The Icon

by Neil Olson

Book Overview

When Matthew Spear, a young curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, meets the lovely Ana Kessler, an art dealer who has inherited an impressive group of pieces, he discovers a prize: the collection... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060748397
• ISBN13: 9780060748395
• Release Date: May 2006
• Publisher: HarperTorch
• Length: 402 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.2" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Gripping Tale

A fantastic mix of art, faith and historical fiction wrapped up in page turning cloak and dagger mystery. A fantastic novel full of twists and turns, The Icon will leave you in the end questioning its own ending.

The Icon a Literary Beacon

Neil Olson's The Icon was an exceptionally pleasant surprise for me. The story is gripping and by its elements of suspense novel is at least as engaging as some other foremost titles from the genre. The uninitiated characters, who were on normal tracks of their life's goals and career pursuits, for example Matthew trying to acquire the icon for his Byzantine exhibit in the Museum, find themselves lost in the Labyrinth similar to the one on ancient Crete. Just like other doomed Greek youths in the time of yore, neither Matthew nor Ana knows who the flesh-eating monster at the center of the web is. But unlike numerous other well-written suspense stories, this one is much more than the rigid frame would normally allow. Regardless how gripping a suspense novel is, it usually boils down to the dangerous duel between good and evil, which by the end of the story become represented by one face, one character, the protagonist's as good and the antagonist's as bad. In this story nothing is nearly as simple. The main characters three old men: Andreas, Fotis the Snake, and Muller the German are the central forces in an ongoing struggle, whose roots were seemingly wedged in the raging, bloodletting Balkan war during WWII. By the end on the story, some sixty years later while the relentless spying, preying and skirmishing go on to the bitter end it becomes clear that the men are the toys in another battle fought above human spheres. We can name them, as we will, such as, mythical deities, or Christian God the Savior fighting the devil in a precarious struggle for the souls of the believers. Although almost mythical these three men, reminding of Titans, whose neither strength nor struggle ebbs by time, are as real as any man you would meet on a journey to the Balkans and central Europe. Some of them are possessed by their faith. Some by the love of their family. Even the unbeliever Andreas will fight with cunning and ease for the icon. To him it represents the token of revenge for the deaths of so many, his brother, his villagers, his soldiers. To him it is also the object that has power over the lives of his beloved son and grandson. The object, the icon of the Holy Mother of Katarini, which is a small village in northern Greece, becomes by the end a living character representing the soul of a pure Orthodox Christian believer, in that part of the world a common figure. With compassion and without self- pity it dares to take its walk through war, destruction, fire, and death along the road that leads to final liberation. Thus, this book pictures the immense force of Christian Orthodoxy, which monumentally sways over the lives of true believers. In an era, as the author says himself, of utmost materialism and skepticism this books comes as the dew at nightfall to sunken flowers. Written by Ksenija Djordjevic

Fascinating and enjoyable thriller with historical elements.

I read this on the commuter train and nearly missed my stop a couple of time. The plot is not as fast as in some recent blockbuster thrillers, but then The Icon doesn't need to speed past all the plot holes common in many thrillers. The mystical power of the Icon is for the reader to decide. One power it does seem to have is the power to "consume" anyone who tries to take possession of it, regardless of their motivation. The only people who seem to escape the gravitational pull of the painting are those with superseding goals (or obsessions). For example, in the 1940's Andreas is only concern is keeping Greece free. He is willing to alienate himself from his family's ancestral village in pursuit of that goal. In the present day, all he cares about is the wellbeing of his family. The icon is never more than wood and paint to him. Others, who try to possess the icon, are haunted by it for the 60 years covered by the story. The romantic element seems a little rushed, but it is necessary to give Mathew Spear a choice to make between pursuing the icon or letting it go. Subtle reference to a larger background and surrounding world adds depth and color to a story, excessive technical details often breaks the flow of the narrative. I like the way the author references history and scenery in the story, without attempting to showoff the all the research that clearly went into the book. The historic aspect of the story accurately fits my knowledge (limited) of Greek history, and supports a consistent story.

Gripping and Fast-Moving

THE ICON is the type of intricate thriller that a reader has a hard time putting down, at least before the book has been completely read. The pages in this tale just fly and so, too, does the time spent with one's nose buried in this volume. Author Neil Olson has crafted an intricate story that juxtaposes the Greek countryside during the Nazi occupation and modern New York City. At the center of the plot is a Christian icon which was housed, for centuries, in the church of a tiny village that is overrun by the Germans during World War II. There are mysteries raised at the beginning of this novel that must be revealed for the ending to make sense. Who were the Greek partisans, and who among them survived the Nazis? Did the icon survive, too--or was it destroyed, or stolen? And, if the latter, who ended up owning the icon? Did the Nazis plunder it? Finally,did the icon ever have the power to actually heal the sick? All of these mysteries are set in a fast-paced, gripping story that will please fans of the genre of thrillers. Olsen's career as an author is off to an impressive start.