The Anomaly (Anomaly Files, Bk 1)
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Paperback
A great read for the beach, or a long plane journey, or a day when you are snowed in. (Not on a holiday that involves caving, perhaps ...) There are flaws -- some that other readers might find deal-breakers -- but I found the writing sparky and intelligent, the characters are fun, and the situation is intriguing enough to keep those pages turning.
I was drawn to order this from the Library by the Grand Canyon setting, and the promise that nasty things would be revealed, hidden in the Canyon's Deep Time nooks and crannies, that lives would be endangered, life choices would be regretted, and all in all there would be lot of satisfying thrills and chills.
I started to doubt my choice when i saw the blurbs on the cover -- three out of four were from authors whose work I have tried recently, and deeply disliked. Uh-oh. And then there was the "For Fans of Dan Brown." I am NOT a fan of Dan Brown. And then there was the breathless idiocy of the summary, and strap lines (NOT ALL SECRETS ARE MEANT TO BE FOUND hoo boy.) Ten pages, I told myself. Ten pages, and then it can go back to the Library.
No one was more surprised than myself when I hit Page 10, and just kept going. Michael Rutger has a genuine talent for constructing charming characters, who are speaking funny, natural dialogue that sounds like the things that real, reasonably intelligent people with a history together would say. There are some genuinely thrilling moments. I have just suffered (partway) through two books that were well-reviewed, and had almost unreadably bad characterization, dialogue and pacing. Rutger knows how to write a sentence, and what the sentence is there for -- I worry that that is becoming almost a lost art.
The plot is about as silly as can be, but it didn't lose a point because of that: that comes with the territory. You don't read a book blurbed "For Fans of Dan Brown," expecting a documentary from the History Channel. No, I had to be honest, and firm with myself, and admit that pacing is a problem. We reach page 150 before anything starts to happen. I happen to enjoy a "slow burn," and I enjoyed the pages getting to the Grand Canyon, down into the Grand Canyon, and floating along the Colorado River. But I would understand -- and forgive -- anyone who reached page 150, screaming "just get on with it!!!"
And, as delightful as the snarky, peppy dialogue is, as things finally, begin to get a bit rough (Ha!) for our intrepid band, there are times when the wisecracking begins to wear thin, and I began to think that Mr. Rutger was just showing off. Bottom line: I think the novel could have easily been about 100 pages shorter -- yes, it would be sad, and there would have been some hard choices to be made -- but it would have been better, and stronger for that.
BUT -- this is highly recommended, with caveats, and Michael Rutger is an author I will be watching out for. Just to add -- one blurb (inside front cover) is spot on. From the Blessed R.L. Stine: "The suspense mounts slowly... slowly... Then the horror lingers for a long, long time."
Nailed it.
I was drawn to order this from the Library by the Grand Canyon setting, and the promise that nasty things would be revealed, hidden in the Canyon's Deep Time nooks and crannies, that lives would be endangered, life choices would be regretted, and all in all there would be lot of satisfying thrills and chills.
I started to doubt my choice when i saw the blurbs on the cover -- three out of four were from authors whose work I have tried recently, and deeply disliked. Uh-oh. And then there was the "For Fans of Dan Brown." I am NOT a fan of Dan Brown. And then there was the breathless idiocy of the summary, and strap lines (NOT ALL SECRETS ARE MEANT TO BE FOUND hoo boy.) Ten pages, I told myself. Ten pages, and then it can go back to the Library.
No one was more surprised than myself when I hit Page 10, and just kept going. Michael Rutger has a genuine talent for constructing charming characters, who are speaking funny, natural dialogue that sounds like the things that real, reasonably intelligent people with a history together would say. There are some genuinely thrilling moments. I have just suffered (partway) through two books that were well-reviewed, and had almost unreadably bad characterization, dialogue and pacing. Rutger knows how to write a sentence, and what the sentence is there for -- I worry that that is becoming almost a lost art.
The plot is about as silly as can be, but it didn't lose a point because of that: that comes with the territory. You don't read a book blurbed "For Fans of Dan Brown," expecting a documentary from the History Channel. No, I had to be honest, and firm with myself, and admit that pacing is a problem. We reach page 150 before anything starts to happen. I happen to enjoy a "slow burn," and I enjoyed the pages getting to the Grand Canyon, down into the Grand Canyon, and floating along the Colorado River. But I would understand -- and forgive -- anyone who reached page 150, screaming "just get on with it!!!"
And, as delightful as the snarky, peppy dialogue is, as things finally, begin to get a bit rough (Ha!) for our intrepid band, there are times when the wisecracking begins to wear thin, and I began to think that Mr. Rutger was just showing off. Bottom line: I think the novel could have easily been about 100 pages shorter -- yes, it would be sad, and there would have been some hard choices to be made -- but it would have been better, and stronger for that.
BUT -- this is highly recommended, with caveats, and Michael Rutger is an author I will be watching out for. Just to add -- one blurb (inside front cover) is spot on. From the Blessed R.L. Stine: "The suspense mounts slowly... slowly... Then the horror lingers for a long, long time."
Nailed it.
