You may recognize the author's name from the show on History "Decoded." It is a very fascinating show, I assure you. I was impressed with him while watching that show in that he appears to be a very intelligent person not given to fancy with an obsession with getting the facts and not judging based on opinion or rumor.
Indeed, this book definitely adheres to that appearance, with the exception of...his grammar and use of the English language. Don't get me wrong. He does not use words that don't belong in the context, he does not misspell words, he does not use grammar in a way that makes me think maybe he did not graduate high school. What it does do, however, is connect with the average person who doesn't read books all the time. He uses words such as "shouldn't've" and many sentence fragments, but in a way that makes it feel like you're actually reading what a person might say, not what a person should write.
The book makes a direct connectiong with many historical figures/groups that, until I read that book, would never have put into the same thought. From Cain (yes, Cain who killed his brother Abel) to the Nazi regime to the Thule leadership to the creators of the Superman comic to the KKK, this book has the perfect recipe for conspiracy theory. In fact, if I were ever tempted to start viewing the world in a "they're-out-to-get-me-why-can't-you-understand-that?!?!" sort of way, it was while I was reading this book. Meltzer does not only make it entertaining, he makes it believable. He ties everything together seamlessly.
The emotional story here is between a man and his long-lost father, and the ordeal that separated them when he was 9 years old. It's a heartbreaking tale, where you understand the anger the boy suffered that carried over into adulthood, and the life that broke the father that makes you understand some of the decisions his father made.
The book does not have a lot of anything that would render it unsuitable for teenage readers, with no sexual content save a kiss, a little violence, and the extent of profanity limited to "ass." The characters even use replacement words such as "fudge."
I found this book in a thrift store, and, having watched Decoded for some time now, had to buy it. As I was going through his list of other books, I discovered I have another one of Meltzer's books on my shelf that I have never taken the time to read. "Book of Fate." So as I write this, I have also started on that one.
My rating for this book: 3 out 5. Why not more? While I applaud Meltzer's appreciation for the average Joe, as I was reading the book I was distracted at points with an internal conflict: is he really as intelligent as he seems? In the end, I decided that he is, indeed, I highly intelligent person who needs guidance in writing novels. But, it did get my boyfriend to actually pick up the book, which is more than I can say for any other book I have thrown at him, including my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment