A Novel (Nina Wilde and Eddie Chase) - The Revelation Code

Starts out well but after a while it defies belief even for a fantasy novel. A pregnant woman pulling off escapades that special forces would consider twice - really? Less adventure and more believable narrative would have been better. The author was trying too hard.

While the Nina Wilde & Eddie Chase novels may not exactly be great literature, and are in no great danger is winning Andy McDermott a Pulitzer Prize, they are fantastic escapism adventures. Combining a little bit of Jack Bauer, Indiana Jones, and Dirk Pitt, they're globetrotting treasure hunts with the fate of the world at stake.

The Revelation Code is actually the 11th installment in the series, but they're all written with enough background detail to make them work as stand-alone adventures. As this point in their careers, Nina and Eddie are enjoying early retirement, awaiting the birth of their first child, and generally just trying to stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, trouble has a knack of finding them, and they soon find themselves kidnapped by a religious cult leader and a disgraced US President.

McDermott invests an impressive amount of effort in taking mythological stories and artifacts, creating a plausible history for them, and allowing the reader to get involved in the thrill of the chase without having to believe in the stories surrounding it. He never entirely discounts the possibility of faith, but I will say that his portrayal of Cross and his End of Days cult is the harshest condemnation of organized religion that we've come across in the series. These guys are scary, and their plans for the world are almost - I say, almost - as despicable as those of the ex-President.

There are plenty of big set pieces here, taking us around the world in the search for the angels (statues) of Revelation. True to form, there are also some big action sequences, with epic gunfights, helicopter attacks, and even a climactic encounter with a massive blimp. My only complaint about the book is that the climax is so clearly foreshadowed and so heavily teased in the opening chapters, although the execution of it is still a lot of fun.

The Revelation Code is a fun, frantic read that moves along at a breakneck pace, even through heavy scenes of torture, religious insanity, and political posturing. It's not the best in the series - Nina's pregnancy puts some unfortunate restraints on the story - but it's still big time popcorn adventure fun, complete with a dose of history and humor.

The Revelation Code by Andy McDermott is a highly recommended action/adventure thriller that is addictively entertaining.

As the eleventh book in the series featuring American archaeologist Nina Wilde and ex-SAS bodyguard Eddie Chase, most fans of the series are going to know the characters by now and understand that the action will be non-stop. "Yes, you two do seem to be an almost magnetic draw for megalomaniacs, murderers, and terrorists." Exactly!

This time Ezekiel Cross is a cult leader who thinks he has unlocked the secret of the four angels in the Bible's Book of Revelation. He has one angel, now he is searching for the other three and needs Nina's (uncooperative) help to find them. Nina is kidnapped and whisked away to the cult's secret location. Eddie is captured and held in another place, to be tortured on camera to secure Nina's continued cooperation with Cross.

Cross is a formidable opponent, but he doesn't quite know what he's up against with Nina and Eddie.

These characters are well developed at this point and their personalities are clear. There is action, but also expect humor.
"You should put all this stuff in a book," said Nina, not willing to be convinced, even though she couldn't fault his logic. "There's always a huge market for explanations of the Bible. Call it The Revelation Code or something, I'm sure it'll be a bestseller."

The Revelation Code succeeds as an action/adventure thriller with a smart plot, great pacing, an evil psychotic bad guy, and globe trotting action. McDermott does an excellent job developing the plot and keeping your interest as the story unfolds.

There were two issues I had with The Revelation Code. McDermott continues to attack American evangelical Christians, which gave me several eye-rolling moments. That specific target is getting a bit old and over-played now. I wish he'd move on to a new group of evil people. But this is fiction, so I'm choosing to overlook that glaring annoyance. The other issues concerns the fact that Nina's pregnant this time around, which she mentions often. This was bothersome to some readers, but since she's a first time pregnant woman I'm choosing to to overlook her obsession with reminding everyone all the time that she is pregnant.

This is a stuck-overnight-at-the-airport book. It will keep you awake and entertained right to the end.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House for review purposes.

Definitely the best book in the series! This one is more about religion and interpretation of the Bible, and less about archeology and looking for ancient artifacts, which is ok. This was a real page-turner, kept you guessing what was coming next. Keeps you wondering if this whole adventure would hurt Nina’s unborn child. The only not-positive thing I can say is this: the ending was not real clear about what comes of the fourth angel statue and also what comes of the discovery of the Lost Ark.

McDermott's Eddie and Nina series are formulaic and predictable--very light beach reading. One thing has become noticeable about these novels (a trend, actually), is the excessive dislike of Americans that the author seems to have. While it's true that Nina is an American, the repeated emphasis on the superiority of Eddie's SAS skills as compared to Special Forces and other American military branches, and the near-exclusive representation of Americans as evil bad guys, is beginning to look like an inferiority complex on the author's part and has become annoying. I encountered a similar attitude when I lived in England for a year and a half on an American military base. Some Brits seem to harbor a scarcely-concealed resentment toward Americans, especially those in uniform. I borrowed this book from my local library, but I doubt I will bother with any future novels from this author.

The Revelation Code by Andy McDermott is a highly recommended action/adventure thriller that is addictively entertaining.

As the eleventh book in the series featuring American archaeologist Nina Wilde and ex-SAS bodyguard Eddie Chase, most fans of the series are going to know the characters by now and understand that the action will be non-stop. "Yes, you two do seem to be an almost magnetic draw for megalomaniacs, murderers, and terrorists." Exactly!

This time Ezekiel Cross is a cult leader who thinks he has unlocked the secret of the four angels in the Bible's Book of Revelation. He has one angel, now he is searching for the other three and needs Nina's (uncooperative) help to find them. Nina is kidnapped and whisked away to the cult's secret location. Eddie is captured and held in another place, to be tortured on camera to secure Nina's continued cooperation with Cross.

Cross is a formidable opponent, but he doesn't quite know what he's up against with Nina and Eddie.

These characters are well developed at this point and their personalities are clear. There is action, but also expect humor.
"You should put all this stuff in a book," said Nina, not willing to be convinced, even though she couldn't fault his logic. "There's always a huge market for explanations of the Bible. Call it The Revelation Code or something, I'm sure it'll be a bestseller."

The Revelation Code succeeds as an action/adventure thriller with a smart plot, great pacing, an evil psychotic bad guy, and globe trotting action. McDermott does an excellent job developing the plot and keeping your interest as the story unfolds.

There were two issues I had with The Revelation Code. McDermott continues to attack American evangelical Christians, which gave me several eye-rolling moments. That specific target is getting a bit old and over-played now. I wish he'd move on to a new group of evil people. But this is fiction, so I'm choosing to overlook that glaring annoyance. The other issues concerns the fact that Nina's pregnant this time around, which she mentions often. This was bothersome to some readers, but since she's a first time pregnant woman I'm choosing to to overlook her obsession with reminding everyone all the time that she is pregnant.

This is a stuck-overnight-at-the-airport book. It will keep you awake and entertained right to the end.

Disclosure: My Kindle edition was courtesy of Random House for review purposes.

Definitely the best book in the series! This one is more about religion and interpretation of the Bible, and less about archeology and looking for ancient artifacts, which is ok. This was a real page-turner, kept you guessing what was coming next. Keeps you wondering if this whole adventure would hurt Nina’s unborn child. The only not-positive thing I can say is this: the ending was not real clear about what comes of the fourth angel statue and also what comes of the discovery of the Lost Ark.

McDermott's Eddie and Nina series are formulaic and predictable--very light beach reading. One thing has become noticeable about these novels (a trend, actually), is the excessive dislike of Americans that the author seems to have. While it's true that Nina is an American, the repeated emphasis on the superiority of Eddie's SAS skills as compared to Special Forces and other American military branches, and the near-exclusive representation of Americans as evil bad guys, is beginning to look like an inferiority complex on the author's part and has become annoying. I encountered a similar attitude when I lived in England for a year and a half on an American military base. Some Brits seem to harbor a scarcely-concealed resentment toward Americans, especially those in uniform. I borrowed this book from my local library, but I doubt I will bother with any future novels from this author.