Customer Reviews

Legend: An Event Group Thriller

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I recently saw a copy of David Lynn Golemon's first book, and thought it looked good enough to buy...unfortunately I didn't have the $ when I first spotted it. I came back a couple days later and discovered the only copy left at the local bookstore gone. Oh well...but out of nowhere I spotted Legend, which is a direct sequel. While after finishing this I wouldn't say reading the original is necessary, I would say doing so probably will help this experience a lot.

The story takes us from the island of Iwo Jima and digging in a previously unknown tunnel to discover something horribly dangerous and hidden for more than half-a-century after being accidentally discovered during the original Japanese occupation and deliberately re-buried...to the jungles of South America, over to the Vatican in Italy and MANY locations in between...including different times in history. At first I was a bit puzzled at how the author was going to merge these plotlines together, but never fear, he does and he does it--in MY opinion rather creatively.

For those of you who enjoy your action tales to have a healthy dose of the X-Files, some supernatural undertones mixed evenly with a great deal of violence, Legend is a book you probably ought to add to your collection. It requires you to drop your suspension of belief rather quickly -- but then again, what novel that proposes to have an X-Files-like theme doesn't? As for whether or not I enjoyed this book...I am actively searching to buy Event, his first novel if that means anything. If you enjoyed Steve Alten's Domain (a REAL page turner, BTW) this is right up your alley. As long as you aren't looking for absolute realism in your escapist fiction, you can certainly do worse than Legend.

Legend starts off fast, just like Event and hooked me right away. Something I enjoyed more in this book than I did in event was the concept in general. In event we had aliens and Roswell, which are overdone (though Golemon handles the subject with originality). In Legend we deal with the story of El Dorado, the gold mine and a little something extra thrown in for good measure. Of course, we also had some cool creatures, which is always welcome. The end of the book was absolutely page turning and I plowed through it late into the night...and then again in the morning.

So...why four stars and not five? Same reason as Event I'm afraid. I found the middle of the book to be a tad slow for my taste. And again, the cast of characters is absolutely massive. I'm catching on to who the main characters are, but this is after two books. So it seemed like an improvement, but I think that simply because it was book 2. I think Golemon's EVENT books are comparable to Rollin's Sigma books, but Jim has a tight cast of characters. EVENT is a huge organization and a lot of people get lost in the mix. When the good guys started dying I was actually very pleased because then I could figure out who was who. And I think I have the main characters squared away now, so the next book should be an easier read.

That said, I AM looking forward to the next one and will pick it up right away. For fans of Rollins, Reilly, Preston/Child....and me :) the EVENT series will be enjoyable reading. Legend is my favorite of the two published. Keep them coming, David!

-- Jeremy Robinson, author of Pulse (A Chess Team Adventure) and Kronos

I stumbled across this book by accident. I'd never heard of either the author or the Event Group, yet when I saw his photo in the back, it looked awful familiar.

This is a long story and has lots of twist, turns, characters, and locations. Though some may find it confusing, I had no trouble following along with things except toward the end when everything came together and I had some trouble keeping track of who was who. My biggest problem was his mixing of points of view within scenes. He does plenty of that, yet it wasn't so bad it turned me off. It has all the elements of a good action/adventure/thriller, and even has some icky bugs in it. It is good plot driven, third person thrills, from start to finish. Even the implausible aspects were not enough to turn me off. After all, it's fiction!

I can't say he's just as good, or better than James Rollins, but he still writes an excellent story that kept my attention. Recommended.

Worried over the recently rediscovered Padilla site in the Amazon, Pentagon and White House leaders discuss Treason with a T vs. preventing the knowledge reaching the media and their boss the President. As such, they agree to dispatch the best allegedly to search for the legendary El Dorado and its vast treasure.

Since the inquiry deals with a mystery of the past Major Jack Collins leads the top secret Event Group to investigate whether the legend is real, hidden amidst the rainforest abundance. Not receiving the entire truth of the mission from his superiors leads to deadly encounters of a human kind. However, as they continue their quest, the Event Group soon finds a different LEGEND lurking in the Amazon; a humanoid beast that rises like a phoenix except out of the water to kill anyone threatening the secrets of the Incas who have been gone form here for centuries.

The Event Group is a sort of military take on the X-Files. The current tale is lighthearted action adventure fun especially when the team uses near futuristic gizmos to battle an invincible foe (read the tale if you want to know what this similar to the Creature from the Black Lagoon truly is). Although none of the players seem to be more than just 1950s comic book heroes, fans of 200 proof non-stop action will want to accompany Major Collins and his squad into the Amazon.

Harriet Klausner

A no-holds barred adrenaline rush, Legend is the second of the Event Group novels by David Lynn Golemon. The Event Group - a top-secret government agency that does not "officially" exist- is comprised of the best and brightest scientists, soldiers and thinkers. Its purpose is to prevent the repeating of past U.S. mistakes.

The story begins in 1533 with a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado. In the depths of the Brazilian rainforest they discover a veritable Garden of Eden, but this paradise hides a deadly secret. Fast-forward to the present-day, where a college professor has uncovered the trail to this lost paradise. When the expedition vanishes, Major Jack Collins and the Event Group step in.

The Event group must not only solve the mystery, braving the dangers of the Amazon and the deadly threats waiting in the fabled El Dorado, but must compete against several rival factions. The story moves at an almost-frantic pace, constantly bouncing among a large group of characters and plot threads. While the pacing makes for an exciting read, it is sometimes frustrating. Certain characters and settings beg for greater depth and detail.

The strengths of Legend are many: a well-crafted prologue, an imaginative plot, complex interwoven storylines, and a satisfying blend of mystery, adventure, action, political intrigue and a touch of the supernatural. The weak point is that the huge cast of characters makes for limited growth and development. Jack Collins is tough and resourceful, but still a bit of a mystery. The character of "Chief," though perhaps a bit sterotypical, steals the show with some great lines and creative expletives.

A tale worthy of the greats of the genre like Clive Cussler, James Rollins and Matthew Reilly, Legend is a definite must-read for action and adventure fans. Don't miss it.

David Golemon's book reminds me of a low budget Hollywood suspense thriller released in the motion picture graveyard of February and staring Vin Diesel or 'The Rock'. It's written on an almost juvenile level with very little depth and contains dialog that is often awkward or downright cheesy.

I'm surprised by the positive reviews, as I found the book to be a shallow cookie cutter story line that might make you wonder if IKEA might have suddenly entered the book publishing business.

The story revolves around the mysterious 'Event Group', which is yet another secretive government agency; as if the CIA, FBI, NSA, and Secret Service weren't enough. But the Event Group is apparently more important than its peers, as is treats the other agencies like red-haired step-children compared to itself.

At times, the book is quite tedious to read, as you are well aware of what is going to happen over the next 25-50 pages, but are forced to endure the vanilla action scenes.

Picture stereotypical action hero running through a barrage of bullets, never failing to escape injury, but taking plenty of bad guys down with him, while his enemies can't seem to hit the broadside of a barn, even though they are 'highly trained' military personnel and hold every possible tactical advantage.

As for the characters, Golemon apparently feels character development equates to giving a character a name, a gender and describing their professional background in science, government and military service; though somewhere in story, I do believe I spotted a token black guy.

As such, you could care less about any of the characters and they are little more than a name and a rank.

The story moves along quickly, but it is a pretty horrid plot. Without spoiling the suspense for you (some sarcasm there), let's just say that it is very convenient that some of the worlds most excavated historical sites suddenly turn up large artifacts the week of this story unfolding.

'Hmmm, who knew this treasure chest had anything useful in it. We should have opened it a long time ago.'

I also found several editing issues throughout the book, but without bogging down this review, I'll let them be. Just be aware that a literature masterpiece, this book is not.

All-in-all, I'd be surprised if Golemon could get better than a 'C' in a college creative writing class and I'm surprised he was ever published.

In summary, this novel is almost 'fan fiction' modeled after any number of existing story lines, and Golemon just changed the names and the setting. Ok, it's not quite that generic, but its close.

Unless you're stuck in a situation where you have to buy a book from a grocery store isle to alleviate your boredom, I'd certainly pass on anything written by Golemon. Even if, there has to be something else available. At the very least, read something else again; you'll get very much the same experience but with better writing.

Sorry...Legend is just OKAY, but not quite as good as EVENT. The story starts out very nicely, but soon becomes bogged down in a flood of admittedly interesting characters plus a great number of different plot lines. And they all come together in the last third of the book and turn it into a jumbled, confusing mess. Yes--LEGEND is good for a light reading adventure, but is hardly compelling, and I struggled to keep myself interested in the book even though there were some good action sequences. It all just didn't seem to matter much about anything.

There's also at least 4 sets of bad guys, including upgraded ripoff versions of the Creature From the Black Lagoon, who pop up at the most convenient times to thwart the plans of all the other numerous bad guys, who always seem to come out of nowhere with wet suits on and automatic weapons. It reads almost like a bad Sci-Fi Channel movie.

Too bad the author jammed way too many characters, and a way too much odd stuff into the story (eg. the whole sequence in Japan)...with better editing and focus LEGEND could have been much better. Must admit though, the author can flat out write action stories. I'll give him one more chance after this messy effort.

Golemon is back in this sequel. He weaves an interesting story line with trills and spills that keeping you turning the page. This book is up there with Lincoln Child / Douglas Preston, James Rollins and Matthew Reilly. I do not find it as gripping as his first book, Event. However, it was still worth the time to read.

Event: A Novel (Event Group Thrillers)

Ended up staying up way to late, just to finish, couldn't put it down! Very exciting and lots of twists and turns.

Once again Goleman has produced a good book. There's a new character I wouldn't mind seeing appear in a future book. He is a pip.

There is more history and less military action in this book than in "Event". Goleman can't escape a military bent because most of his characters are in the military. But there's plenty of action and lots of bullets flying, so I was happy.

There is one glaring error. In chapter six, a major is wearing silver oak leaves.

I felt sorry for the bad guy and figure he'll crop up again sooner or later.

All in all, the book is worth reading (after you've read "Event").