Karen S. (CacaoBear) reviewed on 1/24/2023 + 85 more book reviews

This is another "historical riddle" thriller in the vein of The DaVinci Code. Join Cotton Malone on a quest to discover the lost tomb of Alexander the Great. Using a riddle left behind by one of Alexander's generals and heirs, Ptolemy, Cotton is joined by friends, Cassiopeia, Henrik and Stephanie on a trail from Copenhagen and Amsterdam to Venice and ultimately to western Asia. Along the way, we meet greedy businessmen, cruel despots and sneaky politicians (talk about a bunch of redundant descriptions!). Of course there is a plot for world domination involved. Lots of needless violence and senseless killings ... destruction of beautiful things ... deceit and betrayal and secrets. I like Cotton Malone as a character, and I totally appreciate the loyalty he bestows upon his friends. but this story seemed less about the characters and more about how the next scene would look on film. Most of the chapter endings and section breaks seemed tailor-made for placement of commercials - you know, like little "cliff-hangrers" to keep you watching for the next five minutes. With a book this long (550 pages) that got quite tedious. I also felt like we weren't given the opportunity to noodle out the solution to the riddle for ouselves - THAT was also sorta designed for the screen. All-in-all, the book was certainly readable, but not solvable. Good escapist story.

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