August Books

This month's reading -

Constantine's Codex by Paul L. Maier - Buried in the basement of Greek monastery ancient documents are found that may be long lost parts of the Bible.  The discovery raises tensions through the Christian world and it grows worse when Islamic fanatics steal the documents in an attempt to discredit Christianity.

Maier is attempting what the publisher refers to as a "theological thriller".  The problem is that it's just not particularly thrilling.  The background and history is fascinating (as it should be given that the author is a respected Ancient History scholar and educator).   But there's very little "action" in the traditional thriller sense.  Unless you find garbage dump searches particularly thrilling. I was interested to note that he has written no less than 7 children's books because that pin pointed what bothered me about the book.  The story and characters were overly simple and the overall writing struck me as being written for early teens.  In the end a good concept gets left behind.
Rating - ** Not Impressed

Map of Bones by James Rollins - The alleged bones of the Christmas story Magi have disappeared.  A secret U.S. operations team joins forces with the Vatican and the Italian police to hunt down the ancient order that has designs on world domination through the powers of the Magi.

If you love books like the "Da Vinci Code" this will work for you as well.  The action is quick and non-stop. The characters are solid and engaging.  As with the best of this genre Rollins begins with the factual (there are in fact bones alleged to belong to the Magi in a golden sarcophagus in the Cologne Cathedral and much of the technology described exists as well) and then takes off at rocket speed from there.  Twists, turns, politics, betrayal and more will carry you through to the end before you know it.  And like the best in this class it leaves you wanting more.  Which means that you'll be happy to know that the author has a whole series waiting for you.  Perfect summer reading or any time you want a real thrill ride of a read.
Rating - **** Recommended Read

Black Out by  John Lawton  - I worry when I see an artist being compared to one of the greats.  Back my radio days there was nothing worse than hearing a new band being called "The next Beatles".  It's just a death sentence.  So I worried when I saw folks comparing John Lawton to John le Carré.  Having read the book I'm not sure I'd put Lawton in that class but the argument can certainly be made he's climbing that direction.

The story takes you to London just before D-Day.  Amid the bombings bodies begin to appear.  Bodies of people not killed by the Germans.  Detective Sergeant Frederick Troy follows the clues that will lead him deep into the secret war of the O.S.S. and the many factions in that war.
Black Out is a fascinating combination of police procedural and spy thriller.  The characters have that wonderful just off center quality that has made le Carré the master that he is.  Troy is the classic flawed yet dedicated hero unwilling to let go until his sense of right has been satisfied.  Best of all Lawton keeps you on your toes to the very end.  I was positive he had wrapped it all up only to discover there was another 70 pages to go and more surprises in store.  A best of both worlds murder mystery/espionage thriller.
Rating - **** Recommended Read

If it looks like I didn't do much reading this month that's not entirely correct.  I started several books that I haven't finished yet plus I tried several books that I decided NOT to finish.  I generally will not review books that are so bad I don't want to finish them.  I can not recommend "State of Confusion" by Paul Jury.  Since I'd had kind of run of "Meh" I am currently re-reading an old favorite which I'll include in September's reading list.