From Publishers Weekly: Harry Blake, an antiquarian book dealer specializing in old maps and manuscripts, agrees to help Sir Toby Tebbit translate a 400-year-old journal, written in code, that Sir Toby has inherited from a heretofore unknown relative in Jamaica. The manuscript chronicles the adventures of a young cabin boy, James Ogilvie, who traveled to the Americas as part of a secret mission for the Elizabethan crown. When a mysterious woman approaches Blake about buying the journal, he refuses to sell. Later, Blake returns to the Tebbit household to discover that Sir Toby has been brutally murdered. Teaming up with rival historian Zola Kahn and Sir Toby's daughter, Debbie, the trio soon join a race to determine the meaning behind Ogilvie's encrypted text. A trail reaching as far back as the Crusades leads toward a holy relic that could be worth millions -- or could be the key to a worldwide terrorist plot.***Dan Brown has a lot to answer for, number one on the list being the plethora of "hunt for the holy relic" novels he spawned with the incredibly popular The DaVinci Code. Not that Splintered Icon is a bad read: it's fun, enjoyable, and somewhat more believable than many of its cousins. And this particular take on the genre gives us a look at a relatively obscure (at least on this side of the pond) expedition to the New World featuring Sir Walter Raleigh, his cohorts, and a suspected Catholic plot against Queen Elizabeth. That alone makes this novel worth slogging through the unsurprising surprises and not-so-twisty twists of a done-to-death storyline. Or maybe I've just read too many of this type of novel. I do have a weakness for them, regardless of their familiarity.Fluffy, but fun.
This book is a thriller and it is two thrillers in one. There are two stories going on. On the one hand an antiquarian book dealer is hired to translate a manuscript that dates from the sixteenth century and is written in a kind of shorthand from that time. The man who hired him is murdered soon thereafter and the book seller finds himself being offered huge amounts of money for the manuscript and when he declines he finds himself facing violence. Then there is the other story. It is the story of the man who wrote the manuscript and it takes place in 1585. That story could be called an historical thriller. It involves murder, secret missions, sea travel and conflicts with the natives of North America in 1585. For most of the book I enjoyed that historical story more than the main story that takes place in modern times. However, as the novel approaches its climax that story gets a lot better and is filled with tension as the three protagonists are threatened with imminent death. They also find themselves in possession of a two thousand year old artifact that is of extreme importance to history. It is important enough that it is valued at about forty million dollars.
Do You like book Splintered Icon (2005)?
A dealer in antique maps is hired by a London man of means to translate a coded diary dating from 1585, or thereabouts. Turns out the diary is an account of Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to found a colony in the New World, and the expedition has another secret purpose. The dealer, Harry Blake, discovers that another group wants the information in the diary, because it contains the key to the location of an ancient religious icon - a piece of the True Cross. The London client is murdered, and Blake teams up with his daughter and a couple of others to travel to Jamaica. The bad guys kidnap the good guys and threaten torture if Blake doesn't decipher the diary and deliver the information.
—Tom
I bought Splintered because on the cover I read that fans of Dan Brown would love this book. Although I am not a fan of Dan Brown I have enjoyed reading three of his books and my most favourite of Dan Brown's novels is Angels and Demons. Splintered Icon comes nowhere to being as good as Dan Brown's works. The only part of Splintered Icon that I enjoyed reading is James Ogilive's narrative. Otherwise, the supposed mystery and its unraveling were not worth my time. Especially the language and style in which the mystery is solved have turned me off. I was skipping many sentences and sometimes even whole paragraphs. After finishing the book I was very eager to give it away and I believe I have done him wrong to whom I gave the book. I don't recommend this book to any one.
—Yelibenwork Ayele
With everyone else writing books about historical conspiracies, and hidden artifacts, one would think that all the various ones have been revealed, but, you would be wrong. In this book, antiquarian bookseller, Harry Blake joins forces with map dealer Zola Khan, and the daughter of an historical tome, Deborah Inez Tebbitt to find a priceless icon which has ties to Debbie's family. This is another of those books which has inserts of the historical mixed in with present day--not my favorite device, but it is compelling overall.
—Marti
