The Prodigal Daughter

"The Prodigal Daughter" is a sequel to the best selling "Kane and Abel" penned by Jeffrey Archer. Archer weaves the plot spanning three generations brilliantly in these two books. The book begins with the birth of the daughter of Abel Rosnovski. She is named as Florentyna. This is followed by a short account as to how Abel wound up in his present position. Then it goes deep into the life of his daughter Florentyna, covering her schooling and university years. The book also treads into Abel's life which is already described in detail in "Kane and Abel". However some of the events which are not fully explained in "Kane and Abel" are also discussed in detail in this book.

After finishing her education Florentyna works as an assistant in Bloomindale's under the name of Jessie Kovats to gather experience. In Bloomingdale's she meets up with Richard Kane, the son of William Kane. Florentyna and Richard fall in love with each other. After learning that there is a big feud between their fathers, they elope to San Francisco where they get married. Florentyna soon starts a chain of stores under the name Florentyna's while Richard works as a banker. Richard's mother visit them occasionally in order to maintain links with her son. While they live together, they hear the news that Richard's father has been thrown out of his bank, "The Lester's", and Florentyna's father was responsible for his ouster. After William Kane's death they come to know that it was William Kane who had helped Abel, when he was in desperate need of money. Florentyna and Richard also have two children , a son who is christened as William Abel Kane and a daughter Annabel.

Richard and Florentyna then reconcile with Abel Rosnovski and Florentyna then take over the reins of her father's hotel empire after his death. After facing a stiff resistance from a form Jake Thomas (An old rival of his father William Kane), Richard also succeeds in becoming the chairman of Lester's. After a few years, Florentyna is lured into politics by her old friend Edward Winchester and she hopes to make her childhood dream of becoming the President of the United States a reality. However she loses interest in life after an untimely demise of Richard Kane in a car crash. After some time she eventually starts to channelize her thoughts and then starts refocusing on her political career. However she is forced by circumstances to become the Vice President. But when President Pete Parkin suddenly dies of heart attack, she becomes the President. She also marries her old friend Edward Winchester who then becomes the first gentleman.

Florentyna Kane is portrayed as the President of the United States in Archer's book "Shall We Tell The President". To read the review of "Kane and Abel" click on the title. To read the reviews of other Jeffrey Archer's work, click on the author's name.

Sons Of Fortune

Sons Of Fortune is a novel written by Jeffrey Archer. As always the case with Archer novels, this one is also quite good. Archer manages to engage the attention of the reader till the very end. The subtle twists and turns makes the story interesting. As it so often happens in Archer's stories, the pivotal character(s) have a bosom friend to help him. And Archer is at his very best when the story runs into legal battles. The way Archer constructs the arguments and counter arguments is riveting.

It follows the life of two twins Nathaniel Cartwright and Fletcher Davenport who are separated on the same day of their birth. Nat grows up in his parents home and is sent up to Taft for his education where he meets up with Tom. Nat and Tom become bosom pals and continue their friendship throughout their lives. Nat also meets up with Ralph Elliott at Taft who becomes his adversary. Their rivalry continues in adulthood as well. Fletcher grows up in the house of Ruth and Davenport who have a rich family history. He is sent up to Hotchkiss for his education where he meets up with Jimmy, who becomes his best mate.

The story then pans out into their adolescene years when both Nat and Fletcher distinguish themselves in academics. Both of them even fall in love with the same girl during a school game. After finishing schooing, Nat enrolls himself at the University of Connecticut whereas Fletcher signs up at Yale. In the middle of his college years, Nat enlists himself at the army and is sent up to serve at Vietnam. He is then awarded with the Medal Of Honor for his deeds in the war. He then returns to college and meets up with Su Ling who becomes his wife. He then goes to Harvard Business School and becomes a banker. He then starts working in Wall Street. Fletcher meanwhile becomes a lawyer and joins a prestigious law firm in New York.

But after a crash in which the bank loses half a million dollars, Nat is forced to resign from his job. He then joins Tom and starts working in Tom's family bank The Rusell's. Fletcher's career path also changes when Ralph Elliot joins the same law firm in which Fletcher is working. Fletcher then resigns from the firm and takes up politics. He soon becomes the senator. Ralph Elliott also quits the law firm over a scandal and returns to Connecticut.

Fletcher then runs for the Governer from democartic party. His rival from the republican side is destined to be Ralph Elliott, when Nat suddenly jumps into the republican fray with the sole aim of defeating Elliott. Nat seems destined to win his party's nomination when Ralph Elloitt restores to dirty tricks to win his bid. When one his moves results in the death of Nat's son, he vows to take his revenge on him. On the very next day Nat is charged with the murder of Ralph Elliott. Nat enlists Fletcher's help in clearing his name. After clearing hs name, Nat helps in saving Fletcher's life by donating his blood. In the hospital both of them come to know that they are twins. Yet they both decide to face off in the upcoming election. Who will win? No one knows as the result is too close to call. Ultimately the winner is decided by the toss of a coin.

You can also sample the plot of Archer's latest book "A Prisoner Of Birth" by clicking on the title. To read about the plot of his best selling "Kane And Abel" click on the title.

Angels and Demons - A Riveting Read

Angels and Demons is a book written by Dan Brown. It is set before Da Vinci Code. The book begins with the murder of physicist Leonardo Vetra with the word "Illuminati" branded on his chest. The chief of CERN, Maxmillian Kohler, rings up Robert Langdon, a Harvard university symbiologist, and enlists his help in solving the murder mystery.

Upon reaching CERN, Robert Langdon, Vittoria Vetra (daughter of Leonardo Vetra) and Maxmillian Kohler discover that one of the canisters containing anti-matter specimen is missing. At the same time, a security camera inside the Vatican City shows the missing canister with a digital clock counting down. But the Swiss guards are unable to identify the exact location of the canister. Upon hearing this, Vittoria Vetra and Robert Langdon rush to the Vatican city.

Upon reaching there they find that the conclave for selecting the next pope is scheduled to be held that very day and the four preferiti (the favorites for the papacy), are missing. The duo then meets up Camerlengo Carlo Ventresca (the late pope's closest aide) in the pope's office where they receive a call from an unidentified person who calls himself as "Hassasin" and proceeds to tell them that the four cardinals would be sacrificed on the four altars of science. ( Each altar is a tribute for the fundamental elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water known in the ancient times.) In order to have any chance of rescuing the cardinals and find the whereabouts of the canister, Robert Langdon has to uncover the four altars within a specified time period.

Will the cardinals be saved? Will the Vatican City be prevented from destruction? The story moves at a breakneck pace and is full of twists, thrills and suspense. Dan Brown captures the imagination of the reader and manages to sustain it throughout. The time frame in which the story unfolds is just a single day.

This best selling book is currently being made into a movie with Tom Hanks donning the role of Robert Langdon and Ayelet Zurer as Vittoria Vetra. It is set to be released on May 2009. The trailer can be viewed here.

A Prisoner Of Birth

Ah! Another book review. This one is by Jeffrey Archer as well. This is his most recent work to be published. And as always its a treat for ardent Jeffrey Archer fans. ( I am one of them for sure).

This book follows the life of an English West End mechanic Daniel Arthur Cartwright, after he has been accused of murdering his childhood chum Bernie Wilson. Three witnesses of high standing turn up against in the court. They are Spencer Craig- a barrister, Lawrence Davenport-a soap star, and Toby Mortimer-an aristocrat. The only person who tells Danny's side of the story is his girlfriend Elizabeth Wilson. She is the sister of the murdered victim Bernie. Unfortunately, the jury rules against Danny and he ends up being locked up in jail for 22 years.

In jail he meets up with Nicolas Moncrieff and Albert Crann with whom he shares his cell. While serving his sentence Danny learns to read and write thanks to his cell mate Nick. Coincidentally, both Nick and Danny are lookalikes. Nick is due to be released on parole in a few months. When a prisoner mistakes Nick for Danny and murders him, Danny escapes from the prison as Nick and sets out to avenge the death of his pal Bernie.

He goes off to Scotland, from where Nick hails, gets trapped in a legal battle with his uncle Hugo Moncrieff (Nick's uncle) over the family fortune, barely escapes from being sent to prison again for violating his parole conditions, and plots revenge on his enemies.

Eventually his enemies finds out about his true identity and then he is sent back to prison. How he proves his innocence and he finds justice forms the rest of the story. Like all Archer novels, this one is full of thrills, suspense and above all very well written. Makes a good read. To read the reviews of other Jeffrey Archer titles click on the author.

Kane and Abel - Archer at his Best

Kane and Abel is one of the most well known and most appreciated novels from Jeffrey Archer. The story revolves around the life of two men born on the different sides of the world on the same day. The circumstances, life path and their upbringing of the two men are vastly different but they are destined to cross path in relentless pursuit of success.

William Lowell Kane is a son of a rich Boston banker and he gets everything a child could aspire for. He is the one born with a silver spoon. He goes to the finest schools in the US, then gets accepted at Harvard and then sets his sight on becoming the chairman of his father's bank.

Wladek Koskiewicz aka Abel Rosnovski on the other hand, is an orphan who is initially raised by a trapper in Poland. His life is full of untold hardship and suffering as he suffers in dungeons and war camps before finally setting foot in the US. After entering US, he climbs up steadily from being a waiter in a hotel to becoming the owner of one of the most successful hotel chains in the world.

Abel loses his close friend on two occasions during the course of his life, and his determination to seek revenge for one of his pal's death make him to cross path with William Kane and these two become involved in life long conflict bent on destroying each other. To make matters difficult for both, the son of William Kane and daughter of Abel Rosnovski fall in love with each other and get married.

Ulimately in their relentless quest only one of them can triumph. The major highlight of the novel is the merging of real historical events in the story. The historcal events which are featured in the novel include the invention of Henry Ford's Model T automobile, the sinking of Titanic, the first world war, the stock market crash of 1929, the second world war e.t.c.

Archer draws the attention of his readers in the very first page and sustains their attention till the very end. The novels spans three generations and is one of the best novels I've ever read. It is a must read for all Archer fans and book lovers in general. He has also written a sequel for this novel titled "The Prodigal Daughter". To read the review of the sequel "The Prodigal Daughter" click on the title. To read about other Jeffrey Archer titles click on the author.