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A review by anaya13
The Rosetta Key by William Dietrich
adventurous
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book is right up my alley. Ethan Gage is a treasure hunter/avant garde electrician still reeling from the loss of his Egyptian love interest and on a recent mission from his allies of the hour, the British, to find a legendary magical book hidden somewhere in besieged Palestine. This is the second book in the series, which I didn’t know, and it would be helpful to read the first book before this.
Pros: the history is lively and fascinating, the settings are unique and fun, and the characters are all well done and generally likable. I really appreciate how well researched this is and love that some regions are so new and mysterious to the Europeans - it really keeps you in the time period. The scientific aspects are also very creative.
Cons: the plot is completely unbelievable, which is part of the fun but still is a bit much. Things really just fall into place. A lot of time is spent on battle scenes which I generally found tedious, but others might like it. And, despite how wonderful and rich the settings are I actually found this an incredibly slow read. It was almost a slog for me. I think this is due to the writing style. Some moments that should have been epic and exciting were described with the same energy as the sleepy waiting phase at the beginning of the book. I put the book down and imagined the scenes instead and they were much better. I have no idea if this reaction is common, but that was my experience.
I’ll try another book in the series - maybe as audiobook.
Pros: the history is lively and fascinating, the settings are unique and fun, and the characters are all well done and generally likable. I really appreciate how well researched this is and love that some regions are so new and mysterious to the Europeans - it really keeps you in the time period. The scientific aspects are also very creative.
Cons: the plot is completely unbelievable, which is part of the fun but still is a bit much. Things really just fall into place. A lot of time is spent on battle scenes which I generally found tedious, but others might like it. And, despite how wonderful and rich the settings are I actually found this an incredibly slow read. It was almost a slog for me. I think this is due to the writing style. Some moments that should have been epic and exciting were described with the same energy as the sleepy waiting phase at the beginning of the book. I put the book down and imagined the scenes instead and they were much better. I have no idea if this reaction is common, but that was my experience.
I’ll try another book in the series - maybe as audiobook.