Book 2011.02.14 - The Prophecy

So I was down at the local library a few days ago, and this book by Chris Kuzneski caught my eye. Nice cover design with embossed characters and gilded patterns and the title in a fancy font. Cover is dark blue with a hooded figure facing some sort of an altar.

"The new bestseller from the author of The Lost Throne & Sign of the Cross". If this is his third book, then he must have some writing skills. There were all sorts of praises on the back cover of the book:

"Think Indiana Jones and The Davinci Code and you're in Kuzneski-land" - Sunday Sport

Hmm, Indiana Jones and Davinci Code? This doesn't bode well.

"A fast and furious thrill ride with the perfect amount of history and humour blended in..." - Raymond Khoury, bestselling author of The Last Templar

Mix of history and humour? Getting worse. And if you have to introduce an author by mentioning his work...

"Makes you wish it would never end" - Clive Cussler

Funny enough, Kuzneski's characters in the book also mentioned some characters in Cussler's books. Hmm... By the way, there were also references to Harry Potter and Twilight. And you know how I feel about those two.

Anyway, I didn't like the book. Full stop. Putting in a super-detailed description and history of the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh and the Beau-Rivage in Geneva and Brughes only makes the book look trying hard to shore up its credibility. And the endless juvenile bantering and wisecrack between the protagonists during stressful times of life and death didn't help. Finding it hard to crack a centuries-old code? No worries. Simply dial a friend. Need to track down some classified government information? No problems. Just dial a friend. Need to slip into a country quietly with your own cache of high-powered firearms? Hakuna matata. Dial a friend.

A suave criminal mastermind. An ancient puzzle box handed down from generation to generation. A sacred text from Nostradamus. Two brash, irritating Americans. In the end, when I try to remember what the book is about, I can't remember anything.