Because time isn’t always kind: economic reviews in a world full of waste!
Somewhere in David Gibbins’ THE LOST TOMB is a story about discovering ancient documents that reveal hidden truths about the life of Jesus. But like Jack Howard and his crew from the author’s previous novels, you’ll have to dig through layers of muck before finding such treasure. And good luck with that. If you believe Gibbins, archaeologists converse exclusively in historical dissertation abstracts — even when they are hundreds of miles underwater or underground. Yes, it’s that bad. And impossible to finish. Look, historical fiction — and archaeology — can be exciting. But you’d never know it from stuff like this. So if you really want “a combination of Dan Brown, Clive Cussler, and Indiana Jones,” as the blurbs promise, then read Brown or Cussler, and watch the Indiana Jones movies. You’re sure to have more fun. —Alan Cranis
Much of what we said about Amnon Kabatchnik’s SHERLOCK HOLMES ON THE STAGE goes ditto for his simultaneous release BLOOD ON THE STAGE: MILESTONE PLAYS OF CRIME, MYSTERY, AND DETECTION — AN ANNOTATED REPERTOIRE 1900-1925. Also from Scarecrow Press, the title expands its scope beyond Doyle (although he’s included) for rundowns of a quarter-century’s worth of whodunit works of the theater. At more than 400 pages, this one’s even thicker and more comprehensive than SHERLOCK. And again, it’ll leave you elated and yet angry that the plays that interest you are likely never to be produced again. But in this case, we’re lucky enough to have seen several make the direct transition to the movies in faithful adaptations — in particular, the mystery farce THE GORILLA and Mary Roberts Rinehart’s THE BAT. Others of interest include THE GOLEM, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, THE GHOST BREAKER, THE HAUNTED HOUSE and ARSÈNE LUPIN.
It’s not quite a book, but STAR WARS BLUEPRINTS: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION packages together five huge posters in one slim box. As befitting of something released by DK Publishing, each double-sided poster looks like an oversized page from one of its books — in other words, awfully well-designed. The slick, fold-out sheets give the skinny on the inner workings of R2-D2, Darth Vader, the Death Star, the Millennium Falcon and general weaponry, with a full-color, full-bleed photo on one side and finely detailed blueprints on the other. Graphically, these are quite cool, but you are decidedly less so if these adorn your bedroom wall and you’re already out of middle school. Buy it as a gift for the STAR WARS fan who isn’t.
And DK also brings us STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS — THE VISUAL GUIDE, a big, square book devoted to the new animated film. Like that movie, this one is geared toward younger eyes, so the pages aren’t as jam-packed as DK’s usual, and the words are noticeably fewer and bigger. Whether heroes, villains, droids, creatures, ships or weapons, they’re included and get their own fact-filled spread. Being crafted on computers, a lot of the images look really cool, and I fear work better on the page than they will on the big screen. Jason Fry provides the text, dialing things down for the target without talking down to them. —Rod Lott
