3 out of 4 stars
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Jake, the teen-aged son of a Harvard archaeologist working a dig in Israel, stumbles on a ancient, hidden ring while running from some bad men, and this is the story of his ring-directed adventures. It starts out a bit reminiscent of a young adult/boys’ action story (think Hardy Boys), but it grows up fast..
I rated SMITH 3 out of 4 stars. Had it not been for proof-reading issues, I would have given it a 4, simply because it was so much fun, and kept my interest. I can see re-reading this a few years from now. Hmm -- on second thought, probably re-reading this in a few months; it’s THAT good.
The dialogue rings true, and there are unexpected nibbles of wit and humor from the beginning: “Rob Goddard was an archeologist (sic) first and a father sixth. Or maybe even tenth.” The writing is, in places, beautifully, wittily, sarcastically, descriptive; i.e., “A stocky woman in a dress better suited to the wardrobe of a "Leave It to Beaver" television show . . .” I love an author that can make me laugh out loud. Not just once, but a number of times.
AND THEN there was a point where I was holding my breath. I won’t tell you when or where, but you’ll know it when you read it.
I really enjoyed the book; the concept is comfortably familiar -- a magical, all-powerful ring, with a slowly-realized dark side . The action is quick without being overly gore-filled, and the voice, “SMITH”, is sometimes a total smart-ass. For example - Jake: “. . . love hurts”. Smith: “Wasn’t that a song title?” Me: snicker.
Anyone looking for a simple, basic action/adventure novel will like this book. There is the potential of a romantic attraction, but the focus is the action -- and it’s non-stop. I wound up reading chapters past where I intended to stop. The only caveat I have is the impressive number of punctuation errors. If missing hyphens and commas -- and I don’t mean the occasional Oxford comma -- bother you, this might not be your “read”. If you can look past this, you’ll have a roller-coaster ride ahead of you.
******
Smith
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