Customer Reviews

The Hidden Oasis

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Paul Sussman's new The Hidden Oasis delivers the high-energy fix I've learned to expect from his work. As in The Lost Army of Cambyses and The Last Secret of the Temple, Sussman's new work is extremely well written, particularly the dialogue. His characters, even the evil ones, are completely believable. My favorite character is Detective Khalifa, with the Luxor, Egypt police force, who was so prominent in Sussman's first two novels. I'm encouraged that there is a popular Muslim good guy in current writing. Sussman's books deliver just the right amount of archaeological background to avoid interference with the story flow. The maps in the front of the books, although lacking some of the important locations mentioned in the books, are very helpful and informative. The glossary of Middle Eastern terms is instructive and an added bonus. I would recommend all of Sussman's books to anyone who loves a believable, current, action-packed mystery, and especially to anyone who loves archaeology. I expect, with the deep research involved, that we will have to wait way too long for another gift from this very talented author.

I bought this book early last week as I've read both previous books by Paul and enjoyed them immensely and figured that I could not go wrong with such a strong author and I was right! I finished this book in less than a week and enjoyed his inital character & plot building as well as to details about archeology & Egypt. Half way into the book, he had his hooks set in me we were off to the races - who were the bad/good? guys/gals?, then mix them all together in with chases/break-ins/climbs/falls - all this combines for a roaring great fun book. At the end, I learned to love his main characters as well even as I knew their fears & loves. Overall, a highly recommended read!

I have read both of the other Paul Sussman books and loved them. They were five stars each. In those the reader is drawn in at the beginning and keeps the archeological lesson brief and lively. The Hidden Oasis moves slower and the history and archeological lessons are longer. The story or plot line is much drier and at time slows to a crawl. I was not drawn in until midway to three quarters way through the book. My husband also couldn't put down the first two, but lost interest in The Hidden Oasis and has elected not to finish it. I hope this is just an abnormality and his next book is as wonderful as the first two. If you haven't read any Sussman books I suggest reading his first two and skipping this one.

I'll try to review this without giving any spoilers. They would be redundant, since the writer spoiled the book badly enough by himself.

When you pick up a thriller, you have certain expectations: improbable plots, wooden dialogue, leaden characters. "The Hidden Oasis" delivers these in spades. But in exchange for these things, it is customary for authors to provide one important element: thrills. And on this count, the book fails pretty seriously. It's one of those books with a secret "surprise" villain, whose identity even a slightly dim reader can discern the moment the character appears. And the big reveal -- the mysterious phenomenon around which the whole story revolves -- is never given any explanation, credible or otherwise.

As a result, what we have here is a 600-page novel about somewhat dull people doing absurd things for reasons that are largely left unclear. It might still have been readable (I'll explain why in the next paragraph) except for the last 75 or so pages, which are gibberish. The most basic laws of nature are defied, and Sussmann doesn't bother to give a hint as to how or why.

All that said, there are some near-misses, bits and pieces that might have worked, or at least might have brightened up a less wretched book. One of the villains is pretty bad, in a good way, and his identical-twin henchmen are actually very funny. Another minor character -- so minor that he never interacts on paper with any of the others -- is described with such care that you desperately wish the book were about him. Sussmann obviously knows his Egyptology, and throws in a lot of detail -- so much, in fact, that the mind-numbing illogic of the climax becomes that much more insulting.

If you are in an airport, preparing to board an 18-hour intercontinental flight, desperate for reading material, and the little shop at the gate has nothing but Mentos and "The Hidden Oasis," buy the Mentos. You'll have more fun memorizing the ingredients than reading this novel.

I really enjoyed this book. It is fast paced and certainly a page turner. I am kind of reminded of Dan Brown, which isn't a bad thing. At least for me. This is the first book I read for this author and I will surely start reading more of his works.

The reason why I gave this book 3 stars is because although I highly recommend the book as one of the best mystery/thrillers out there, research on the book in terms of the Arabic language was poor. Most, if not all Arabic phrases and words were completely wrong. I am fluent in Arabic and I could not stop myself from laughing whenever someone in the book speaks Arabic or when I come across an Arabic term. Of course given that this book is a thriller, laughing during reading is not something you want to do. Not to mention the fact that the story line and characters lost credibility the more I came across these unfortunate mistakes.

People should really do extensive research before writing in a language that is foreign to them. The phrases and terms that were incorrect were really stupid and could have easily been avoided. It is as silly as saying ACI instead of CIA or The United America of the States instead of the United States of America. I am serious people, the mistakes are that silly. A simple phone call to any Arabic speaker,tutor,school etc... would have done the job. I am a writer myself, and before publishing anything, I make sure the content is free from mistakes and faults. And yes I have written about other cultures and languages and I seek assistance from the local school/universities and go beyond that to confirm that the information I have written is accurate.

Shame on an author who does not research content thoroughly and accurately. Of course if the problem turns out to be from the editors and not the author I will gladly update this review and give it five stars. Despite the shameful mistakes, it is one hell of a book.

Perhaps if I had read some of Paul Sussman's previous novels I might have enjoyed this one more. I really couldn't connect with the "nail-biting thriller" description ascribed to this novel.

The plot was interesting enough to entice me to begin reading "The Hidden Oasis". Four thousand years ago Egyptian priests sacrifice their lives to hide an object in a hidden oasis in the desert. Modern day rock climber Freya Hannen and academic Flin Brodie team in a quest to rediscover this hidden object. So what exactly is this mysterious object and was it so important to secret it away in an inaccessible part of the desert? Well, that is the hook that is supposed to snag the reader. Unfortunately, I could not find that hook. This supposed fast-paced novel seemed to drag a lot. Perhaps I just couldn't get into the cadence of Paul Sussman's writing style. For me it felt like I was walking through that arid desert to get to the book's climax. Not a bad book, just not one for my taste.

This is a well written work for the more than casual reader. The locations and history described will educate and entertain. At many points in the novel you can almost feel the sand in your shoes and the thirst in your throat. Although this is a work of fiction the physical and social conditions described are most likely very accurate. It is in hardback so it will travel well. Dave Hall

What a disappointment! I discovered his two previous books, "The Lost Army of Cambyses", and "The Last Secret of the Temple", by accident, and I loved them! I had waited impatiently for the "Hidden Oasis", and what a disappointment! A trite Indiana Jones imitation, using a female heroine in the hope of introducing a new and attractive character, which, in my opinion, did not work. Mr. Sussman can do better...

Just didn't care for the level of callous violence, I know it s the norm today, but, that doesn't mean I have to like it.

In Egypt, former CIA operative Alex Hannen commits suicide. Her estranged sister American mountain climber Freya arrives in Cairo for her funeral; but even before reaching Egypt, she has had a hard time picturing Alex killing herself. In Cairo, Freya quickly concludes that her sibling was murdered because the doctor who ruled suicide had no idea her sister could not have injected morphine into herself as Alex was down right phobic in her fears of needles. Though they had a schism Freya vows to get justice for her sibling.

Frey becomes friends of Alex's buddy, pre-dynasty Egyptologist Flin Brodie, who is working a dig in the western desert in search of the legendary lost for almost four millennia at theOasis at the End of the World of Zerzura. As he gets closer to the find of the century, Flin and Freya are soon in deep trouble from assassins who may be working for the government.

The third Egyptian archeological thriller (see THE LOST ARMY OF CAMBYSES and THE LAST SECRET OF THE TEMPLE) is a fast-paced action-packed thriller that keeps reader attention throughout even with some enigmatic late implausible twists. Like its two predecessors the story line has a modern day Indiana Jones like feel to it as one thing leads to another especially when Freya and Flin meet. Fans will enjoy Paul Sussman's solid though by the book suspense saga as the lead couple appear reaching their end in ironically a paradise Oasis at the End of the World.

Harriet Klausner