Review: Action-Packed and Wonderfully Written
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 5, 2013
From the very first scene, Clarke creates a world of mystery, action, and suspense that grabs hold of you and drags you forward into this twisting ride of a novel. The Jonas Trust Deception is one of the first thrillers I've ever read that wasn't packed with cliches, stock characters, and hackneyed plot turns. Sure, there were a few cheesy moments, but on the whole, Clarke made the genre more appealing to me than it has ever been. He managed to pack in a wealth of cultural references and allusions that display an impressive intelligence, and he was able to construct an engaging narrative through his ability to create scenes so real you could practically touch them.More importantly, he doesn't just tell the reader things. Clarke shows the story in a beautifully crafted way. From romantic liaisons to dramatic shoot-outs, this book does more than entertain, it intoxicates. I found myself making promises to myself to only read one more chapter, but then a cliffhanger would draw me to the next page, or a mysterious intruder with unknown intentions would seduce me into reading for just a few more minutes.My only critique would be some of the inner monologue narrative, which seemed slightly forced, or taken straight out of a movie from the 1980s. Clarke is an extremely talented writer, and the story flows wonderfully, but some of the sections seemed overwritten. All in all, this is a genuinely thrilling novel, and one that you'll tear through in a matter of days, probably because you won't be able to put it down.