The Pub Discussion Board

Length: 508 pages
Date of Publication: 1999

Synopsis:

An old Incan idol becomes the focus of militaries, police agencies, and terrorist organizations.  Our hero, swept up in the series of events, has to dodge gunfire, fistfights...

and the biggest freakin' black panthers ever conceived.

Review:

This story does not need to be taken seriously.

If you continue to repeat this mantra to yourself throughout the book, you will find it easier to enjoy the story.  This book suffers from massive scientific inaccuracies.  The military personnel in the story are horribly misrepresented.  Military protocol is non-existent in this book.  The main character has an annoying habit of surviving danger through sheer dumb luck.

Having said that, I raced through this book.  Why?  Because the story is interesting.  You immediately get swept up into events as you follow William Race, a linguist who is "recruited" (shanghaied might be a better term) to join a team going to Peru to find the idol.

You follow the story through Race's eyes, as he learns what's going on, so do you.  A good portion of the story is a "flashback", as Race reads old manuscripts that talk about the idol.  It is not slow or stilted, and it is amazingly easy to follow.

I personally found the factual errors irritating, but I just kept repeating to myself, This book does not need to be taken seriously.  With that, I found that I liked the book.

Storytelling: 4 out of 5
Characters: 3 out of 5
Mechanics: 4 out of 5