Stale Book Review #45: Scavenger

Scavenger by David Morrell

Cost: $0.75US

Page Count: 324

Fucking time capsules.  By the time I got through reading Scavenger, I had heard enough about time capsules.  The antagonist in this book was obsessed with them.  Which is nerdy, I suppose.  Anyway, let's look at the book, shall we?

Scavenger starts off strange.  Well, not really "strange".  But, it's as if we are thrown right into the middle of something without having been given much background knowledge.  Just struck me as a little strange but I guess Morrell used it as a literary device.  It's not that I didn't like it…

We start with out two main characters:  Frank and Amanda.  After the two attend a lecture about time capsules, Frank passes out and awakens to Amanda being gone.  Turns out, she's been kidnapped and thrown into a twisted scavenger hunt game and, with a small team of others, must solve the riddle in 40 hours.  The game master deftly points out that it takes the average gamer (video games, folks) about 40 hours to finish a well-done game.  (Fuck that, I can do it in 26…amateurs).

So, Amanda and her small group of partners are out in the western wilderness looking for clues, following breadcrumbs, and trying to look for the all important Crypt of Civilization.  There is infighting, adventure, exploration, and death.

Meanwhile, Frank is following his own set of breadcrumbs trying to track down Amanda and bring her to safety.  I actually thought that the Frank plot line (before it converges with Amanda's) was actually really boring.  It's blasphemy, I know.  Frank is the protagonist, right?  We always root for the protagonist, right?

Nah.  Frank's kind of a bitch.

There is a happy ending.  But, before the reuniting of the two lovers there is the reveal of who is the shadowy figure of the Game Master.  Page after page, the Game Master is always behind the scenes, pulling strings, like a sadistic puppet master.  But, when Frank "takes care of him" we see just how sad and pathetic the fucker really is.

That was cool, Morrell.  I dug that Game Master reveal.

Overall, Scavenger was pretty good. I have certainly spent more time and money on lesser books.

Check out David Morrell's site at davidmorrell.net

Stale Book Review #9 - The Venetian Betrayal

The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry

Cost: $1.95US

Page Count: 540

Hooray!  Another Steve Berry installment.  After reading his Amber Room a bit ago, I thought I would just go ahead and write the guy off forever.  However, you will be pleased to note that Mr. Berry has improved.  The Venetian Betrayal was decent.  That's a step up from that frozen dog turd, The Amber Room.  

After reading another from Steve Berry, I feel that he really needs to work on creating sympathetic characters.  This seems to be a major flaw in his books.  The storyline of The Venetian Betrayal, while far-fetched, kept me going through the book...not the characters.  So, before I dig into his cast of characters, let's tackle the plot.  Basically, this is another typical adventure book.  Deep in the mountains of central Asia, there is apparently a pool of microbes that can cure any disease, including AIDS.  Of course, the mountains are controlled by a despotic ruler and crazy bitch...  Anyway, the despot wants to rule the world or something and has a fascination with Alexander the Great.  She is hoping to locate his tomb, which has been lost for centuries. 

Then, Americans get involved, as they are wont to do.  So, there is a race to find the elephant medallions (which is a plotline that was lost on me...why do they need the fucking coins?) and to eventually find the pools of life.  I know, it seems far fetched and I am sure that I am not doing the plot justice but it kept me moving along through the book.

Cotton Malone, as a protagonist, is a piece of shit.  He's haughty, unlikeable, and arrogant.  Fuck that guy.  He sucks.  The rest of the characters...well, they just aren't relatable.  The one character I could follow and feel for was...well, no one.  Maybe I'm just being too picky.  But, the characters in The Venetian Betrayal really let me down.  

The book was ok.  It was better than some of his others, for sure.  So, I would chalk this one up as a solid B.  The story was pretty cool although it dragged to the ending ever soooooo sloooowwwly.  But, that's ok, I suppose.  

I promise, no more Steve Berry for a while.