History has a bearing and with time a lot of things known to our ancestors have fallen prey to hoarders or looters or in the worst case being under the protection of nature. A lot many of them buried deep down from the prying eyes of man. Author Clive Cussler & Thomas Perry in the latest of the Fargo Series "The Mayan Secrets" try their hands on taking readers for a spin on a Mayan trail. So does the idea clicks? Let's find out.
Husband and wife team Sam and Remi Fargo are in Mexico, when they come upon an astonishing discovery-the skeleton of a man clutching an ancient sealed pot and within the pot, a Mayan book, larger than anyone has ever seen.
The book contains astonishing information about the Mayans, their cities and about mankind itself. The secrets are so powerful that some would do anything to possess them-as the Fargo's are about to find out. Before their adventure is done, many people will die for that book-and Sam and Remi may just be among them.
First look at the title and the cover and readers can easily guess the genre. The word adventure is pretty much evident on the cover. The title itself pointing it towards history and adventure mixed together in one. The blurb talks about the favourite character of the series and their latest adventures in the Mayan land. The blurb pretty much is successful in concealing a lot of surprises in store for the readers.
The story starts off from Mexico where a volcano has hit and Sam & Remi Fargo out of humanity reach a small town to help people out. But when they stumble across a corpse holding a secret buried in the womb of the volcano things change pretty quickly around them. They find themselves on the move as a wealthy woman Sarah Allersby is on their tail to capture what she thinks deserves a rightful place in her house. But Sam & Remi Fargo will try to protect history and it's secrets till their last breath. So it's a race against time to uncover the Mayans and their legacy and prevent it from falling in the wrong hands. That's what the story is all about.
There are a lot of elements which make this book a pleasure to read. It takes off like a plane, steady and turbulent once in air and then gradually gains momentum. It promises action, adventure and history and delivers upon it during the entire sequence of events. The action slick and engaging all throughout. The farthest corners of the world and the riches of a lost civilization unfurled in a serene manner in front of the readers eyes. There is curiosity as what next is going to happen in the book which helps it in sustaining the prying eyes of voracious readers.
The book falters relatively in the second half where it becomes more of adventure than a discovery. The sore part that it gives up unceremoniously on the cards which are held close to the chest and becomes fairly predictable. History left out in the backdrop and action taking a lot of time. Many other unwanted incidents and mafia angle making it a dragged book. The promise to hold on to a perfect delivery fades as it inches towards the end. The antagonist not that scary in demeanour as one would have expected.
All in all the book manages to combine history and adventure and scores full marks in that department. Barring the constant battle to protect history there are lots of small pickets of history served to the readers and get to see spotlight on one of the most talked about civilizations. Capitalization on certain curious elements does falters but it doesn't fades without a fight. It's a fresh experience to be in the midst of action and the past with Fargo's at helm. A cocktail served well but with a bitter-sweet experience.
RATINGS:
3 OUT OF 5
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