Customer Reviews

Shadow Zone

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I had read some less than glowing reviews on Shadow Zone. After zipping through it for a first read I could not understand the negativity. The story of Hannah and Kirov grew in relationship here.Love the mysterious use of the dolphins. Look forward to see Eugenia and Charlie soon to wrap up Anna's line. Talk about evil!

Kindle priced too high, went with standard edition.

I like fast-paced brain candy as much as anybody else, but a pretty okay, kind of promising story line here is tragically marred by terrible cardboard characters (okay, the supernatural dolphins were a bit much too). I couldn't actually decide which of the protagonists I liked the least, but finally concluded that the patronizing, control-freak 12 year old nephew was one of the most awful fiction characters I've run across in a while. Maybe he'll grow up to be a baddie in a future novel, because he'd be just right as a dimwitted yet narcissist stalker.

"Shadow Zone" is a new mystery/thriller from Iris Johansen, a popular, #1 New York Times Bestselling author, and her son, Roy Johansen, also a New York Times bestselling author.

Underwater archaeologist/submersible designer Hannah Bryson makes a surprising discovery while mapping the pre-historic underwater city of Marinth, possibly the model for the legendary city of Atlantis, mentioned by various ancient Greek scribes. At any rate, Hannah thinks she may have finally uncovered the truth about the once-glamorous city's mysterious demise, as; long ago it was a thriving metropolis bursting with culture and life. And Marinth's sudden disappearance has puzzled scientists for years. But now, with her unexpected new findings, Hannah realizes that the ancient city's secret could still have negative effects on the modern world. And, unfortunately, certified bad guys Vincent Gadaire and his girlfriend Anna Deveare also realize it. So, Hannah, with the aid of her beautiful millionaire friend Melis Nemid, Marinth expert and close friend of dolphins Pete and Susie; and Nicholas Kirov, former Russian submarine captain, fights to save the world.

For the authors to fashion a modern-day mystery around the legendary city of Atlantis struck me as a really good idea. But unfortunately, the execution of the story was extremely disappointing. The plot is same old same old paint by numbers generic chick lit romance/mystery, down to Anna Deveare, dragon lady, though at least the character isn't Asian. And if you will remember what outstanding Anglo-American film director Alfred Hitchcock used to call the mcguffin - that which all the hooh-ha is about in a thriller, then this book has one of the silliest mcguffins I've seen in a long time. The plot is linear. The writing is flat; characters are thin, ambiance of place and time wanting, thrills lacking: this is much more romance than mystery, despite the possible contributions of Roy Johansen.

Iris Johansen has published many bestsellers. Her son Roy has won an Edgar award, and published several well-received mysteries including Deadly Visions, Beyond Belief, and The Answer Man. Mother and son have written together this submarine series, starting with Storm Cycle and Silent Thunder. Oh well, what with all the salt water and the dolphins, guess I could recommend this as a beach read.

Despite Harriet Klausner's usual 5 star review of her more than 22,000 reviews, I have to agree with Publishers Weekly that this novel is not very good. They were right on about the characters being trite. It was simply boring, better writers might have made something more of it. I understand Ms. Johansen is a popular, well sold author, I've read others of her books and find her writing very mixed. Try Nelson DeMille's "The Lion" if you want to read something impossible to put down and more fully formed lead characters.

Morinth was a technologically advanced city that sunk to the bottom of the sea, but was recently found. People like submersible designer Hannah Bryson are mapping the city, which has been beautifully preserved. They could see from the city' design and architecture how the people had a magnificent culture as art especially statues are found. They obtain enough information to determine what living was like in Morinth, but what remains unknown is why the city sunk.

The researchers find a patch of algae on the perimeter that does not seem to be anywhere else. When cultivated, it grows at an extraordinary pace, which unless stopped will overcome all living things in the sea. They also locate an odd artifact, a trellis that explains how the pollution mixed with the algae left the islanders without a food source. The algae called TK 44 can be a weapon of mass destruction worth millions to arms dealer Vincent Gadaire who plans to harvest the algae in order to sell it to the highest bidder. Hanah with the help of Nicholas Kirkov plan to prevent the insane scheme.

The Johansen mother-son team has written an exhilarating thriller that grabs reader attention early and maintains it throughout. The characters are fully developed especially the heroine who is a combo of beauty, brains and brawn. Hannah obsesses over preserving Morinth and saving the world. Gadaire plays an enthralling cat and mouse game with Hannah while Kirkov is an enigmatic individual. Readers will enjoy this timely somewhat over the top environmental thriller.

Harriet Klausner

Absolutely love her books. Have never been disappointed. Her Eve Duncan series is fantastic. I just ordered her new book "Bonnie" from that series and can't wait for its arrival. You will never miss with her books.

It's a great book that completely lets you escape from everyday boredom!! It's very fast paced and keeps you reading right into the late hours until you finish it....that's the kind of book I love to get into after a bad day!

I was looking forward to the next book in this series and was not disappointed. The two authors carried the story to the next level and kept the integrity of the original. The writing style worked for me with short paragraphs and no head-hopping. Things stayed focused and the quality of the prose stayed on track.

My only beef wasn't the implausibility of the algae TK-44 or any of the scientific factors, it was her nephew. Throwing the annoying kid into the mix almost ruined the story. That turned what could have been an easy five star review for me into four stars. I had no problem with the way the characters were drawn. I was happy with how they developed. I don't need long drawn out character studies. Get to the point, show the action, get the story done. That makes me happy. I cared just fine about the characters. However, throwing the kid into the mix just went over the edge of plausibility and believability. What gets me is that I was expecting him to be taken hostage or something and that obvious threat wasn't even realized fully. It was as if the authors dangled the stupid kid getting in the way ploy but he never really gets enough in the way to matter, except to annoy the readers. His little bit of danger near the end was not enough to get worked up over.

Outside of that, the story was great and I liked it. Oh, one other thing. The romance, or should I say non-romance between her and Kirov was a bit over the top as a non-issue. Geez, either do it or don't.

Still, it was a great read and I'm up for the next book in the series. Recommended.

In spite of what the Johansens write, the Titanic was not first explored by the protagonist of this book.

Robert B. Parker was one of the best writers of dialogue. With his characters, you were sitting and listening to them talk. Not so with "Shadow Zone." Trite, unimaginative, tedious are some of the adjective that come to mind.

The plot is such that the book might loosely be called fantasy, or poor science fiction. Characters are introduced not to add to the plot, but to add to the mix.

Here's hoping that their royalties are matching the quality of their writing.

This book is amaterurishly and carelessly written. The dialog is unreal -- that is if you can figure out who is speaking. I found the book slow and tedious and quit reading it about 3/4 of the way through. I have always liked Iris' book in the past. I won't give up on her.