Date published: August 31, 2010
ISBN: 978-0765320933
Erotica, Thriller
Hardback
Reviewed by Gina (Gina
Obtained via: Publisher
Thomas Lourds is back and this time he’s on Lucifer’s trail. Well, he didn’t exactly plan to go after Lucifer. Then again, he never planned to find the lost Atlantis by himself, or to move in or let it go.
His latest adventure begins in Istanbul, Turkey where his plan was to guest lecture for one former lady love, Olympia, Adnan. He’s barely on the ground when he meets up with what appears to be a bright young woman who is immensely interested in his writing, particularly Bedouin Pursuits. Everything is going swimmingly until the young woman learns Thomas doesn’t plan to get into a taxi with her. The sweet young woman turns into an aggressive kidnapper and in no time Thomas finds himself in the catacombs beneath the ancient city. There a group of men demand he translate a very old book. Before Thomas can complete the translation, the young woman, Cleena, realizes that neither she nor Thomas are going to escape these men and their plans alive. Rather than leave him to his own devices, Cleena helps Thomas escape. Not because she cares in particular, but she knows when money is at stake. As an arms dealer back in the states, she’s seen the best and the worst in people and these guys are among the worst.
A world away trouble is brewing in Saudi Arabia, when the king and the prince who is next in line for the throne are both assassinated. The younger brother who ascends the throne has his own political views and wastes no time implementing his plans. The vice president of the United States arrives but rather than strategizing for peace, he inflames the problems facing a country in mourning.
Back in Turkey, Lourds, now with Cleena, his friend Olympia and a mysterious brotherhood of priests, find themselves on the run from several groups, all bent on kidnapping Thomas and finding an illusive scroll.
To say I was disappointed in THE LUCIFER CODE would be an understatement. I wasn’t impressed with Charles Brokaw’s first book, THE ATLANTIS CODE but with the understanding that was a debut book, and my past experience with debut authors, I went on to book 2. They are usually pretty darn good. While the beginning is totally action packed, it was overshadowed by almost continuous references to how many women adored Thomas and how much he liked women and how much sex he was getting. Okay, so I do say above that THE LUCIFER CODE is erotica, but that wasn’t how the author billed it. I couldn’t decide if Thomas was a sexual predator, a sex addict or if someone told Mr. Brokaw that “sex sells.” So he loaded in as much sexual activity as he could and still wrote a thriller. And Thomas isn’t the only one getting some at every turn; even two of the bad guys get some regular activity. Had the sex scenes been well done it would have made for interesting reading, but they came across mainly as there so the book would have sex, a lot of sex in it.
The idea of Lucifer being out and about in today’s world was an intriguing idea to me. I did enjoy the history lessons interspersed in the story–learning without planning to. I warmed up to the Cleena character, mainly because I really liked her friend Sevki. Now, Sevki, is one character I would love to see with his own book or perhaps even a series. He’s smart, cunning and at times downright entertaining.
This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.
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