Customer Reviews

Splintered Icon

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

 

 

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.

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 . . . .

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.

Bill Napier's "Splintered Icon" is everything the cover blurbs promise -- an exciting read that is difficult to put down.

The characters are just deep enough to sustain the drive of the plot. Like many thrillers, the characters travel to an exotic location -- modern-day Jamaica. Descriptions are good, and the lush and slightly dangerous byways of Jamaica take on enough menace to accentuate the perils of the characters. Ruthless competitors willing to kill to attain the treasure. Kidnappings, gunplay, attempts to steal key journals that link to the location of the title's priceless icon.

Unfortunately, there are a few shortcomings to the book. Or, "it seemed to me" there were. Others may disagree.

I was never really convinced that this icon was of world-shaking import. I refuse to ruin the story for those who have not read the book. But the Sixteenth Century episodes in the story try to convince us that this icon was the key to either England or Spain seizing control of the New World. I'm sorry. If I told you what the nature of the icon was, you would find this premise ridiculous.

Let me give you an analogy without giving away the story for you.

It is as though you have been paid a small fortune to seek out a small, rare postage stamp. You are told that if you do not find this stamp, and the sinister rival team finds that stamp first, the United States will crumble. Now-- no one is going to deny that this searched item is highly valuable -- worth millions. But the consequences as outlined by author Napier are "over the top." They just don't sell.

The first two-thirds of the book are exellent. Had me on the edge of my seat. But the closing 75 pages become very thin. Almost as though a "bolt of inspiration" strikes the leading character, he suddenly leaps up and says, "I KNOW where the icon must be!!!!" He then unerringly races to the location, to encounter a battle with the sinister rival team, and . . . just the standard canned ending. My point? The ending is too pat, too neat, too quick, too trite.

This is a fine book for a read on the airplane, or to read in the bathtub where it risks the "deep six." It is fun, at least in part. It is not a serious rival to Brown's Da Vinci Code"

There was a lot of research and history that went into the novel and I enjoyed how the story was told through the journal of the young boy. That made things exciting and kept me turning the pages. Other than that the plot is lacking and kind of confusing. Honestly a lot of things didn't add up and I was left with too many questions...

So I was in the book store and I was really looking for a good adventure book, maybe something along the lines of the ridiculously popular 'DaVinci Code'. So I see this on the shelf and thought it looked pretty similar. And indeed it is. A little too similar.

The background story and little known facts of history and astronomy make this book worth the money in my opinion. You'll notice I didn't mention anything about the actual plot or characters. I wasn't as fond of those. Very cliche'.

Also I don't like Napier's style. The beginning of the book opens with dialogue from the climax of the book. So the whole time you know eventually where things are going to end up. I don't like that. Makes me feel trapped.

And as a special bonus, this book is two stories in one. As the characters read this old journal we get transported back in time to hear the adventures of the guy who wrote the journal. I thought these were the best parts of the book. Mysetery, intrigue, action, ...very cool. But inevitably we'd be brought back to the mundane, cliche' present day characters.

Bottom Line: A nice book to pass the time on an airplane or by the pool, but you can certainly find better books in the genre.

This book was really interesting with all the information about ships, astronomy and religious icons. It starts off really well but the ending seems a bit shallow and boring. Gee...now that we've survived all these horrible things, lets rush out and buy stuff! It would have been a better read if the main characters had developed more depth by the end of the book.

100 pages to many. The journal adventure could have been done in 2 chapters. More time could have been spent on the adventure to find the relic. This was not one of my best reads in the hunt for a Jesus item

Talk about a rip off. I not only lost money on this book, but I lost the time it took to read it.

About the only interesting part of this book was the beggining of the manuscript. But then it fizzles into a big Nada. The whole story did not make sense. A great premise with the icon and all, but with the fumbling characters and their mis-adventures, it just did not work.

Even if someone were to give you the book- don't bother.

I'm being generous by given it a star.

In Lincoln, England local gentry Sir Toby Tebbit hires antiques documents dealer Harry Blake to evaluate papers he just inherited from a relative who just died in Jamaica. The next morning Harry visits Toby at the latter's home and makes a quick assessment of what look like a several century old journal. Toby asks Harry to take the journal with him to transcribe, but not to mention his connection to anyone.

A woman calling herself Cassandra offers Harry a lot of money for the journal; he refuses, but as she departs she warns him that other means will be used to persuade his handing over the journal. Fred Sweet demands it next saying he will use a poisonous pen on Harry. Not long after that Harry learns that someone murdered his client. Knowing that the journal contains information outside his discipline he asks marine historian Zola Kahn to help him understand why someone would commit homicide over a four hundred years old tome before he becomes victim number two. Harry will soon learn that the Elizabethan Era journal could cause a pandemic holy war that would make the Crusades look like child play.

This action-packed thriller never slows down as attempts to harm, maim, or kill Harry pile up over possession of the journal. The story line is action-packed but contains an extra edge because Harry is everyman going about his daily business and not a hero; he will remind the audience of Roger O. Thornhill from Hitchcock's North by Northwest. The pair of conspiracies seems a stretch, but fans will not care as they learn what they are and wonder if Harry can survive.

Harriet Klausner