The Hidden Chamber in the Great Sphinx by Linda A Cadose

Copy received for review

This  is  a  boo  review.
4 stars
This book was about Cliff Post who discovered a hidden chamber in the great sphinx with the help of two other explorers.
I liked it because it was science and adventure and fiction at the same time.  My favorite part was when they finally got to cut open the sphinx.
(It should have had a platypus though.)


Here's mom's review.
2 stars

I really wanted to like this one.  Mystery, intrigue, archaeology...  It even had crystal skulls for crying out loud!  (I admit, I totally enjoyed the most recent Indiana Jones movie.  Cheesiness and all.)

But the story felt shallow and under-developed.

Honestly, it was like a plot outline for what would be a totally awesome thriller/action/mystery... if it had been fleshed out.  The bare bones are there, but not a lot else.

But, I am not the target audience, and Boo liked it enough to ask if there was a sequel and the next week at the school library she checked out a book on pyramids, so what do I know?

I would LOVE for the author to flesh out a full-fledged (full-fleshed? lol) adult novel out of this.  That I would totally read.

I gotta suggest, though, in the current incarnation, it really needs a glossary.  There are several terms in italics throughout (which kind of drove me nuts) but there's no glossary to be found.  That would be a great addition for future printings.

The Last Ember by Daniel Levin

5 stars
R- 1.5

This book was awesome.

Part legal-ish thriller, mostly archaeology gone wild.  :)

I have to confess, though, I am SUCH a nerd.  Through all of the tense thriller-type confrontations I was thinking, come on, get back to the Josephus quotes!  Are they going to find the artifact?!  What will happen to it?!?!  LOL.  Nevermind that the bad guy had a gun to Emili's head.  Minor details.

I also have to confess, I actually own a copy of The Complete Works of Josephus..... and I took Roman History for fun in college.  Yeah, for fun.  A 200 or 300 level course that didn't count for a darn thing, but I loved it.

From that class, I learned that the "Colosseum" is a totally inaccurate name.  As a result I was SO glad when the main character mentioned that!!  I was going to be irritated the whole book otherwise.  (The Colosseum wasn't referred to as such until loooooong after it was built.  If I remember right it's because of the Colossus statue nearby.  The proper name would be the Flavian Amphitheater.  Just so you know.)

So now, after reading this, I think it's time to break out Josephus again.  The theory that he may not have been a traitor after all is fascinating.  Got me all curious.  :)

Bottom line is, I loved it.

Counts for the Reader's Choice and the Support Your Local Library challenges.

The Lost City of Z by David Grann

A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon

4.5 stars
nonfiction

This was really interesting.  Took me forever (well, for me) to read, but nonfiction is like that.

In 1925, Colonel PH Fawcett disappeared, along with his oldest son, Jack, and his son's best friend, Raleigh Rimmel.

I had never heard of Fawcett, but apparently this was a HUGE media sensation.  He'd been sending dispatches from the Amazon which were published in newspapers all over the world.... until they stopped. 

At first, this wasn't too concerning.  Everyone knew that at some point the group would be out of contact for a time.  But months passed, then years.  And soon it was clear that something had happened to the Colonel everyone thought was invincible.

This book tells the tale of Fawcett, as well as various searchers that went looking for him and the "Lost City of Z" which was the aim of his final expedition.  Those searchers include the author, who started out researching a story and soon found himself sucked into it.

I had a little bit of a hard time following the book at first.  It jumps back and forth between one story and another, not always in chronological order, but I soon found the rhythm of it and really enjoyed it.

One thing's for sure-- I NEVER need to visit the Amazon.  Thanks anyway.  Yikes.

But armchair travel with books like this-- that I can do.  :)

If you're interested in the Amazon or just exploration in general, I'd recommend this one!

Counts for the Support Your Local Library and Reader's Choice challenges.