Rollins, James. Sandstorm. Last week when I was at Walmart, I noticed that all of the checkout lines were long and were not moving very fast, so I picked up a paperback to read as I waited. At first a rollicking adventure of the Indiana Jones sort seemed possible (there is even a character named Omaha Dunn); however, none of the humor, the tongue-in-cheek, the playful elements of Indiana Jones appear in this novel that takes itself seriously in the midst of the absurd.
The main characters have some combination of the following traits: brilliant, beautiful, handsome, wealthy beyond measure, physically gifted with extraordinary reflexes, speed, and/or stamina, have a tragic past... well, you get the idea. Any interesting plot element seems borrowed and any other plot element requires much more than a "willing suspension of disbelief.
It is fast-paced and there is action; the purpose of the action, unfortunately, appears to be to add to the book length and has little suspense or sense of purpose.
Fiction. Action, adventure. 2004. 569 pages.
Why, Jen, you sound as if you didn't like it! (grin) Seriously, it is depressing what can get out in stores these days. Who is the guilty publisher?
ReplyDeleteAs bad as it sounds...you actually read the whole thing?
ReplyDeleteI bet you finished it in the line. Those lines are sooooooooo long.
ReplyDeleteJill - I think what I didn't like was that it took itself so seriously when it was so ridiculous. Since you asked, I checked on the publisher whose initials are h c.
ReplyDeleteSam - I did. After a certain point, I wanted to know what other absurdities could take place and the end topped it all!! A funnel of glass in the desert led to a huge lake under the sands with a ship waiting to take them to a glass city with bodies from the Queen of Sheba's citizens encased in areas of glass. Wahhhhh!
Heather - :) Not quite, but I was in line for over 30 minutes, so I got well into the book by the time my turn to check out arrived!
That was a long line to get you invested in the book! Ah well, hopefully the next time you visit Walmart the lines will be shorter or they'll have a better selection of books :)
ReplyDeleteiliana - I may start taking my own book in with me!
ReplyDeleteYou're tough, Jenclair, tougher and more patient than I'll ever be. I don't think I could have made it through the plot that you described. :-)
ReplyDelete