Review: The Lost Throne - Chris Kuzneski

The Lost Throne - Chris Kuzneski

pages: 495

Carved into the towering cliffs of central Greece, the Metéora
monasteries are all but inaccessible. Holy Trinity is the most isolated, its sacred brotherhood the guardians of a secret that has been protected for centuries. In the dead of night, the holy retreat is attacked by an elite group of warriors carrying ancient weapons. One by one, they hurl the silent monks from the cliff-top to the rocks below ― the holy men taking their secret to their graves…. Halfway across Europe, Richard Byrd fears for his life. He has uncovered the location of a magnificent treasure. But there are those who are dedicated to protecting it, and they will stop at nothing to prevent its discovery. Hoping to save himself, Byrd contacts two colleagues, Jonathon Payne and David Jones, and begs for their help. The duo rushes to his aid and quickly find themselves caught in an adventure that will change their lives forever. -chriskuzneski.com

I found this book at the library. Now I know that the library is like bookworm heaven, and I love going there as much as the next lovable nerd, but sometimes I find it a bit hard to find good books among the thousands of books and manuscripts and biographies and great works of literature and so on. However, The Lost Throne kind of jumped out at me. The cover art was great, which helps make a book noticeable, and it sounded interesting, so there it was. Now that I've finished literally critiquing the book, on to the real review...

The Lost Throne had me engrossed in the first few pages. To start off, someone in the early 20th century, whom we don't know until we are reminded of halfway through the book, dies. Simple as that. He sounds like a big deal, but we have no clue who he is. Now fast forward to approximately modern day. We have a bloody murder scene in a monastery in Greece. While Nick Dial, head of the Interpol police, heads the investigation, we are transported to Florida where we meet Jonathon Payne and DJ Jones. They're ex-military dogs now pretty much bumming around and doing some basic military work. Suddenly, Payne gets a call. Or more like seventeen calls. Now only a person in serious trouble would do that, right?

Now, being thrown halfway around the world again, we meet Allison Taylor and Richard Byrd. Allison is on her way to meet Richard, and just as she sees him, things fall apart. So she winds up alone in Russia, terrified and helpless. What does she do? She calls a random number that Richard gave her. And who picks up? Why Jon Payne.

As you can see, having between two and three different plots throughout the book makes things confusing, but it all ties together nicely...eventually. That was one of my biggest problems, that things seemed a bit too complex and would up not making sense at times. Also, the teaser in the book makes the monks sound like the main storyline, but one soon realizes that they are important, but not the main focus. Other than that, great book.

The characters are very varied, but some of them seem to follow a similar pattern. Nick, Payne, and DJ are all the same type of seen-it-before, laid back type. Characters like Allison and Jarkko are more fun. Allison is a California girl, but she's far from the stereotype. She was working with Richard as a colleague, not some ditsy blond who can't take care of herself. Jarkko, oh what is there to say about Jarkko...he's a character, that's for sure, pun intended. He's fun, odd, and a bit cliché, but he's a very interesting side character.

Once one boils down the plot and does some digging, The Lost Throne somehow twists into the previously mentioned treasure hunt. I'm not sure how it happened, but somewhere along the line, it did. However, I'm okay with treasure hunting books, so there you have it. I'll definitely have to do some looking into Chris Kuzneski's other bestsellers, but because of the plot complexity, I'll say it wasn't my favorite book. It was good, but not really a quick read. Overall though, seeing as I haven't read a book that I didn't mostly like (no I have not read Twilight and I refuse to for that reason) I would still recommend The Lost Throne. It's a good adventure/mystery/archaeology book, and I did enjoy it.



Rating: 7.5/10



Catch you soon,

Harry

REVIEW: Angels & Demons - Dan Brown

"Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is shocked to find proof that the legendary secret society, the Illuminati--dedicated since the time of Galileo to promoting the interests of science and condemning the blind faith of Catholicism--is alive, well, and murderously active. Brilliant physicist Leonardo Vetra has been murdered, his eyes plucked out, and the society's ancient symbol branded upon his chest. His final discovery, antimatter, the most powerful and dangerous energy source known to man, has disappeared--only to be hidden somewhere beneath Vatican City on the eve of the election of a new pope. Langdon and Vittoria, Vetra's daughter and colleague, embark on a frantic hunt through the streets, churches, and catacombs of Rome, following a 400-year-old trail to the lair of the Illuminati, to prevent the incineration of civilization." --Goodreads.com

Oo-whoops. still on italics.
Much better.
Anyways, oooh I'm writing a review for a best-seller! I know this is mainly a book people associate with 'adult situations', but I think it's good for teens to, those of us who like this type of reading. Most of us have heard of Angels & Demons, but for those of us who haven't, the summary above does a pretty good job of explaining it. For those of us who were like me and saw the movie before reading the book, it is still incredible.

I read Angels & Demons about three weeks ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. When I found the book in a store I thought, 'oh I've seen the movie, I know what happens' but I bought it anyways, and I'm glad I did, because the two are very different. The book and movie have the same basic plot, but that's about where the similarity ends. One of the changes I enjoyed most was that in the book, everything wasn't as clean and well done. There was a greater feeling of unknowings in Professor Langdon and Vittoria. In the movie, they both seem like scholars of Roman and religious art in Rome, but in the book, they don't know where they're going. Even if you have seen the movie, I highly recommend the book.

For those who haven't seen the movie, you can enjoy the book even more. It's thrilling, dangerous, interesting, and it has a sense of impending doom, because we know there's a bomb ticking away somewhere in Vatican City. I'm a fan of apocalyptic literature, and this fits the bill. The book has religion, art, history, murder, and just a hint of romance. It's a very suspenseful book, and you won't want to stop reading. Robert Langdon and Vittoria Vetra have great personalities, and they don't hesitate to take action. I liked the character development and obvious work put into every aspect of the story. The book is great, and the plot twist at the end is completely shocking.

On a closing note, one could visit the places mentioned in Angels & Demons. Interestingly enough, the statues, churches, and geography of Rome and Vatican City are accurate. The Illuminati and CERN are also quite real. The Da Vinci Code is in my pile of 'to read' books, and I'm really looking forward to it.

RATING: 9.5 of 10

Best of random goodbyes,

Harry