Like Heroes But Less Well Executed

books:


	• Pandora's Daughter Iris Johansen St. Martin's Press, 2007 - 384 pages average customer review:based on 48 reviews view larger image
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Ignore The Naysayers

I read from three to five novels a week depending on certain factors. I'm a member of a professional writers organization and a contributing editor to an online fiction magazine. I study books on writing fiction. All this to say, I know a thing or two about novels and fiction. A number of the reviewers here are average Joe's and Jane's who know what they like, don't like and that's about it. No offense meant.

I'd never read an Iris Johansen novel until I received an email from one of the lists I'm on with an except from this novel, Pandora's Daughter. By the end of the except I was hooked and had to rush out and buy a copy to see what happens. I can only recall doing this once before.

That said, this is not a story for everyone. It deals with psychic phenomenon, suspense, thrills, chills and a host of other things that don't appeal to everyone. That's okay. Read what you like, let the rest of us do the same.

Pandora's Daughter is the story of Dr. Megan Blair who was orphaned at age 15 when her mother was murdered. All her life she'd heard voices and her mother tried tell her otherwise. Megan had to be 'normal'. Everything changed with her mother's death and she went to live with her uncle. The voices went away, just as her mother had predicted. All these years later, the voices are back and that's not a good thing.

Johansen's writing is just the way I like it. Minimal, straight to the point. No fluff. No frills. She writes endearing characters. The kind that you want to comfort when things go wrong, as if they were real people you know. The suspense is tight and never gives an inch. Just when you think you know what's next, you don't and everything changes.

I say, ignore the naysayers and make up your own mind about the novel and Johansen's storytelling. Be bold. Blaze your own trail, as the saying goes.

And for those of you who didn't like this book, I'm sorry to say there is talk of a sequel due to all the praise that readers have laid on this story. Check her website if you don't believe it. I, for one, can't wait to read Johansen's future novels, whatever they are.

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4 stars

Voices filled Megan Blair's head until a tragic turn of events orphaned her and she somehow managed to silence them. Twelve years after the worst night of her life, Megan is forced to face her heritage when an attempt is made on her life and she finds herself with only two allies in the world. Like her mother before her, she has a rare talent that has made her the object of fear and hatred for a powerful madman, bent on destroying both her and every person in her extended family. It has fallen to her to keep the key to finding a family of psychics safe from destruction.

**** This thrilling roller-coaster ride of a book will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Romance, action, and suspense are blended with the paranormal into a heady blend of literature guaranteed to keep you up at night so you can finish the story. ****

Amanda Killgore

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Like Heroes But Less Well Executed

This book which bridges the action and romance genres (like many of her other books) has a very similar plot line to the MSNBC TV series "Heroes" with hereditary psychics with varying powers immersed in a clash of conspiratorial forces. But, the execution isn't nearly as good.

The mysteries are shallow and solved quickly and with little hassle, even compared to relatively shallow books like the Da Vinci Code. Pieces come together via faxes and cell phone images from CIA headquarters, not dusty archives and sepia washed stained portraits. We don't touch, feel or smell the 500 year old documents at all. The villian's motives, basically a personal vendetta of a sadistic child trafficer, aren't epic enough to support the book. And, the characters are relatively flat - they have no relationships with anyone but each other. Most importantly, however, this is book which is ultimately immersed in science fiction that doesn't understand how intimately science fiction is a genre about ideas. Unlike, Darwin's Radio, for example, which has a similar inherited superhuman characteristics premise, you don't learn anything about genetics. The victims of the past injustices the extended Jewish family has faced are just names, not people.

The characters do have some individuality, the relationships have some emotional tug (although some of the relationships key to the plot aren't developed enough to justify their central role), the sex is par for the course or better for romance, and there are some ideas explored, but for a book that is hot of the presses in 2007, I expect more relevance and more resonance with issues facing our society. You leave this book the same person as you came to it.

This book, while action packed, is less about ideas than the Bourne Ultimatum, and has a far less exotic set of locales. The story goes to various African locales, Stockholm, Paris, a provencial French circus and cottage, Munich, Atlanta and rural Tennessee, but the story fails to capitalize on the opportunities for local color. It reads like a travelogue written by someone who has never actually been to any of these places with the exception of Atlanta.

This would be a suitable beach or airport read if you can't find anything else.

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a very compelling story

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

After her mother was murdered when she was 15, Megan Blair went to live with her uncle, and has almost completely silenced the voices she heard in her head as a young girl. What Megan doesn't understand is that she is a Listener, able to hear the voices of people who have died. Until someone tries to kill her...

Neal Grady has been protecting Megan ever since the fateful night her mother was killed. He has used his own psychic abilities to relieve the burden of the horrors Megan's gift brings her. But now he has returned. It appears Molino, the man who killed Megan's mother in a fit of vengeance and rage, has found Megan and will do anything to kill her too. Neal will do anything to protect Megan from such evil.

Molino wants the Ledger, a book that holds all the secrets to the psychically talented family Megan is believed to be descended from and he intends to use it to kill off all the "freaks." linked through the family. Megan's mother killed Molino's son with her gifts, convincing Molino she is a Pandora, the most dangerous of all psychic talents.

Pandora's Daughter is a very compelling story. Action is non-stop in this fast paced thriller. The suspense is skillfully done, keeping me on the edge of my seat eager to see what would happen next. I actually found myself wanting to stay in the car and drive even more so I could continue on the roller coaster ride of emotions. I was kept guessing as to what Molino would do next in his quest for vengeance against Megan.

I loved the addition of the variety of psychic gifts to the story and the accompanying explanations of the levels of abilities. Experiencing Megan's abilities alongside of her and the emotions resulting from them, added a sense of urgency to the story and added tension to the story

I was more impressed with the thriller side of the story than I was the romance. Maybe it was the age difference between Megan and Neal, but I could not see them as a couple, no matter how hard I tried, even while I knew they were going to end up together in the end.

I had the abridged version of the audio and I think I would have enjoyed the unabridged version a little bit more. There seemed to be a lot of scene jumping that would have been much more smoothly done in the unabridged version with better transitions. Jennifer Van Dyck does a wonderful job performing the novel, her voice adding nuances to the characters that made them that much more fascinating.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, February 2008. All rights reserved.

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An Average Johansen book

This is at least the 10th book I've read by this author. It is far from the worst but it is not the best either. A physician (Meagan) finds out that she has physic powers but that she is being hunted for this very fact. She has been protected, in secret for many years by a man named Grady. She must now go on the run to save her life and find out if she is really a Pandora (which is as much a curse as a blessing). Story mixes mystery and thrills with some romance. A little hard to believe but for the most part, the book works. The ending is predictable but doesn't make you want to put the book down until you read in print what you know is coming.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

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