The Quest

A Novel

De: Nelson DeMille

Narrado por: Scott Brick

From the locked archives of the Vatican to the overgrown jungles of Ethiopia, an unlikely trio begins a deadly search for the Holy Grail. Two journalists and a beautiful photographer are traveling together in a broken down Jeep while covering the 1975 Ethiopian civil war. Both men fall in love with the woman and that complicates things.

When the trio winds up lost in the jungle, in the no man's land between the fighting factions, they take cover and dig in for the night. In their hiding place, they encounter a dying man who tells them an amazing and quite unbelievable story. But for some reason - one that they grapple with for the rest of their journey - that night they believe.

The dying man is a priest who has been imprisoned for 40 years because - as he tells it - he found the Holy Grail. This night he has escaped from the prison because it was bombed during the day's fire fight. Unfortunately, the priest was hit, too, so his freedom only lasts for one short night. But it's long enough for Father Armando to describe for our journalists the location of Christ's cup from The Last Supper - and it's long enough to make them believe his story....

Thus begins their quest - a deadly adventure that pits them against the Vatican, murderous tribesmen, shadowy assassins, fanatical Coptic monks and, ultimately, against the powers of the Grail itself.

In the best Nelson DeMille tradition, The Quest takes listeners on a heart-pounding, thrilling ride, as well as to quite a few good bars in Rome. Against the backdrop of a legend that has lasted 2,000 years, and with a love affair influencing many decisions, good eventually triumphs - but at a steep price.

©2013 Nelson DeMille (P)2013 Hachette

Another winner

Story line was very good. Great characters. Especially enjoyed the unlikely hero of the story.

not his best work

This is not his best work. excessive dialogue, and vulgar sex. Surely this subject deserves better characters.

too much gratuitous sex

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I was disappointed in the gratuitous, explicit sex. I have appreciated DeMille recent books particularly enjoying John Correy. But this one hit you over the head with explicit sex rather than just the suggestion. I didn't care for it at all.

A Little To Far Fetched for Me

DeMille says in his comments at the end of the book, that this is a rewrite. He probably did make it better, but it is still a little to "sweet" for me. If I want to read about a search for the Holy Grail, I would choose to read something from a King Arthur series. The closer they get to the end, the more difficult it becomes to suspend disbelief and go with the story. I used to rate Nelson DeMille right up there with Michael Connelly and Daniel Silva. After this I'm taking him off of my wish list.

adventure , classic, and romance

it's starts off very unveiling about what the adventure what do we looking for you can't imagine what they'll get into trying to get there and the romance and the class that's given to the characters. I wish people nowadays had such class.

Slow but Enjoyable

This story was compelling but plodded along at times. The sights and scenes of Ethiopia were truly interesting, and made me take a closer look at the history of Ethiopia - indeed that was to me the most fascinating aspect of the story.

Fascinating story but far too salacious

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Don't think I could recommend this to any one under 40. Really? Raunchy sex and the Holy Grail?

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The travel and history

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

Always good

Was The Quest worth the listening time?

No

Enjoyed It

I see that The Quest is getting a lot of criticism but I enjoyed it as a typical DeMille book. The narration by Scott Brick made it feel like another sarcastic John Corey story. It kept my attention throughout.

Entertaining.

Love, romance and thriller. Very intriguing. Easy listening and very good performance. Thumbs up. Recommend.

Bummed by Rewrite

Nelson DeMille has been my favorite since I first read Charm School 20 plus years ago. His stories have explored many exciting venues and he has developed dozens of unique individual characters. However, Mr. DM admits that The Quest was rewritten under pressure from his publisher to "sex it up" in order to sell more books. In doing so, it transformed the story line from exciting, exotic, adventure; to the quest of the whining chick. It's a shame that this Master Storyteller could not stay true to himself. Not even super Scott Brick could save this tale.