Author: Kelly

The Emperor’s Tomb by Steve Berry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cassiopeia Vitt has a problem. She owes ex-pat Russian Lev Sokolov a favour, and he’s come to collect. His young son was kidnapped in China, a growing problem no one will admit exists. In her effort to find Sokolov’s son, she steals an ancient Chinese artifact – a lamp – and then she finds herself kidnapped and being waterboarded. She does the only thing she can think of: she tells her kidnappers and torturers that Cotton Malone has the artifact they so desperately want.

With that, Cotton finds himself pulled back into Cassiopeia’s orbit, and once again running from mercenaries who want him dead. Only, this time, that running takes him through Vietnam, into China, and into the hands of his Russian nemesis, Viktor Tomas.

The Emperor’s Tomb continues Steve Berry’s tradition of mixing historical fact with present-day fiction, and destroying at least one (inter)national treasure while doing so. Those not inclined towards historical detail might find aspects of the novel slow – Berry lovingly details much of China’s dynastic history, scientific legacy, and political systems – but those familiar with Berry’s work will appreciate the fact that goes into his fiction.

This is not the book to start with, if you’ve never read any of the Cotton Malone novels, and that would be my single complaint about this book. It assumes you’ve read the Malone novels, and recently – or that your memory for detail is excellent! Several times, I found myself needing to consult older novels just to remember the relationships between the characters, and it would have been nice to see that history spelled out just slightly more than it was in the book.

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The Templar Salvation by Raymond Khoury
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This sequel to The Last Templar finds us catching up with Tess Chaykin and Sean Reilly – and discovering that their happily ever after wasn’t quite so happy, or ever after.

Following the formula he established in The Last Templar, The Templar Salvation starts off with a historical prologue before bringing us to the current day, when we are dropped down mid-mission with Reilly in Vatican City. Reilly’s doing the unthinkable, and using his connections to get into the Vatican Archives, where he can then go about breaking into a forbidden section. Why? Because someone’s kidnapped Tess – and this is the only way he knows he’ll be able to see her again.

Of course, if it was that easy, the book would be over in a chapter. Instead, Reilly faces a curveball that requires him to apologize and then offer his services to the Vatican – and go on a journey that finds him once again chasing the footsteps of the Templars.

Rich with detail and history, Khoury’s sequel does something that’s too rare in sequels: shows the reader how real life can affect heroes and heroines, and what happens when the high of the adventure fades and life returns. But just as pleasantly, Tess and Sean realize these issues and work with them, even as they work together to unravel this latest mystery of the Templars.

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The Chase by Clive Cussler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The first of the Isaac Bell novels, the reader is introduced to a new era for Cussler – the end of the Wild, Wild West, when railroads brought civilization to the frontier.

The Butcher Bandit has been declared a ghost by local police across multiple states. He comes in, robs banks, shoots all witnesses, and disappears before anyone realizes he’s been there. No one knows what he looks like, no one knows how he gets in and out of town, and no one knows where he will strike next. Can Van Dorn Detective Isaac Bell, with his blend of cutting-edge science and no-nonsense practicality, stop the Butcher Bandit before the body count climbs? The outcome isn’t as clear as you might think.

While Cussler has adventure writing down to his own science, there’s something missing from this book. It’s fun and exciting, but there’s something by-the-numbers here, and that takes away from some of the ultimate enjoyment of the book. Thankfully, the problem rights itself in the sequel, and this is an excellent start to a hopefully long-lived series of books.

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The Wrecker by Clive Cussler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The second of the Isaac Bell novels, and the first where Cussler has a co-author for this series. Isaac Bell and the Van Dorn Detective Agency are back, this time chasing after someone who is deliberating sabotaging the Southern Pacific Railroad’s expansion efforts into Oregon. Yes, this book is set in 1906, in the age of railroads and when the West was still a bit wild, and it’s an ideal period for Cussler’s imaginative storytelling. There’s a lot more lawlessness to play with, and a lot more history to easily embed in the novel; there’s no need to start off with a historical figure losing some treasure, as has been standard in the Dirk Pitt/NUMA novels.

I don’t know if Scott brought the subtle differences to this book, or if Cussler just grew into Isaac Bell in this sequel, but the book is a much more enjoyable story than The Chase. Part of this comes from the genuine shock in the reveal of the Wrecker, which is compounded with an additional twist 2/3rds of the way through the novel that I simply did not see coming. Bell is more accessible and human in this novel, and while you know he’s never in any real danger, the writing is such that you still wonder how in the world he’ll survive the Wrecker.

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