Byte Marks (vol 1 / no 4)

The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud by Julia Navarro

All right DaVinci Code fans, I know you're out there. Time to stand up and be counted. For me, every time a publisher releases a book like Navarro's Brotherhood, Dan Brown's magnum opus rises a notch. Treading familiar ground, do not expect the roller coaster, adreneline pumping exploits found in Brown's best seller. No, Julia Navarro offers up a dull and plodding epic that bounces between centuries like an epeleptic ping pong game. A monster hit worldwide, The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud is simply dreadful. Originally published in Spanish, I am forced to wonder if perhaps something was lost in translation.

A quick recap: Someone's trying to steal the Shroud of Turin, art cops and Knights Templars are on the case, and I really couldn't have cared less.

1.75 out of 5 stars


Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

I was really late to the game on this one. Koontz burned me a long time ago. His books just didn't do it for me and I swore off of them... Finally, after twenty years, I bit the bullet and took up the challenge of reading Odd Thomas. "Oh, it's different from his early works," they said. "You'll love it."

Damn if they weren't right.

If you have not read this book then you are doing yourself a disservice. Koontz breathes the sort of life into loveable Odd and his terrific supporting cast of characters that they will become fast friends. The novel paces itself, building tension here and there like a prize fighter setting up a haymaker. In the end, it's not a preternatural horror that punches you in the gut, but something far more personal and moving.

I fell in love with Odd... I think you will too.

4.5 out of 5 stars