ISBN: 978 0 7553 2422 6Publisher: Headline Book Publishing
Website: www.headline.co.uk
Copyright © 2005 David Gibbins
Author Website: www.davidgibbins.com
464 Pages, Paperback
Jack Howard is a marine archaeologist and along with a number of his friends and colleagues is lucky enough to discover the key to the location of what most people would consider a myth. Unfortunately they’re not the only ones. So the adventure begins with a race to the prize before piracy, terrorism and even nuclear warfare rob the world of a wonderful discovery.
Unfortunately the book was very hit and miss for me. For example excitement would build, the team diving in unfamiliar waters, not knowing what they were going to find and then suddenly the author would give long descriptions consisting of an awful lot of technical jargon and diving know-how, and to a non-diver like myself the whole thing became a little tedious and annoying. I just wanted to know what happened next.
Also a lot of the story line was based on happenstance, the right people being in the right place at the right time with access to the right equipment. The dénouement was predictable too, based again on a twist of fate, so was pretty much of an anti-climax.
As the author is himself a marine archaeologist of some note it seems likely that he may have been hampered by his own expertise. In my opinion an average book, the material was there but unfortunately it wasn’t used to the best advantage.
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I've never heard of this book or the author but the summary looks interesting... It's too bad you didn't like it. I can certainly understand being bored with all the diving specs and technical jargon! Too bad, it sounds like it had potential to be really good. Great review :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback! I really wanted to like this book it's such a shame. I know he's written two others so I'm going to give them a go, maybe his style has improved.
ReplyDeleteI read this book a couple of years or so ago. I really struggled with it and stopped reading it halfway through - it was that awful jargon and technical stuff that bored me rigid. Then after a few weeks I went back to it because I really wanted to know what happened. Of course it was the title that drew me in, but it wasn't what I expected or wanted.
ReplyDeleteI think you're quite right - Gibbins was hampered by his own expertise and it was too much for me.
I didn't know he'd written other books - I won't buy them but I may have a look if I see them in the library or bookshop.
Thanks for that. It's always good to know that my opinion is a shared one.
ReplyDeleteHis other two books are Crusader's Gold and The Last Gospel and both have Jack Howard as the main protagonist again. I'm just hoping he's pulled back on the diving jargon in these.