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melbsreads's review
2.0
Plot summary: A special forces team is sent on a secret mission to Syria, where their leader discovers a gold medallion. Months later, all but the team leader have been killed, and the leader has been framed for their murders and is on the run. He teams up with an unwilling anthropologist, who has contacts to former MI5 operative Caedmon Aisquith. Together, the three discover that the medallion holds the secret to the location of the Holy Grail, and that the men who seek it are Nazi SS descendants who want to change history.
Thoughts: I enjoyed the first hundred or so pages much more than the rest. If it had stayed as just Finn and Kate, I might have enjoyed it more. I honestly think it would have been better without the inclusion of Caedmon. I mean, obviously he was essential to the plot, given that it was his MI5 connections that uncovered a bunch of key stuff. But he's kind of a dick, and I didn't really care what happened to him.
There's a whole lot of stuff about lay lines and using the earth's telluric energy to power time machines. I was honestly surprised that Stonehenge didn't come up somewhere. As Caedmon says at some point, "Time-travelling Nazis! It's a plot straight out of a penny dreadful!". Yes. Yes, it is. Basically, Matthew Reilly's Jack West series tells a fairly similar story. Only faster paced, and with better characters.
Thoughts: I enjoyed the first hundred or so pages much more than the rest. If it had stayed as just Finn and Kate, I might have enjoyed it more. I honestly think it would have been better without the inclusion of Caedmon. I mean, obviously he was essential to the plot, given that it was his MI5 connections that uncovered a bunch of key stuff. But he's kind of a dick, and I didn't really care what happened to him.
There's a whole lot of stuff about lay lines and using the earth's telluric energy to power time machines. I was honestly surprised that Stonehenge didn't come up somewhere. As Caedmon says at some point, "Time-travelling Nazis! It's a plot straight out of a penny dreadful!". Yes. Yes, it is. Basically, Matthew Reilly's Jack West series tells a fairly similar story. Only faster paced, and with better characters.
dishab's review
adventurous
mysterious
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? It's complicated
2.0
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