Review: Exciting Adventure
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 15, 2012
When I first heard about Pohon Setan, I had the impression it was a supernatural thriller. I'm not a fan of that sub-genre, don't like demons or invisible bad guys one bit, so I passed. But I kept hearing about it, and I've read Ben Brown before, so I checked a few reviews and decided to give it a shot. I was very glad I did.The villain in this story isn't supernatural at all, nor is it demonic. The pohon setans are a unique species unknown to the outside world, yet they are every bit as dangerous as finding a saber-toothed cat in your living room. Think of King Kong, a species of one, living on a remote island in the far reaches of the ocean; now, imagine a whole tribe of scary, dangerous critters who love nothing more than to chow down on human flesh...and send a bunch of inexperienced, unsuspecting newspaper people to check the rumor that they exist--and you can imagine the rest.Well, no, you can't. That's what makes the story so exciting. You have NO IDEA what's coming, and every time you think the danger might be past...it isn't. By the time you get to the end, you are pretty much wrung out emotionally, and that is a good thing.Pohon Setan is a page-turner. Ben Brown has an easy, conversational style, combined with subtle Australian humor, that pulls you into the story from the first page; his novels aren't terribly long, but they're exciting and action-packed, and he doesn't waste a lot of words on anything that might slow the story down. He also has a knowledge of geographical areas that I've only read about.I highly recommend Pohon Setan to action junkies and those who like adventure. Five stars for the story, reduced to four because of some punctuation issues.