Book 5, in the Society of Orion series
Book 16, in the Colton Banyon Mystery
In a nut shell this historical fiction/ sci-Fi/ mystery furthers the race against time to find the mythical weapons that have preoccupied Banyon and his team since the beginning of the series.
We have a short wrap up of the previous adventures to set us up and slowly but neatly we find the action back to South America, the gang looking for artifacts in the Tayos Caves. Of course nothing is simple when it comes to Banyon. As we tag along in this adventure we experience the weirdest happenings so far found in this series. Totally unreal and rather ridiculous but again we came to anticipate some kind of paranormal experience right from the start, wouldn’t we be missing out in the excitement otherwise. Again the Kubicki’s imagination went wild although I did find this latest saga to be less captivating and lacked the sharpness and energy I enjoyed in the previous installments. We have some returning characters with all their skills but found them rather low keyed this time. Maybe they are running out of steam…..or this series is……or I am….
“The Tayos Caves” disappointed me and definitely was not my top favourite Colton Banyon saga …some you win and some you lose.. It is the way I see it….
Book 1 in the Mists of Palenque Series
Set in Palenque (ancient Lakam Ha) during the Maya Classic period (250-900 CE), this is the first of four story of Ancient Mayan Queens. Yohl Ik”nal is the first woman who ruled at the height of the Maya civilization.
It is evident the author’s passion with the Mayan civilization, its culture and cosmology. It must have taken Ms. Martin intense research as well as numerous queries with indigenous elders in order to write such a detailed account. The saga also revives the love of archaeologists and adventurers to uncover ancient cities in tropical jungles.
This is a hard book to follow and keep focus. As I was flipping the pages I saw myself in a class room with a passionate professor detailing everything to an extreme: headdress, costume, food, pathways, culture, ritual, agriculture, etc…you name it is all there vividly described in minutiae. This is actually the main reason it took for ever to move along…. This is one story that lack direction and drifts way too much. Names, dates and some passages are also in the Mayan language I guess the author wanted to provide some authenticity but it made it difficult to keep track and understand. I skipped too many of those passages and finally the story lost me.
This book may be excellent for some to gain a tad of knowledge about the extraordinary Mayan people but for those who wish mostly entertainment will find that the writing style overpowers the plot and the experience quite boring. Unfortunately I gave up mid-way….. This is one series that will please some and turn others away.
Not to say this is not a good book it simply was not for me. It is the way I see it.
In this 118 pages novella we meet John Milton, a ruthless, brilliant, lethal man sent to “clean up” when everything else failed….
This well-done plot sets off John’s career in North Korea as a crafty marksman. Even as a short story all the elements to make this a pager-turner are found: a captivating storyline, action-packed throughout, descriptive scenery at every corner, a cold blooded killer to rack up tension and many nail biting moments to keep us hooked.
Written in short chapters, “1000 Yards” throws a good punch and sets beautifully the mood for what is to come.
