Saturday, July 14, 2012

Altar of Bones

Another book for the 2012 Alphabet Author Challenge. This book is written by a pseudonym author, no one has yet to confirm who the actual author is, but for now, they are known as Philip Carter.
Having read the backcover of this book, I had high hopes. It's been a long time since I've read a good mystery book (Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy is hard to live up to!). This book focuses on two main characters. Zoe who is the keeper of the Altar of Bones and Ry who is trying to find and ultimately protect the Altar. The story is woven thoughout history right up to modern day and is easy to follow. The mystery of what the Altar of Bones is exactly is kept well hidden by the author and helps keep up the suspense. Unfortunately the characters rather let the book down. Zoe is just a regular girl, a lawyer who suddenly finds out that she is the new "keeper" following the murder of her grandmother. Despite this, Zoe is rather adept at fighting her way out of tricky situations and where most folk would break a few bones, she is able to pick herself up and carry on. Ry is a similar character. Ex-government, he is the gun toting all action hero. A little too USA for my liking. Not that I don't like a good action, but sometimes a little too much gloss becomes unbelieveable. 
There are a good mixture of stories in the book, with lots of pieces to fit together, from Marilyn Monroe to the mysterious Nikolai Popov. I was disappointed that some secrets were discovered too easily and at times the suspense of the book dropped and you were left with a slight anti climax.
If you are however looking for an easy read without having to think too much and just enjoy the swashbuckling antics, then I would definitely recommend it as it was enjoyable despite its faults. The author wraps everything up nicely so there aren't any odd loose ends and you aren't left in the dark with any of the secrets which is great as a reader.

Rating: 3 out of 5
Why? While there are a lot of twists and turns in the book, I felt that the solving of the problems was just a little too easy. The characters lacked realism, especially Zoe as she was technically supposed to be the only "normal" person in the book and that for me took the edge of the whole book. She could've gotten banged up a little more!

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Harry Potter it ain't!

Now, let's be honest. If you saw this sitting on a bookshelf with a screaming "New Release!" banner overhead, would you actually bother to even pick it up? I actually don't know if I would...except for the author's name glaringly obvious at the top of the page. Perhaps this is deliberate, as to the natural eye, that's usually where we start - top to bottom.
Rather bland, gaudy colours, no picture...again perhaps these are all to demonstrate the differences between this book and the Harry Potter series, a stark contrast in JK Rowling's literary shift from childrens to adult fiction. A massive turnaroud from magic to politics (albeit in a sleepy village, somethings don't change).
I will of course be buying a copy. As a devoted HP fan, how could I not? But here's hoping it lives up to expectations, while perhaps unfairly heaped upon JK's shoulders, as her avid followers, do we really deserve anything less that awesome?