The Omega Factor

I’m having a hard time getting into this book. I read everyone of his books and so far this one is the one I like the least. Not sure why he felt he needed to introduce a new character when his other characters are so good.

I was unsure about a Steve Berry book that didn’t include Cotton Malone, but once I started reading, I quickly learned that Nicholas Lee is an equally interesting character. The Omega Factor is every bit as intriguing and fast paced as any of Berry’s other books and the way he brings actual history into his stories is always a fascinating plus for me. The writer’s notes are great because they add a lot to my love of history and help me understand what is fact and what is fiction. Nicholas had no intentions of getting involved in the suspense and bitter conflict surrounding a missing (or not?) panel of a centuries old painting. He was merely looking to talk with an old girlfriend. But what the two of them get wrapped up in is anything but a romance; just a whole lot of intrigue that could get them both very dead – almost like a modern-day crusade. Nuns, priests, paintings and painters, ancient religious sites and modern-day towns – Berry has it all. The Kaiser’s Web was very political and appropriate for the story. While not political in the literal sense, The Omega Factor will cause you to take a close look at religion – not only what it means to you, but how others are trying to influence your thoughts and beliefs. There are just as many really horrible people hiding behind the veil of the church as there are in politics, or just about any other profession. That said, you never get lost in Berry’s books, never lose interest and are almost sad when you reach the last page. I hope we see more of Nicholas Lee, but I also want more of Cotton Malone – perhaps the two together? Now that would be quite an adventure!

Steve Berry’s “The Omega Factor” sets UNESCO investigator Nick Lee on the trail of a priceless work of religious art: a panel of the Ghent Altarpiece. Based on the prologue, which was promising, I’d hoped for an exciting tale of action and adventure. Unfortunately, what followed was so poorly written and so lacking in credibility that I was forced to quit after 60 pages. Berry’s prose is no pleasure. Convoluted, platitudinous, filled with unnecessary and redundant adjectives and adverbs, burdened by a wholesale reliance on the passive voice, and overwhelmed by modifying clauses that often make little sense, the writing struck me as tortured, painfully amateurish, or just plain sloppy. For example, consider the following passages: “The curtain of time parted in his mind. It was like nine years ago again, and that familiar connection clicked. But he forced his thoughts to the present. “We have to get out of here.” and “Another corner turned and they were now riverside, paralleling a waist-high stone wall.” and “More rounds were fired.” and “Nothing would be learned here.” and “Catharism cast a simplicity that many found appealing. Love thy neighbor and the peace that goodness and honesty brought.” and “Louis Tallard lay on his back, sprawled across an oak table, his hands and arms tied to each of the table’s four legs, his head angled downward over the side.” (Does poor Mr. Tallard have four arms and hands? Might Mr. Berry have meant to say arms and legs?) The storytelling itself is also deficient. It’s filled with digressions. Mr. Berry has a curious habit of interrupting his action scenes with lengthy descriptions of character background and motivation, and/or medieval history. I’m all for character development and history. But not in the middle of a scene that’s supposed to have readers on the edge of their seats. There are also a number of logical inconsistencies that took me out of the story and damaged its credibility. The characters are stock and are neither charming nor compelling. We’re not given a James Bond (Ian Fleming) or a Jason Bourne (Robert Ludlum) or a Gabriel Allon (Daniel Silva). Instead, we’re treated to an investigator who seems to have no special talent except the ability to carry a torch for a woman he should have gotten over years ago. And his motivations, as well as the motivations of other characters, seem not well thought out and thus lack credibility. All in all, a two-star performance—and that’s a gift.

The book was hard for me to put down. The setting was picturesque and the plot was well thought out. I liked the ne w character, Nick Lee.

This one needs to have the internet attached to follow all the historical components! Very interesting to read...cannot understand why the catholic church/pope still stands. Time to put them in their place?