Scott Irwin Irwin من عند Godmersham, Canterbury, Kent CT4، المملكة المتحدة من عند Godmersham, Canterbury, Kent CT4، المملكة المتحدة

Hellenga is a good writer. His sentences are lovely and direct. Not too flowery and not too drab, but full of the relevant details. The story was good, though really doesn't hold a candle to The Sixteen Pleasures. This is one of those books that I enjoyed reading, but won't really remember after a while. Good, not great.

Calling this book unusual is probably the best way to describe it. The plot, the characters and the literary style are all quite eccentric (or original, depending on your point of view) which makes for a very memorable and enjoyable read, if not a particularly "nice" one. To be blunt, most of the kids in this book are a bunch of terrors. They're miserable, cynical and apparently lack consciences. More than once, I stopped to re-read a passage two or three times because I couldn't believe what had just happened. Despite the grim view of the world the author takes, the protagonist was fascinating to follow. He was evil in so many ways, but also kind and nearly heroic in a lot of others. He is one of the most well-developed and memorable anti-heroes I've encountered in a long time. Not to be cruel, but this book will probably die in the same way to most, which is to say in complete obscurity. But if it defies the odds, it'll be because the author didn't follow the usual rules of fiction but broke them and wrote something remarkably different.

This is the third book in the Ethan Gage series. The Indiana Jones comparison still holds true in this book. Gage is reluctantly partnered with a Viking (Norwegian) intent on finding Thor's Hammer. Napoleon wants Gage to look at Lousianna (remember the land included in the Purchase not just the state) and Thomas Jefferson wants a report after Gage's travels as well. Another entertaining read with sexual encounters not found in Indiana Jones. Dietrick sets us up for the next book in the series and I am ready to read it.

Read it once, but need to re-read to really understand it fully :)