SUSPENSE
&
THRILLERS
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Debbie
Wiley
Book Reviews |
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Title page from
1609 edition of Shake-Speares Sonnets.
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Nostradamus:
original portrait by his son Cesar
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John Calvin at 53
years old in an engraving by René Boyvin.
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BOOK
ILLUMINATIONS
From Debbie Wiley Book Reviews
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Book of Souls
by Glenn Cooper
A
book surfaces at an auction house, setting off a chain of events
leading straight into the heart of Area 51. Will Piper thought he was
done with the mystery behind the Library and the strange date of
February 9, 2027. He’s retired, happily married, and father to an
infant son. Fate has something more in store for Will, however, as he
is contacted by two men, Henry Spence and Alf Kenyon, who ask him to be
their purchasing agent for the newly discovered book. What he discovers
is a puzzle and now Will finds himself back in the midst of the largest
multi-governmental conspiracy of all time. Can Will follow the clues
before the government catches up with him?
BOOK OF SOULS picks up almost immediately where SECRET OF THE SEVENTH
SON concludes. While Glenn Cooper does weave in the back history along
the way, the beginning chapters can be a bit confusing if one doesn’t
at least know what the Library is and what data it contains, much less
why it is so important to the government. Reading SECRET OF THE SEVENTH
SON first adds the necessary context to BOOK OF SOULS, making it a much
more enjoyable and understandable story.
Tales of governmental conspiracies can sometimes go astray in sequels
but this is not the case with BOOK OF SOULS. Instead, Glenn Cooper
takes us further into the mysterious origins of the Library as we see
the story unfold both in the past and the present. The tale alternates
between the modern day and two historical time periods- the 1300s on
the Isle of Wight and the 1500s featuring the Cantwells. The
transitions are seamlessly done and I would find it hard to actually
pick which timeline is the most entertaining. Glenn Cooper does a
phenomenal job at making each time period relevant and vibrantly alive
to the core story, never wandering off course but instead proving new
and exciting revelations about the Library.
Part of the success of BOOK OF SOULS is the character development. For
each period of history, Glenn Cooper provides the reader with well
drawn, albeit flawed, characters. There are no true heroes or villains
in BOOK OF SOULS, which is part of its appeal. Instead, the division is
more a theological and political divide, one between the common man and
those in power. Bravo to Glenn Cooper for a book that is both thought
provoking and stunning in scope!
Publisher: Harper
(April 2010)
Reviewed
by Debbie, Debbie Wiley Book Reviews
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