Review: Not as good as the other ones and at times really stupid
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 06 14, 2014
Alex Hunter is back. I definitely like it better when Alex is part of the HAWC team instead of being on the run. Well, as you might guess from the book blurb the book starts of while he is still on the run but he is quickly brought back. At the same time a treasure hunter releases what is to be the main subject of the books story.In general the book starts of fairly well. There are plenty of wtf/wow moments when then monster ravages the countryside on its way to its destination. The re-integration of Alex into the HAWC’s and the subsequent visits to the HAWC equipment lab is quite enjoyable reading as well. Borshov the Beast makes a re-appearance as well which, as usual, results in a fair amount of action and rather sadistic violence. In my opinion Borshov has outstayed his welcome in these books. It is beginning to get a bit tiresome having this jerk screwing up things for Alex all the time.So far so god. Unfortunately it kind of goes downhill the further into the book we come. The characters are as good as always, so are the action. It is the scientific aspect that irks me. I am sure a lot of people do not agree or do not care but the author tries to put a scientific spin on the monster that Alex & Co are facing and, quite frankly, I would have been happier if he had stayed with something purely mythological and supernatural. Such things simply do not have to be explained.Be warned that there are spoilers ahead!The monster can, obviously, turn people into stone, or some calcified stone like substance. Fair enough. But by looking at an electronic transmission of the monster? Sorry, that is just to far-fetched for me. I was waiting to get some scientific explanation to this but none was really delivered.Then we have the final, and not so surprising since it was pretty clear fairly early where the author was going, moments where they discover that they are really dealing with aliens. They discover a spaceship, the greatest scientific discovery since fire, and they simply decide to blow it up. What the f…? That is the kind of rubbish that you expect to find in a TV-show or a crappy SyFy horror movie.If another Alex Hunter book comes out I will probably get it because they are reasonably fun entertainment but this one was far from the best one in the series.