirse en águila.
EL ÁGUILA (años finales) EL águila le entusiasma sobrevolar el mundo desde las alturas, no a fin de contemplar con despreco a la gente, sino para animarla a que mire hacia lo alto."


"La vida es ardua. La vida es una lucha. La vida es como ir a la escuela; recibimos muchas lecciones. Cuanto más aprendemos, más díficiles se ponen las lecciones."


"Cuando se aprende la lección, el dolor desaparece."


"La única manera como podemos encontrar la paz es dejar que el pasado sea el pasado."


"La medicina tiene sus límites, realidad que no se enseña en la facultad. Otra realidad que no se enseña es que un corazón compasivo puede sanar casi todo. Unos cuantos meses en el campo me convencieron de que ser buen médico no tiene nada que ver con anatomía, cirugía ni con recetar los medicamentos correctos. El mejor servício que un médico puede prestar a un enfermo es ser una persona amable, atenta, cariñosa y sensible."


"¿Cómo sabemos los seres humanos cuándo es el momento de hacer otra cosa? ¿Cómo sabemos cuándo ponernos en marcha? Seguro que a nosotros nos ocurre igual que a las aves migratorias; hay una voz interior, si estamos dispuestos a escucharla, que nos dice con toda certeza cuándo adentrarnos en lo desconocido."


" Tal vez el principal obstáculo que nos impide comprender la muerte es que nuestro inconsciente es incapaz de aceptar que nuestra existencia deba terminar."


"Para la mente del médico la muerte significaba otra cosa : un fracaso."


"Si no tiene una buena vida, incluso en los moemntos finales, entonces no se puede tener una buena muerte."


"Todas las teorías y toda la ciencia del mundo no pueden ayudar a nadie tanto como un ser humano que no teme abrir su corazón a otro."


"Vive de tal forma que al mirar hacia atrás no lamentes haber desperdiciado la existencia.
Vive de tal forma que no lamentes las cosas que has hecho ni desees haber actuado de otra manera.
Vive con siceridad y plenamente.
Vive."


"La vida acaba cuando hemos aprendido todo lo que tenemos que aprender."

"Nada está garantizado en la vida, fuera de que todo el mundo tiene que enfrentarse a dificultades."


" llegé a la conclusión de que el nacimiento y la muerte es la más agradable de esas dos experiencias, mucho más apacible. Nuestro mundo estaba lleno de nazis, sida, cáncer y cosas de ésas."


"En el interior de cada uno de nosotros hay una capaciad inimaginable para la bondad, para dar sin buscar recompensa, para escuchar sin hacer juicios, para amar sin condiciones."


"vivir significa acercarse y dar a los demás"


"No se puede sanar al mundo sin sanarse primero a sí mismo."


"La lección más díficil de aprender es el amor incondicional."