LUCIFER CODE by Charles Brokaw

Publisher: Forge
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.

THE ATLANTIS CODE by Charles Brokaw

Publisher: Forge
Date published: November 2009
ISBN: 978-0765354358
Action Adventure
Mass Market Paperback
Reviewed by Gina
Obtained by library


Thomas Lourds is invited to Egypt for an appearance on a television show about Atlantis. In the midst of testing his skills as a world renowned linguist a gang of thugs break in, guns blazing and steal what, on the surface, appears to be a simple bell. Thomas is intrigued. Why would these men want the simple instrument? More so, he is confronted with a language he’s never encountered. Before he can begin to sort out what he did see on the bell, another ancient instrument, a cymbal is taken from an old friend in Russia. With killers on his trail, Thomas, along with his television producer, cameraman and Russian police officer begin a trek across Europe in search of not only the missing artifacts, but also what they soon learn are three other instruments, including a flute and a drum. Dodging bullets, mad men who will stop at nothing to achieve their ends, Thomas and company are struggling to stay one step ahead. The people behind the thefts and killings aren’t your ordinary, everyday thieves and murderers. They are among the last people Thomas expects to find committing such acts. Underlying Thomas’ quest is his hope that somehow, some day he will find the missing Alexandrian library. Bit by bit he discovers that what started out as a simple linguistic exercise in deciphering the bell turns out to be the search for Atlantis. In Cadiz Spain it all comes together and at the same time, falls apart. Did the worlds of Atlantis, Alexandria and the truth about the Garden of Eden all happen in one place now buried beneath the sea?

I’m a sucker for books on or about Atlantis. It is a subject that has fascinated me since childhood. What happened to the mysterious island, to its people, to all the knowledge housed there? So when I saw Charles’ Brokaw’s THE ATLANTIS CODE I had to pick it up and dig right in. I was sadly disappointed. While the premise of the story is intriguing and the various theoretical intersects are definitely different, I felt little but frustration while reading the story. Part of that is because of the author’s writing style. He uses an inordinate amount of omniscient point of view, i.e., an unseen narrator telling us what the characters see, feel, hear, smell and do. Every time he did it, which was quite often, it pulled me right out of the story. We know Thomas is sexy because we are told, repeatedly, that women find him attractive. Promiscuous doesn’t begin to cover what we are told of Thomas’ sexual past, present and his hoped for future. I never did warm up to Leslie, the producer and while her camera man, Gary (who I liked immensely) was obviously British, I never knew for sure if Leslie was or wasn’t. Not that it mattered; she seemed more interested in getting Thomas into bed on a regular basis than actually filming her show. Despite their travels to various exciting locales, not once did she ask Gary to get it on tape. I felt for Natasha, the Russian police officer, but more often than not she came across as a caricature than a well-developed character. It’s sad because the story presented so much possibility.

There were parts where the Thomas character explains things to the others that I found fascinating because they seemed to be based in fact. In a sense there was a bit of a free education in his scenes. I wondered more than once was Thomas Lourdes the embodiment of who Mr. Brokaw wanted to be. While I didn’t find Thomas all that interesting, Gary was fascinating, intelligent and more the type of man I’d like to meet.

I did pick up book two of this series, THE LUCIFER CODE because I have seen enough first books by debut authors who fall short of the mark the first time out but who come back with a second, exciting and enjoyable read.

This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.