Splintered Icon [Mass Market Paperback]

Bill Napier (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 30, 2005

As an antique map dealer in a small English town, Harry Blake appreciates the quiet life. But when a local landowner asks him to value a 400-year-old journal and is then brutally murdered twelve hours later, Harry begins to suspect he's being pulled into something sinister. What does the dusty journal contain that is a matter of life and death? Why is someone prepared to pay Harry a fortune for it? He turns to marine historian Zola Kahn to uncover the mysteries. And when they meet at the old Greenwich Observatory, Harry is convinced there is more to Zola than meets the eye. The trail of the journal leads him into a world of deadly Elizabethan conspiracies, with a thread of history that takes him through a thousand years of religious intrigue back to the blood-soaked Crusades and a long lost icon whose rediscovery has the potential to ignite a worldwide religious war. Combining the thrill of a contemporary chase novel with a historical puzzle this is one novel that will leave readers gasping for breath.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this suspenseful Da Vinci Code knockoff from British author Napier (Nemesis), Harry Blake, an antiquarian book dealer specializing in old maps and manuscripts, agrees to help Sir Toby Tebbit translate a 400-year-old journal, written in code, that Sir Toby has inherited from a heretofore unknown relative in Jamaica. The manuscript chronicles the adventures of a young cabin boy, James Ogilvie, who traveled to the Americas as part of a secret mission for the Elizabethan crown. When a mysterious woman approaches Blake about buying the journal, he refuses to sell. Later, Blake returns to the Tebbit household to discover that Sir Toby has been brutally murdered. Teaming up with rival historian Zola Kahn and Sir Toby's daughter, Debbie, the trio soon join a race to determine the meaning behind Ogilvie's encrypted text. A trail reaching as far back as the Crusades leads toward a holy relic that could be worth millions—or could be the key to a worldwide terrorist plot. Deftly mixing history, science and fiction, Napier keeps the action escalating toward a satisfying climax.
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Review

"Incredible...extraordinary...a really terrific novel."
--Jeff Long, New York Times bestselling author of The Descent

"Intriguing and imaginative. An inventive piece of storytelling."
--Steve Berry, National Bestselling Author of The Amber Room

"Napier nimbly twists two separate tales into a thrilling novel of exploration, discovery, and ultimately survival. Fans of Dan Brown take note, this is a one sitting book."
--Jack DuBrul, USA Today bestselling author of The Medusa Stone

"Outrageously exciting. A cunningly devised tale."-Literary Review

"A gripping read."-Scotsman

"A nail-biting page-turner."-Edinburgh Times

"A fascinating primer on code-breaking and the importance of calendars in human history."
-Irish Independent

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312936680
• ISBN-13: 978-0312936686
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #899,441 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Why Did I Finish This?, March 13, 2006

By 

Gary Turner (Powder Springs, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Splintered Icon (Mass Market Paperback)

Author Jack Dubrul, who penned an endorsement on the front of this book, should be thumped for comparing this book to Dan Brown's work. The premise is interesting: a four-hundred year old journal that may lead to a long-lost holy relic. The problem is that the story drags. Do not wait for it to get better, it doesn't. Run from this one.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Dan Brown Fans Take Note" . . . AVOID THIS BOOK!, December 31, 2005

By 

John Schiavone "JohnS_323" (Jackson, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Splintered Icon (Mass Market Paperback)

I just finished this book and want two weeks of my life back. The "plot" is weak and convoluted. The writing style is, dare I say, God awful. The infusion of fact, history and science is so remedial, it borders on childish.

The book starts off like a Dan Brown novel: death, intrigue and a plot sequence that makes no sense (but will be cleared up later). After that, it takes a significant turn for the lame. There are gaps in the plot so wide you could drive a team of trucks through it. The dialog between characters is unbearable. The "witty" banter between Harry and Zola is along the lines of two children having a "Yes you did", "No I didn't", "Yes you did" argument.

The key to the book is a journal written in 1585 that needs to be translated. The translation is consistent in its lack of consistency, often vacillating between old English and modern colloquial. The story being told is OK, but spends a lot of time on useless drivel, when it could be better spent filling in some of the gaps.

The ending . . . wow . . . equally terrible. In most books, there is some foundation laid for a heroic rescue by some obscure Calvary. Not this one. Nope, just out of the blue, bang these characters that were barely touched on show up at the last minute and save the day. After the fact you find out that there was a lot going on behind the scenes, but by that time it's a little late. I can understand plot twists, but give the reader a little something throughout the book. He could have just as easily had aliens drop in out of nowhere and say that they set the whole thing up. It would have been just as good (maybe better).

In summary, this was the worst thing I ever read, and I have read some garbage. I would have given it Zero Stars, but that wasn't an option. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to light a fire to properly dispose of this book . . . .

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a good choice, March 10, 2007

By 

Margaret A. Mershon - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Splintered Icon (Paperback)

I like books about ancient manuscripts, ancient relics, ancient secrets, which is both a good and a bad thing since there seems to be lots of this type of book being written now but not all are good, like this one. It seems as if the author was ordered to chop down a much longer book but refused to alter the plot; therefore, what's left are very shallow and unsympathetic characters, strange relationships that are never properly developed and overly long lectures that I didn't care enough about to make any sense out of. The most aggravating part is the core of the plot -- that the icon is real. I found no convincing proof, but the protagonist is willing to risk life and limb for it.