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mabeaver84's review against another edition
4.0
Husband and wife team Sam and Remi Fargo embark on a dangerous quest to uncover the secrets of an ancient Mayan codex.
mxsallybend's review against another edition
4.0
Fun read, great treasure, high adventure, and solid villains...but a lazy ending.
nabenn67's review against another edition
2.0
I enjoy this series for what it is (enjoyable, unrealistic fluff), but this one just felt "meh". Maybe too unrealistic? Not enough historical aspects of the Mayans? I don't know. I still look forward to continuing this series; this book was just so-so for me.
logicshot's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
skinnypenguin's review against another edition
3.0
Another Fargo adventure. This time while they go to the aid of people after an earthquake they find a valuable ancient Mayan codex. Others want the codex and will do anything to get it. They work with a professor to decode it before it is stolen. They travel all over the world, first to Guatemala where they run into problems then they go to Spain and find a copy of the ancient codex. They use photos of the copy to find sites that have not been excavated and try to preserve them before their chief rival gets to them. Eventually they go back to a town in Guatemala they had visited before and encounter drug runners helping out the main villain and threatening the town. Sam calls in help and they prevail.
Some interesting info about ancient Mayans. The story can be a bit farfetched as the Fargos have a lot of money and use it to get things done that regular people have no access to. They are dining in fine restaurants in expensive clothes one minute and the next they are in a gun battle in the jungle. The villain of course is also rich and can buy the means to escape and hire thugs to get what she wants. It is still entertaining.
Some interesting info about ancient Mayans. The story can be a bit farfetched as the Fargos have a lot of money and use it to get things done that regular people have no access to. They are dining in fine restaurants in expensive clothes one minute and the next they are in a gun battle in the jungle. The villain of course is also rich and can buy the means to escape and hire thugs to get what she wants. It is still entertaining.
brettt's review against another edition
1.0
Mystery author Thomas Perry took over the "co-author" role of Clive Cussler's Fargo adventure series in 2012. His initial outing was pretty strong, as he helped sketch a little character development into the tales of the Nick and Nora Charles-influenced archaeologists Sam and Remi Fargo. The Fargos are independently wealthy, supremely confident and even more capable than confident. In The Mayan Secrets, their decision to help stranded victims of an earthquake leads them to an incredible find -- a long-lost but incredibly well-preserved Mayan book, complete with descriptions of Mayan religions and maps showing once-great cities now buried in Central American jungles. But a vain and ruthless woman wants the Mayan book for herself and her own aggrandizement, and her connections to organized crime mean the Fargos will have to call upon some non-archaeological skill sets to make sure the discoveries the book represents are properly recorded, explored and kept in the hands of the local governments to whom they now belong. Fortunately they have just such skills, and a couple that they may have even hidden from each other.
The Fargo novels have always been lightweight, even by Cussler adventure standards, so Perry's work in The Tombs was a nice breath of substance. Unfortunately, he reverts to previous series standards with Secrets, crafting a story that isn't much more than a low-rent Republic serial full of cliffhangers and escapes strung together for not much more reason than that the Fargos can't resist poking their noses into things and they don't take failure well. The lead villain is such primarily because she wants greater fame and notoriety and believes making archaeological discoveries will be the way to get them (she apparently does not watch much television). Most thrillers require a suspension of disbelief, but a villain who is a lot more punchline than psychopathic baddie makes The Mayan Secrets some information that didn't need to be shared.
Original available here.
The Fargo novels have always been lightweight, even by Cussler adventure standards, so Perry's work in The Tombs was a nice breath of substance. Unfortunately, he reverts to previous series standards with Secrets, crafting a story that isn't much more than a low-rent Republic serial full of cliffhangers and escapes strung together for not much more reason than that the Fargos can't resist poking their noses into things and they don't take failure well. The lead villain is such primarily because she wants greater fame and notoriety and believes making archaeological discoveries will be the way to get them (she apparently does not watch much television). Most thrillers require a suspension of disbelief, but a villain who is a lot more punchline than psychopathic baddie makes The Mayan Secrets some information that didn't need to be shared.
Original available here.
sirchutney's review against another edition
3.0
Will not win a Booker Prize
The Mayan Secrets is a Fargo adventure novel, co-written with Thomas Perry. It is the fifth book of the series, but can be read as a stand-alone tale. The plot sees husband-and-wife team Sam and Remi Fargo in Mexico. They appear to lots of money and don't worry about day jobs. Not only that but they spend months away from home travelling on a whim. Anyway, while in Mexico they come upon a remarkable discovery. This is the skeleton of a man clutching an ancient sealed pot. Within the pot, a Mayan codex, larger than anyone has ever seen. The codex contains astonishing information about the Mayans, their cities, and mankind itself. The secrets are so powerful that some people would do anything to own them. This leads to:
the inevitable bad guys,
explosions,
close calls with death,
treasure hunting,
fighting,
shooting, etc.
All quite formulaic, with a sprinkling of history. The characters lack any depth. There are lots of filler details the majority of which should have been cut to speed up the plot. Do we need to know what they packed, ate, drank and other trivial matters? I got to the end, because I didn't overthink it. This is literary junk food.
The Mayan Secrets is a Fargo adventure novel, co-written with Thomas Perry. It is the fifth book of the series, but can be read as a stand-alone tale. The plot sees husband-and-wife team Sam and Remi Fargo in Mexico. They appear to lots of money and don't worry about day jobs. Not only that but they spend months away from home travelling on a whim. Anyway, while in Mexico they come upon a remarkable discovery. This is the skeleton of a man clutching an ancient sealed pot. Within the pot, a Mayan codex, larger than anyone has ever seen. The codex contains astonishing information about the Mayans, their cities, and mankind itself. The secrets are so powerful that some people would do anything to own them. This leads to:
the inevitable bad guys,
explosions,
close calls with death,
treasure hunting,
fighting,
shooting, etc.
All quite formulaic, with a sprinkling of history. The characters lack any depth. There are lots of filler details the majority of which should have been cut to speed up the plot. Do we need to know what they packed, ate, drank and other trivial matters? I got to the end, because I didn't overthink it. This is literary junk food.
madelyn's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book, but it wasn't as high adventure as the other Clive Cussler books I've read. I enjoyed the Mayan aspect of it a lot, and especially the wannabe archaeologist antagonist Sarah Allersby. Archaeological looting is infuriating to me, and a rich woman who has the power to fund digs but instead loots sites on purpose is a villain that I love to hate. I thought her ending was a bit too clean though. Just when she was starting to get her comeuppance, it ended. It would have been so much more satisfying to see her societal downfall.
The Fargoes seemed a bit too perfect. I haven't read the previous 4 Fargo Adventures, so I don't know their background at all, so I wish there was a bit more character development. Despite that, I like them a lot! They're smart and they have cool gadgets and they are sensible. But why do 2 people and a dog need such an extravagant house? When they were only at home for 3 days over the course of the entire book? Weird nit-picky thing on my part, but I'm tempted to read the previous 4 books just to figure it out.
The Fargoes seemed a bit too perfect. I haven't read the previous 4 Fargo Adventures, so I don't know their background at all, so I wish there was a bit more character development. Despite that, I like them a lot! They're smart and they have cool gadgets and they are sensible. But why do 2 people and a dog need such an extravagant house? When they were only at home for 3 days over the course of the entire book? Weird nit-picky thing on my part, but I'm tempted to read the previous 4 books just to figure it out.
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