LitPick Review
It is September of 2007, and the world is in turmoil. Major religions all agree on one thing: the end of days is fast approaching. What roles do an expert linguist, a geneticist, and a professor of archaeologist play in the heavenly drama? This question and others are answered in a flashback to the summer of 2006. Myla de Naci is searching for the first genetically modern human, an individual that she believes revolutionized the human race almost overnight. Her research leads to her to Dr. Robert Pearlmutter, whose archaeologist team is conducting a South African excavation in a mysterious cave that he believes housed the very humans Doctor de Naci has been searching for evidence of. Another researcher somehow linked to this puzzle, Dr. Gideon Law, has received several ancient stone tablets which point to a hidden message revealing information about the fast-approaching apocalypse. These three brilliant experts in their fields soon find that they, as well as some of their other colleges, are merely pawns in a larger plot, one devised by Satan himself.
Opinion:
The idea behind this novel is very nicely conceived, well-thought out, and interesting. Unfortunately, the writing doesn't back up the storyline and often hinders progress on the reader's part. Reading this book was a chore. The different time jumps and scads of characters don't mesh cohesively until about the middle of the book, making the beginning less than engrossing. Many characters were poorly developed and strangely accepting of the bizarre circumstances in which they find themselves. It was sad to see such wasted potential in a book, as some of the part could have been developed into really interesting reading. I wouldn't recommend it, but will perhaps look out for other work by the author, James Rutledge, in the future.
