Type of bind: Unknown Type of bind
EAN num: 9780099462989
ISBN number: 0099462982
Label: Fawcett
Manufacturer: Fawcett
Printing Date: January 01, 2004
Publishing house: Fawcett
Studio: Fawcett
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Rated by buyers -
John Case is a pseudonym for a married couple and "The eighth day" is their fourth published book. I had already read two of those books, "The Genesis code" and "The very first horseman", and found them both enjoyable, even if a little too much on the "unbelievable" side. The authors like to mix investigative fiction with new technologies (much like Michael Crichton) and add a touch of religous business as "spice" for their books.
"The eighth day" follows the same recipe. The main character is Danny Cray, a strugling artist that works for a PI company on the side. He has a beautiful girlfriend, a rich family and talent, but his greed speaks louder when exotic (and millionaire) lawyer Jude Belzer asks him to investigate who is trying to smear reclusive Zerevan Zebek's name around Europe and the US. The problem is, people say that Zebek is the Devil himself. Danny soon finds himself among murders, nanotechnology and a chaotic chase that leads him through Italy, Turkey and Switzerland.
The plot is fast-paced and the dichotomy of the characters serve the purpose of the book. But the story is far too unbelievable to my taste, and Danny Cray must be the luckiest man alive. Don't get me wrong, the book is fun and totally readable, but you have to be in the right mood. It's very similar to Case's previous books, but I liked "The Genesis code" better. I would rate it 3 and ½ stars if I could.
Rated by buyers -
I must say that I really enjoyed the ride. From the US to Italy, then from Italy to Turkey and then onto Switzerland. And I also enjoyed the characters and the pace. Story-wise it's total nonsense. And implausible. You have this guy who is a billionaire. Great. Then he has this company in the US that is burning through cash. So he is part of this ancient cabal in Turkey where if he can persuade them to elect him as the subsequent Grand Pubah he gets to dip into a lot of cash. And then reason for this, so that he can engage in the science of nano technology to create bots that will multiply exponentially in mass and then sink the planet. And that's for starters.
Suspend your disbelief. This book by Case is like having a dream that your pets are doing a sultry Argentinean tango in your living room and you are the accordion player. Not only are you swooning away drawn by the passion of the moment that you suddenly find yourself hurriedly transcribing the notes to this fantastic tango. You then wake up and find the notes to the tango on your desk with a note to release it to the world which will make the whole world fall in love. Ya-ah ! Make love not War. Remember that old slogan.
Rated by buyers -
I loved the very first two John Case novels I read ('The Genesis Code' and 'The First Horseman') but this one joins 'The Syndrome' as a disappointment.
It's not that the book isn't readable, or at times outright exciting, especially the parts in Turkey. No, the problem lies in the main character - the artist/part-time investigator. As an artist he's an outright ditz. As an investigator he's just a step below James Bond. I had no sense that he really was the same guy. How did this artist get this part time investigator's job? It just felt like a contrived fit the whole time.
In addition, the evil villain's evil plot seemed like an awful lot of work - perhaps more than it was worth. Plus, his evil plan wasn't particularly evil, more like it was misguided - and definitely not worth killing a lot of people over.
Rated by buyers 
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Danny Cray (the hero of this piece) has to be the dumbest hero to stumble off the pages of fiction, and he manages to save the world in the last 30 pages of the book.
Anyone with half a brain (Danny Cray obviously is not in this demographic) would have figured out he was being set up. It is painful to watch him move from one disaster to the subsequent - still managing to out smart the bad guys.
This starving artist continues to find people who speak English and seems to have enough money.
This is certainly not up to Mr. Case's previous efforts.
Rated by buyers 
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Never believing for one second that the main character would survive his ordeals as he is tremendously honest and youthful, I keep expecting him to perish in the subsequent chapter. The thriller begins immediately which is satisfying. The young man's experiences throughout the whole book are so thoroughly detailed that sometimes I feel like I am reading Tolkien's American version of a mini tale. The ending is not particularly my favorite. It seems as if there is a word/page limit or the storyteller is running out of gas. Parts written by the private eye and the ones prepared by the artist could easily be discerned. A lot of time and resources must have been spent on painstaking research which information is later adorned with brilliant imagination. Utterly interesting is my estimation on this collaboration. Now, I have to go find a good recipe for apple tea!
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