Saturday, November 20, 2010

Amazonia

By James Rollins

After reading “The Lost Symbol”, I was craving for a good book. When I bought “Ice Hunt”, I got to know that “Amazonia” is one of the best books of James Rollins. All I would say about this book is “Wow!” It’s fast paced, exciting and undeniably qualifies for an entertaining read. The characterizations and the flow of events are quite similar to “Ice Hunt”, but the fact that there are no mind-numbing hide and seek games comes as a knight in shining armor. The characterizations are superb and there’s a brief background for almost every character, even for the non-humans!

Nathan Rand, a renowned pharmaceutical company’s employee lives in Amazon forest to collect rare plants, more so, for he feels close to his deceased parents. Carl Rand, his father was a part of an expedition group which was lost in the jungles. Just as Nathan comes in terms with his father’s death, he’s contacted by the CIA and a group of scientists to follow his dad’s expedition and find them, if they’re still alive. Nathan, reluctant at first finally agrees after learning that one scientist of his father’s group had arrived alive but had died due to cancerous tumors. The CIA’s interest is triggered by the fact that the dead scientist somehow managed to grow his arm back which he lost well before going to the expedition.

With all the protection, hope, and curiosity, Nathan starts his Amazonian adventure with his dear friend, Matt and his guru, Kuowe. Officially, Nathan is the hero of the book, but for some reason I liked Matt better than Nathan. The group is attracted by the odd symbol of the Ban-ali tribe found on the scientist’s body. Then we encounter the typical Rollins syndrome of chasing villains, mysterious animals, and unusual escapes. There is also a French villain following the team in their shadows to sneak their findings.

The forest and the lush green landscape open up before our eyes as Rollins narrates the story. The Amazon and its dangers become vivid with each and every line of the book. The group loses people as each day proceeds. A pair of black caimans or a faction of locusts or a group of crazy piranhas or a massive, blood-thirsty jaguar might be the reason. Strangely, though, the killer could also be a svelte female with a bizarre hobby.

Slowly and painfully, the group moves farther into the forest losing people with every step. With the infection from the dead soldier spreading rapidly in the country, the coercion to find the remedy tops everyone’s mind. The fortunate individuals encounter the Ban-ali to find the deadliest secret that can never even be imagined.

The book is a perfect read in my opinion. Never, at one point did I feel boring or ridiculous, except maybe during Nate’s cheery romance right under the nose of dangers. Be it the astute and calm Professor Kuowe or the scrutinizing and shrewd Private Carrera or the ebullient pet jaguar Tor-tor, the characters are a perfect mix of reality, love, fun, and life.

Must read if you are in the mood for a thriller.

The Lost Symbol

By Dan Brown

I believe Dan Brown has written some good books save for his latest one, “The Lost Symbol”. Before I get into the actual review, let me give some brief details on how I got the book. I pre-booked the book well in advance, sometime toward the end of July. On 15th September night, around 9:30 PM, when they were about to close the shop, I managed to get the book. With a lot of expectations, I started reading. Like “The Da Vinci’s Code” or the “Angels and Daemons”, the starting was so captivating that I hardly felt like keeping the book down.

The story starts with Langdon flying down to Washington D.C for a lecture only to find that there’s no lecture scheduled and he had been tricked into coming. Confusion slowly mutates into fear when he finds the lifeless severed hand of his friend and guide Peter Solomon (also a Mason). The kidnapper bargains with Langdon to help him uncover a Masonic secret in return for Solomon’s life. Desperate to save his friend’s life, Langdon falls in the game, only to earn suspicion from the hawk-like CIA Office of Security Director, Sato.

The entire novel revolves around a small pyramid shaped object that was given to Langdon by Peter and believed to embalm a mystical secret. Along with Katherine Solomon, Peter’s sister, Langdon runs from Sato to save Peter. The monstrous, beastly tattooed villain Mal’akh manages to capture Katherine and Robert and tortures them for deciphering the secret. It's then we realize that Sato’s intentions are a matter of National Security as Mal’akh is threatening to reveal a video degrading Masons.

All ends well when Mal’akh fails in his endeavor and Sato accomplishes her goal. Peter now reveals the ancient secret to Langdon. Take my word—you’d definitely get disappointed with the secret. With all the commotion and tragedy it created, this is not the secret that you wanted to know. The secret was the sole force that drove me reading even after losing interest. While the secret in itself is something for us to understand and appreciate, there’s no reason for the masons to protect and hide it.

The story and the characters were very bland and uninspiring. The language is just mediocre. The characterization should have been better. The 33rd degree Mason Peter Solomon with all his knowledge and riches is portrayed as a withered soul who’s certainly inappropriate to hold the powers. The only character that’s quite clear and interesting is Mal’akh who has recently gone through a spiritual epiphany. The locations are not vividly explained and I could feel only abstract statues and frescos rather than the places as such.

I managed to nap when there were only 50 pages left to finish the book! The story was slipping out of the track to explain the Masonic theories and rituals--often too verbose. While this may interest a specialized group curious on the Masons, it terribly fails to captivate an average reader. It’s a decent page turner, but for some reason I find the charisma missing, unlike his other books. “The Deception Point” and “The Digital Fortress” can be considered reasonable compared to this book. This might be due to the ultimate failure of the author’s perception that every reader is familiar with Washington, Masons, and Masonic temples.

A thoroughly disappointing read, after all, for the hype it created, I expected something better. Read it at your own risk.