AUTHOR: Adam Palmer
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
APPROXIMATE LENGTH: 341 pages
Recommended for fans of archeologist adventures and conspiracy
thrillers, like Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code
GENRE
Thriller—Conspiracy/Alternate History
The Boudicca Parchments
is about a modern-day professor solving an ancient mystery that had been buried
over the centuries. Meanwhile, a group of zealots, hell-bent on keeping the
truth hidden, pursues him.
PACE
The Boudicca Parchments
alternates between fast-paced action scenes and slower-paced investigation
scenes. The mystery at the center of it all—what are these ancient documents
and what do they mean?—drives the story forward.
PERSPECTIVE
Third person omniscient. The Boudicca Parchments is written in a
cinematic fashion, rotating between various storylines and points of view.
Although Daniel Klein’s perspective is the central one, Palmer also shows us
what’s going on behind-the-scenes with the villains and the authorities.
CONTENT REVIEW
The Boudicca Parchments
opens with a tumultuous scene that takes place in ancient times. Who is
involved and what they are fighting is left ambiguous, leaving the reader to
wonder what happened. Flash forward several centuries. Martin Costa breaks into
a dig site in search of artifacts he can sell and stumbles upon a historical
document of great significance. He snaps a picture, sends it to Professor
Daniel Klein, then turns up dead the next day.
Daniel, a language expert who
specializes in ancient history, receives Costa’s message and goes to meet him.
When he arrives, he finds himself framed for Costa’s murder. More than that, a
group of Jewish fundamentalists want him dead. Rescued from an attempt on his
life by an Israeli special operative, Sarit, Daniel races to learn the
significance of Costa’s discovery while evading the fundamentalists.
The Boudicca Parchments
is an exciting conspiracy thriller reminiscent of Dan Brown’s works. Part
Robert Langdon, part Indiana Jones, Daniel Klein is a wonderful character who
is easily likable. Also interesting are the primary villains, HaTzadik and
Baruch Tivka, the two Jewish fundamentalists who will stop at nothing to
prevent Daniel from uncovering the ancient truth. The Boudicca Parchments alternates between Daniel’s perspective and
that of his pursuers as the plot twists and turns on its way to its surprising
conclusion.
Although The Boudicca Parchments is technically a sequel—the second of
Palmer’s series of Daniel Klein adventures—it works as a standalone book. The
plot follows a chase format with historical revelations thrown in along the way.
It speeds up in some areas, following the fundamentalists’ nefarious plots, and
slows down in others, giving the reader a chance to catch up on what Daniel
knows.
While the action takes place in
contemporary times, the mystery lies in the ancient past. Palmer has clearly
done a lot of research on the subjects of Boudicca, the Celtic queen who led an
uprising against the Romans, and the First Jewish-Roman war that took place in
the first century. The background given to the reader on the subject—mostly through
Daniel’s explanations to other characters—present a fascinating take on ancient
history. Palmer takes the known facts and draws his own connections, creating
an alternate version of history with serious implications for the modern-day
fundamentalists. Although the retelling of history is fictional, Palmer’s
version is believable in the context of the story and intriguing to read about.
Personally, I couldn’t put this one
down. I just had to know what the big
secret was, and the answer was both clever and satisfying. The villains—the
fundamentalists and their associate, the mysterious Sam Morgan—were as
interesting as the good guys. The one criticism I have is that some places
seemed to slow the pace a little too much, diverting the plot away from what I
really wanted to know about. For instance, the parts about the investigation
into Costa’s murder or the parts about the Israeli secret agency. While these
story lines are certainly relevant, I was impatient to know more about the
people at the center of it all—Daniel and the fundamentalists.
All in all, The Boudicca Parchments is an entertaining rollercoaster ride of a
book, one that keeps you guessing until the very end. Between the modern-day
conspiracies and the historical elements, Palmer succeeds in creating a
gripping and fascinating thriller.
THE NITPICKY STUFF
This book contains a few errors and
typos, but nothing too distracting.
This book contains some thriller-type
violence, including guns and explosions, but nothing graphic. This book
contains some adult language.
AUTHOR INFO
Adam Palmer is the pen name of David Kessler, a prolific
thriller writer. The Boudicca Parchments
is the second book published under this name, with the first being the first
book in the Daniel Klein series, The
Moses Legacy.
Visit his website
Visit his website
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