Review: Promising start to a new series
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 19, 2011
I loved the author's disclaimer that "warns" the reader that there are "no serial killers, not a single dead hooker, and many, many pages in which nobody dies at all."  This book is not a "heart-pounding action" but the author writes for those who love "esoteric trivia".I can not resist an author who is so unabashedly "nerdy!"With that said, this book does put forth new ideas on our origins and claims (in a nutshell) that history was "rewritten" by warlords and those focused on battle and conquest.  Not so earth-shattering, until the author begins to challenge the Greek and Roman legends that we've all grown up with in primary school.  Quite an interesting spin, I must say.The book DOES start with a death (despite the author's disclaimer).  Sybil, an antiques dealer, is alone at her store late one night when a man in a cowboy hat comes in and asks for "the key."  During their struggle, Sybil dies.The strange part is, Sybil's younger sister, Cassie, somehow dreams of the event and watches the cowboy kill her sister.If that wasn't enough, young Cassie soon meets some of Sybil's friends who are all a part of a secret society, the Arkana, a group sworn to research and preserve the "real" history (That of the peaceful society).  Even more shocking, Cassie is "the Pythia" which apparently is an oracle of sorts, one who can touch an object and see images.  Quite useful for this secret society, you might say.All stories need "bad guys" and in this book obviously the main bad guy is Cowboy Hat.  His employer is the leader of a cult.  However, whether or not this cult is truly "evil" or not remains to be fully explained...perhaps in future series.As this is Book 1 of a series, lots of characters are left underdeveloped.  With that said, I sincerely wish and hope the author makes Cassie a much,errr, mature woman by the end of the series.  Because in this book Cassie very quickly wears on my nerves.  She's described as "Young" and "in school" which based on her whiney tone and attitude seems to be high school.  But she also can drive and I think she lives in a dorm, so she's the most immature college student ever.  She's told she is the next Pythia, and at times she uses that excuse ("But I'm the Pythia!") to wheedle her way into a conversation.  Her immaturity also makes her the unlikely "hero" in this book, so we're forced to accept her.Another poor plot device is the use of a loveable nerdy scrivener ("librarian") who explains all the theories and alternative history during his long monologs to Cassie.But despite the poor characters, the story itself is enchanting.  The ending begs for the sequel and I will be sure to read it.n.b.I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.