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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
Terrible!!!! Can I please, please, please have those hours back?
The only reason I finished this book was remembering what Stephen King said in his book, On Writing, that you can learn more about writing from bad books than good books sometimes and I wanted to be able to think about why it was so bad. And it was baaaaaaaaaaaad.
Really wish I hadn't finished it because it was gruesome, grisly, and gratuitously horrifying!
Things that went wrong:
1) Neutral to unlikable main character. Seems like an idiot. Doesn't put his family first. Has little personality. He's a generic journalist. Yawn-fest.
2) Sagging middle of the book. Got boring and had to push through.
3) Characters making leaps of logic and connection that made absolutely no sense in order to advance the plot.
4) REALLY, REALLY awful torture/murder scenes that will leave you feeling yucky. I never want to be in the POV of the person being tortured and murdered. And if I was, at least make it realistic to the amount of pain they'd be in. Trust me, you'll feel sick and sorry for having read some of these scenes.
5) Speaking of unrealistic-this author must not have kids. He is SOOOO clueless about how people with children would really act. His ex-wife would NOT be happy his very new girlfriend showed up on his doorstep and wants to spend time with their daughter. She would be angry and protective of her daughter, not become chums with her. His daughter doesn't act right. He doesn't act in a very fatherly way and doesn't seem to put his daughter first.
6) Speaking of unrealistic part 2-one of the characters isn't traumatized by the end of the book. How could this be???? Unrealistic part 3-why does the character Christine even fall for the main character? She's too smart for him and he's not very redeeming!
7) The main character NEVER does anything to save himself. In fact, by being an idiot, he endangered everyone else. He doesn't figure things out, he doesn't act like a hero. He just stumbles around stupidly putting himself into dangerous situations and always and I mean every single time, getting saved by someone else. The police, a Kurd, his girlfriend, the police again, etc. Arggghhhh! He is good at checking his email and staring at his phone.
8) Lame, lame, lame "secret" at the end which is given to us in a massive info dump. Page after page of text in quotations (who talks like that?) with the main character monologue-ing. And monologueing to the person who actually saves him. Oooo, you figured out the puzzle dude. Who cares? The action/climactic scene is over. The puzzle was stupid and the other guy had to save you.
Unless you want to analyze the ways that books go wrong, (and I think I hit most of them here already for this book) do yourself a favor and RUN away from this book.
I agree with another reviewer. Pick up a James Rollins book if you want fun action/adventure.
The only reason I finished this book was remembering what Stephen King said in his book, On Writing, that you can learn more about writing from bad books than good books sometimes and I wanted to be able to think about why it was so bad. And it was baaaaaaaaaaaad.
Really wish I hadn't finished it because it was gruesome, grisly, and gratuitously horrifying!
Things that went wrong:
1) Neutral to unlikable main character. Seems like an idiot. Doesn't put his family first. Has little personality. He's a generic journalist. Yawn-fest.
2) Sagging middle of the book. Got boring and had to push through.
3) Characters making leaps of logic and connection that made absolutely no sense in order to advance the plot.
4) REALLY, REALLY awful torture/murder scenes that will leave you feeling yucky. I never want to be in the POV of the person being tortured and murdered. And if I was, at least make it realistic to the amount of pain they'd be in. Trust me, you'll feel sick and sorry for having read some of these scenes.
5) Speaking of unrealistic-this author must not have kids. He is SOOOO clueless about how people with children would really act. His ex-wife would NOT be happy his very new girlfriend showed up on his doorstep and wants to spend time with their daughter. She would be angry and protective of her daughter, not become chums with her. His daughter doesn't act right. He doesn't act in a very fatherly way and doesn't seem to put his daughter first.
6) Speaking of unrealistic part 2-one of the characters isn't traumatized by the end of the book. How could this be???? Unrealistic part 3-why does the character Christine even fall for the main character? She's too smart for him and he's not very redeeming!
7) The main character NEVER does anything to save himself. In fact, by being an idiot, he endangered everyone else. He doesn't figure things out, he doesn't act like a hero. He just stumbles around stupidly putting himself into dangerous situations and always and I mean every single time, getting saved by someone else. The police, a Kurd, his girlfriend, the police again, etc. Arggghhhh! He is good at checking his email and staring at his phone.
8) Lame, lame, lame "secret" at the end which is given to us in a massive info dump. Page after page of text in quotations (who talks like that?) with the main character monologue-ing. And monologueing to the person who actually saves him. Oooo, you figured out the puzzle dude. Who cares? The action/climactic scene is over. The puzzle was stupid and the other guy had to save you.
Unless you want to analyze the ways that books go wrong, (and I think I hit most of them here already for this book) do yourself a favor and RUN away from this book.
I agree with another reviewer. Pick up a James Rollins book if you want fun action/adventure.
Almost exactly like a horror movie--lots of grisly scenes that are pulse-pounding, but with nothing else to hold it together. And the "Genesis Secret" itself-- it was so stupid I've forgotten it already. Couldn't repost it on Paperback Swap fast enough.
One of the worst books I've ever read. It takes a lot of talent to take an interesting premise and run it into the ground, but that's exactly what Knox does. His writing drags, his main character is unlikable and generally uninteresting, and his portrayal of his female characters is one dimensional and lacking. I usually keep all my books but I can't wait to get rid of this one.
Good mystery and well written. First half was very Indiana Jones vibes but then gets really violent and dark.
Did not like the pages long racist rants of the villain. Felt gratuitous and unnecessarily long. Also not a fan of the pages long explanation at the end or the ex-wife getting along with the new girlfriend so unbelievably easy with no questions. Minusing stars for those.
Did not like the pages long racist rants of the villain. Felt gratuitous and unnecessarily long. Also not a fan of the pages long explanation at the end or the ex-wife getting along with the new girlfriend so unbelievably easy with no questions. Minusing stars for those.
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The suspense was limited. What surprised the most was the grisly, gross, detailed descriptions of various tortures and "human sacrifices" that the author found determined to include. Not something I was expecting. I was expecting a more suspenseful, entertaining book. I read through to the finish to see how the author summed up his "Genesis Secret". The conclusion was okay but I confess to being disappointed that it didn't have a better ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping
Cardboard characters, slow moving plot, and seriously gruesome murders combine to make a pretty crappy novel.
This suspenseful book kept inching me towards the edge of my seat until I feared I would fall right off. The way Knox twined two seemingly unrelated stories together to explore a possible solution to a real life mystery was crafty and unique. Furthermore, Knox's writing style is beautiful and deliberate, each word is chosen based on it's meaning and connotation. However, I can understand why some of the reviews I read before finishing the novel thought it was less than par. Knox writes so detailed that I think some of the more graphic scenes put off many of the readers. I think this aversion further proves how wonderfully crafted this novel is.
I love historical mysteries and thrillers, especially when they relate to things that actually could have happened. I admit, the Dan Brown bug bit me and I have never been cured. I also like the historical genre when we look at the biblical past, as so much of what we know through THE GOOD BOOK is interpreted. Alas, many, like Brown, look to the New Testament, where things are much less controversial. I like those old texts where things are much vaguer. The early books that really create the foundation of some rules we use today, even though fundamentalists ruin it all with their blather. Knox examines the true beginning of it all in The Genesis Secret and asks, where DID we come from and WHY. He also seeks to have the reader challenge what they know about the ‘beginnings of life’ and whether it is all blather or has some innate truth.
Mixing biblical interpretation of the Book of Genesis with some archaeological back drop is genius, especially since this is how we'd find out about new discoveries to old tales. [I admit I am going through the television series BONES at present, so archaeological findings interest me a great deal!] The story, from this perspective is great at unearthing (pardon the pun) truths and possibilities, but doing so in such a way that the pope or televangelists will not toss curses on those who read the books. Juxtaposing the other thread of the story, a serial killer in the UK and environs, was also great, as it permits the reader to learn more about some of the truly horrific tortures cultures used to use on their peoples. The Swedes and Japanese, especially stunned me with the brutality, but I hold none of it against them nowadays.
When the two stories merge, the thrill aspect skyrockets and it only gets better as the pages go on. Knox is a great writer and has done some amazing things in this, his debut novel. I can see why it did so well and why I am interested in the second book (not a sequel) already!
KUDOS Mr. Knox. In me you have a fan!
Mixing biblical interpretation of the Book of Genesis with some archaeological back drop is genius, especially since this is how we'd find out about new discoveries to old tales. [I admit I am going through the television series BONES at present, so archaeological findings interest me a great deal!] The story, from this perspective is great at unearthing (pardon the pun) truths and possibilities, but doing so in such a way that the pope or televangelists will not toss curses on those who read the books. Juxtaposing the other thread of the story, a serial killer in the UK and environs, was also great, as it permits the reader to learn more about some of the truly horrific tortures cultures used to use on their peoples. The Swedes and Japanese, especially stunned me with the brutality, but I hold none of it against them nowadays.
When the two stories merge, the thrill aspect skyrockets and it only gets better as the pages go on. Knox is a great writer and has done some amazing things in this, his debut novel. I can see why it did so well and why I am interested in the second book (not a sequel) already!
KUDOS Mr. Knox. In me you have a fan!