Book Review - The Egyptian - Layton Green

One lucky reader will receive an ecopy of this book,
thanks to the author Layton Green, at the next Blog Hop.
 December 2nd-6th.  See you then.

Title:  The Egyptian

Author: Layton Green

Review:    At first I wasn't a fan of the Dominic Grey, the lead character, because I felt like the author pushed him to be this broken man without giving a reason but I soon realized this was a sequel to another book and Dominic Grey made a lot more sense.  I loved that the author never once changed Dominic Gray to be this super hero, he was a trained former military man who did his best to right wrongs.  Dominic Grey’s employer Viktor Radek I felt could have been the humor needed in the book or at least someone to help release the tension that kept building but he was more for background information and he was very boring.

I love that the author has done his research with the different elements, locations and environment when it came to the theory of Elixir of Life and the different alchemist.  I feel like he did more than just a Wikipedia search on the subject.

Nomti was extremely frightening and even gave me chills and I would love to ask the author if he is based on someone he knew. It seems like with all books that the main bad man intentions were never evil, but start off as a desire to do good, only end up consuming him until he can't see right from wrong.  There were two scientist that were looking for the elixir of life, one wanted to save the life he loved and the other wanted to make profit.  I love that I had no idea who it was until the end of the book.

The female lead Veronica is a journalist for the WHO.  She wanted the story but instead fell in love with Grey who was unable to love.  She was a strong female character without being annoying and the author created a woman, women could relate to and men wanted to be with.

I found this book to be a mix of Clive Clusser and Jack Du Brul expect without the fun those authors added to their books.  Layton is a good adventure writer and he paints the scene so vivid you feel like you are walking the streets of Cairo or NYC.

What I didn't like about the book was the lack of  humor that I feel was needed to release some of the tension that kept building and abruptly ended.  In the last chapter of the book I felt like the author needed an ending and quickly wrote it like a one hour TV show.  Half way through the book the swearing picked up and I felt like it was so out of place almost as if someone else was writing the scenes.  There was sex in the book, it wasn't out of place and as I like to put it " the author closed the door."

The question I found myself asking after I finished the book was " If I could live forever would I want to?"  No.  Everyone and everything has a time a season.  Yes I would love to be young and beautiful forever, but I do not want to live forever.


A big thanks goes out to our guest reviewer Heidi....thanks Heidi...if you have a book you think Heidi would enjoy let us know.

Publisher: Published August 21st 2011 by FirstWard

ISBN: B005IGUVYG

Copyright: 2011

Pages: Kindle Version - 327

Quick Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

Why I Read It:  Sent by the author for review.

Synopsis: At a mausoleum in Cairo’s most notorious cemetery, a mercenary receives a package containing a silver test tube suspended in hydraulic stasis.

An investigative reporter tracking rogue biomedical companies is terrified by the appearance of a mummified man outside her Manhattan apartment.  

A Bulgarian scientist who dabbles in the occult makes a startling discovery in his underground laboratory.

These seemingly separate events collide when Dominic Grey and Viktor Radek, private investigators of cults, are hired by the CEO of an Egyptian biomedical firm to locate stolen research integral to the company’s new life extension product. However, after witnessing the slaughter of a team of scientists by the remnants of a dangerous cult thought long abandoned, Grey and Viktor turn from pursuers to pursued.

From the gleaming corridors of visionary laboratories to the cobblestone alleys of Eastern Europe to a lost oasis in the Sahara, Grey and Viktor must sift through science and myth to uncover the truth behind the Egyptian and his sinister biotech – before that truth kills them.

Author Biography:  In addition to writing, Layton attended law school in New Orleans and was a practicing attorney for the better part of a decade (even though he still resents having cut his hair for that first interview). He has also been an intern for the United Nations, an ESL teacher in Central America, a bartender in London, a seller of cheap knives on the streets of Brixton, a door-to-door phone book deliverer, and the list goes downhill from there.

He has traveled to more than fifty countries, lived in a number of them, and has a burning desire to see every country, city, beach, moor, castle, cemetery, twisted street and far flung dot on the map. Religion and cults, as well as all things spiritual and supernatural, have also been a lifelong interest. Combine the travel and the religion with fifteen years of Japanese Jujitsu training, and the Dominic Grey series was born.

Layton lives with his wife and son in Miami.

Other Reviews:

Curling Up By the Fire

Odyssey Reviews

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