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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5
Not my usual type of book, but none of my holds at the library were available. I’ve read a Dr. Nora Kelly book before and loved it, so I decided to give another one a try, and it was very good! I didn’t like it as much as the first one, but that’s only because I’m not really one for aliens. Preston and Child are like a better Clive Cussler - very Indiana Jones-ish stories with good pacing, great characters, and not too serious or grim. I’ve put another book by them on hold and am excited to read it - it doesn’t have any aliens, either ☺️ more history and intrigue.
Not my usual type of book, but none of my holds at the library were available. I’ve read a Dr. Nora Kelly book before and loved it, so I decided to give another one a try, and it was very good! I didn’t like it as much as the first one, but that’s only because I’m not really one for aliens. Preston and Child are like a better Clive Cussler - very Indiana Jones-ish stories with good pacing, great characters, and not too serious or grim. I’ve put another book by them on hold and am excited to read it - it doesn’t have any aliens, either ☺️ more history and intrigue.
3.5 rounded up. Entertaining and fairly well written but the ending was ridiculous.
Diablo Mesa is the third novel in the Nora Kelly series and I’ve definitely gained an appreciation for her character as well as the character of Corrie Swanson. Being a die hard fan of Aloyisus Pendergast, I was skeptical about having Nora and Corrie in the lead roles. But now that we’re into the third Kelly novel, my opinion has changed for the better.
The characters in Diablo Mesa remain unchanged from the previous novels — with Nora, Skip and Corrie in the lead roles. You also have the carryovers such as Weingrau and Digby. All of which lends to a comforting familiarity. That being said, I would not recommend reading Diablo Mesa as a standalone.
The plot is well developed like the authors’ other novels. And it seems that they have changed course somewhat because they are now delving into the unknown territories of a parallel universe (in their latest Pendergast novel,) and now with Diablo Mesa, Roswell, and Area 51.
Though I wasn’t too keen on the parallel universe theme, I was intrigued with the Area 51 theme in Diablo Mesa. It is evident from reading Diablo Mesa that a lot of research was conducted into the science of UFOs, military intelligence, and forensics. As such, that research really made for some interesting topics.
Diablo Mesa will not fit with all Nora Kelly fans as some of the topics and themes did seem a bit far fetched. However, if you are reading the novel for entertainment value and as a part of the continuing series, Diablo Mesa will be a satisfying read. Four glowing stars.
I received a digital ARC from Grand Central Publishing through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
The characters in Diablo Mesa remain unchanged from the previous novels — with Nora, Skip and Corrie in the lead roles. You also have the carryovers such as Weingrau and Digby. All of which lends to a comforting familiarity. That being said, I would not recommend reading Diablo Mesa as a standalone.
The plot is well developed like the authors’ other novels. And it seems that they have changed course somewhat because they are now delving into the unknown territories of a parallel universe (in their latest Pendergast novel,) and now with Diablo Mesa, Roswell, and Area 51.
Though I wasn’t too keen on the parallel universe theme, I was intrigued with the Area 51 theme in Diablo Mesa. It is evident from reading Diablo Mesa that a lot of research was conducted into the science of UFOs, military intelligence, and forensics. As such, that research really made for some interesting topics.
Diablo Mesa will not fit with all Nora Kelly fans as some of the topics and themes did seem a bit far fetched. However, if you are reading the novel for entertainment value and as a part of the continuing series, Diablo Mesa will be a satisfying read. Four glowing stars.
I received a digital ARC from Grand Central Publishing through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.
Roswell. Aliens. Archaeology. Romance. The CIA, FBI, and other shadowy government orgs. Russia. Billionaires.
Totally ridiculous. Totally fun.
Thanks to LibroFM for the audiobook review copy.
Totally ridiculous. Totally fun.
Thanks to LibroFM for the audiobook review copy.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was severely disappointed by this book.
I generally like Preston & Child's writing styles. I think they fit well together and make for interesting reads. This one was still well-written, but the plot was just bad.
The way I would describe this one is as an "in-between episode".
For example, there's lots of shows that are set up as stand-alone episodes that vaguely build on one another.. ie CSI or Dr. Who. (This book is like a mix of those two genres, so I pick those on purpose.) What I mean is that you can watch any episode on its own and the plot makes sense and usually you're not missing anything huge, but when you watch an entire season, additional subtle plot points are thrown in. This is what Preston and Child books are usually like. Now, what I mean by "in-between episode" is that here and there there's an episode that is really just thrown in for character development or to build on a relationship; sure-- there's a plot and things happen like in all the others, but the central focus wasn't the plot so it just isn't as interesting.
That's this book.
It all just felt a little half-assed. Good writing and characters, but the plot was just dumb.
If you really, really like aliens, you might be into it.
I generally like Preston & Child's writing styles. I think they fit well together and make for interesting reads. This one was still well-written, but the plot was just bad.
The way I would describe this one is as an "in-between episode".
For example, there's lots of shows that are set up as stand-alone episodes that vaguely build on one another.. ie CSI or Dr. Who. (This book is like a mix of those two genres, so I pick those on purpose.) What I mean is that you can watch any episode on its own and the plot makes sense and usually you're not missing anything huge, but when you watch an entire season, additional subtle plot points are thrown in. This is what Preston and Child books are usually like. Now, what I mean by "in-between episode" is that here and there there's an episode that is really just thrown in for character development or to build on a relationship; sure-- there's a plot and things happen like in all the others, but the central focus wasn't the plot so it just isn't as interesting.
That's this book.
It all just felt a little half-assed. Good writing and characters, but the plot was just dumb.
If you really, really like aliens, you might be into it.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated