Review: Good Storyline - Poor Execution
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 10, 2013
The Tombs of Eden... What can I say that hasn't been said by other reviewers?The story is a good one and it kept me interested from start to finish. The last third of the book is the best part but it was a rocky road to get there... Now for the low parts, and I apologize if I sound picky, but this just has to be said.The bad guy, Obsidian Hall (sounds like a place you'd go for a concert) is supposed to be a multi-billionaire and he has a 300 - foot ocean-going yacht yet has to charter a plaine?The 'Monterio' character sees the lizard that kills the professor but doesn't tell anyone?A ten-man archeological team can fly helicopters across Turkey but has to ride camels the last two days because the ground is too rough for the choppers to land?The Institute of Ancient Antiquities? There are very few Modern Antiquities around, apparently.The John Savage character goes into Alyssa's tent because it's scorching hot outside? Ever been in a tent on a sunny day? It's even hotter inside!Inside the Eden pyramid there are 30' long lizards. Really?I was beginning to think that if they found a restroom inside the pyramid, they'd have to figure out yet ANOTHER riddle or quiz before they could go...The bad guy Obsidian Hall, is perhaps the most ridiculous character I have ever read about... "His hair was like white cornsilk and his eyes were as blue as a Bermuda sea" yet he came across as a mixture of Truman Capote and Liberace - and not in a good way. I could almost hear him lisp!Hall's hired mercenaries  were almost comical with names like Butcher Boy, Aussie and Magnum.The most intriguing character to me was Leviticus. Of all the people portrayed, he seemed the most real yet the author barely used hkm. It would have been better had he done so.All in all the book wasn't too terrible if you can get past the cartoonish characters and the things that just didn't make much sense.I don't know, but this could easily have been this author's first attempt at a novel - it certainly read like it. If not, he should pay a bit more attention to what he writes. If the story isn't at least plausible, he'll get more reviews like this one - if I ever read another of his books.