The Lost Throne - Chris Kuzneski

...his belt. He started with the Plantation, a book yet to have been released in the UK, and was followed by Sign of the Cross (2006), Sword of God (2007) and now The Lost Throne (2008). I have spoken to Chris by e-mail, after I had read The Lost Throne, and had to tell him how awesome it was, and he could do with all the reviews he can get, so I thought, for a first review, lets see if I can do him justice.


I came across Kuzneski ...
...and found Angels and Demons, the Dan Brown sequel to The Da' Vinci Code. Angles and Demons is out on film this year, so thought I would get ahead and give the book a read, since something I have learnt from Harry Potter, the films are NEVER anywhere near as good as the books.

But a few hundred pages in, and a couple of weeks later, Angels and Demons disappeared, I searched the bookcase over and over, and was gutted since I had just ... more

Some of you may not have heard of this rising new American author, Chris Kuzneski, now with four books under his belt. He started with the Plantation, a book yet to have been released in the UK, and was followed by Sign of the Cross (2006), Sword of God (2007) and now The Lost Throne (2008). I have spoken to Chris by e-mail, after I had read The Lost Throne, and had to tell him how awesome it was, and he could do with all the reviews he can get, so I thought, for a first review, lets see if I can do him justice.

I came across Kuzneski when I worked at John Lewis, in the PDR (partners dining room) there was a selection of books to read, and since I was on a bit of a diet a distraction always helps. I flicked through to see if there was anything decent and found Angels and Demons, the Dan Brown sequel to The Da' Vinci Code. Angles and Demons is out on film this year, so thought I would get ahead and give the book a read, since something I have learnt from Harry Potter, the films are NEVER anywhere near as good as the books.

But a few hundred pages in, and a couple of weeks later, Angels and Demons disappeared, I searched the bookcase over and over, and was gutted since I had just got to the real action of the book. Alas! What was I to do? I scoured the shelves for something else to read and found Sign of the Cross , his first UK release. The cover looked good, and reading the blurb I was taken. I read the first few pages and realised it was very similar to the way Brown writes his books, and to be honest, I first thought that he was perhaps riding on the back of Brown's success, but with more of an American tone of writing… too many "God-damn's" rather than the more English eloquence of "fuck". However I persevered, and completely proved my first thoughts wrong, this book was awesome.

Unfortunately, it faced the same ending as Angels and Demons, and the book just disappeared from the shelves, so heartbroken I had to find yet another read, which became Lindwood Barclay's fantastic book "No Time for Goodbye".

After Christmas, I decided it was time to spend some of that Christmas money and get myself some new books, so off into the sales I went, aiming to find Sign of the Cross , so I could continue where I had left off. Unfortunately, both my local Waterstones' were barren of the book, so I returned home with Lindwood Barclay's book instead, to read at my leisure. But when I went to Tesco in the New Year, sat on the shelves for the bargain price of £3.86 (or two books for £7) was The Lost Throne, an offer I thought was too good to miss.

Since I was re-doing some exams to improve my A-Levels, the excitement of a new book had to wait, pushed sideways in favour of revision. But not for long…

The day of my final exam, I packed the book in my bag for the bus ride home, which takes a good two hours, and what with the waiting for a bus at Starbucks, a good book twinned with some good music is the perfect way to pass some time. Now the hard part of a review, to tell you about the book without ruining the story for you…

One of the things I love about this book, and his others is the way he tells his stories, split into 76 chapters, plus a prologue and epilogue totalling in at 590 pages, a book that some may find a daunting read. Kuzneski runs as many as three stories at once, and if you do chuck in the prologue at the beginning then really you have four. Four stories running in parallel, each as awe capturing as the next.

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Jones and Payne are on holiday in Florida, the two best friends and ex-MANIACs star in all four of the books Kuzneski has written, and as with any talented author, you gain more perspective into their characters throughout the series. In the middle of the night Payne received a call, which in his dream like state he didn't answer, and fell easily back to sleep, but during the course of the next days, he received no fewer than 17 calls, all at regular intervals.. Someone was trying to get hold of him, and you can tell it isn't just his mother!

So who is trying to get hold of him with such eagerness?

Richard Byrd has nearly uncovered the location of a magnificent treasure, a secret which has been underground for years, kept close to the chests of its keepers, keepers with the wisdom to protect it at all costs. What is it that Byrd has discovered, and will he manage to leave Russia with his research assistant, the beautiful and intelligent Allison Taylor.

His discovery perhaps isn't only known to him though.

Nick Dial, the head of the homicide division of Interpol is used to being called to strange murder scenes, having witnessed the crucifixion of Monks a few years ago, even so visiting the Monastery of the Holy Temple at Meteora, Greece brings grave intrigue and millions of questions. Was this a crime of religion, something Interpol avoid, or is it more.

Who killed all these monks in such a specific manner?

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That is all of the story line I am giving away, and if that hasn't captured your interest then my last hopes rely on his skill as a writer. The first page in the book acknowledges all the help Kuzneski received while writing the book, and one can tell that a great deal of research has gone into it. One thing I noticed when I wrote a story for my GCSE coursework a few years ago, was that to write a proper convincing story you need to have all the details about everything you write about, detail is everything.

Kuzneski has clearly spend months researching the stories in this book, from his in depth portrayal of the traditions of the ancient Sparti warriors, the details about the 19th century archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, and the understanding of the locations he uses. It isn't just a story that he writes, you actually learn from it too, a rare thing with many fiction books. Again it becomes another thing that he shares with the books of Brown.

One thing I have only touched on briefly is his style as a writer. His use of multiple story lines running in tandem creates a continued suspense unlike anything I have ever experienced in a book. The cliffhanger ending of a chapter, where you want to know what the Coat means or what they will find in that little cave. It far surpasses the suspense you can feel in a well directed film. Each chapter you don't want to end, you want to stick with Jones and Payne, to see what they find out, but as soon as your cast back into the story with Dial, it becomes all that matters, and you become so engrossed with that part of the story you completely forget that the next page is going to hold that information that kept you clinging onto the pages before.

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In summary, Chris Kuzneski is an author you have to read, whether you're after a book to chill out with, a book for your holidays later in the year, or something to read on the train, this is it. Trust me it is one of those amazing pieces you will not be able to put down, it kept me reading late into the night, only stopping when my eyes drooped to the point where I was having to read a page twice before my exhausted mind could take it in properly. The only thing I can hope for, is that these books are soon made into a film, because I guarantee that they would make action packed, suspenseful thrillers which will have people queuing at the door.

On his website, Kuzneski has been compared to Dan Brown:

"Sign of the Cross is a religious thriller. Were you trying to cash in on The Da Vinci Code?"

But he had completed the first draft of Sign of the Cross before he'd heard of Dan Brown, having come up with the plot in the late 1990's. Since Brown hit the mainstream before him, and the fact that they share a similar writing style, it is likely that it will be a while before Kuzneski can completely shed the stigma of the comparison, however in my opinion, there is no contest. Kuzneski wipes the floor with Brown, having created a vastly better written, more interesting series of novels.

What Other People Say

Don't just take my word for it, here is what other people say about the book, taken from his website www.chriskuzneski.com.

John Case, New York Times bestselling author-
"THE LOST THRONE reads like an AK-47 on laughing-gas, as Kuzneski runs a gauntlet of mystery and mayhem, wisecracking all the way."

James O. Born, national bestselling author-
"Part Tom Clancy, part Dan Brown, THE LOST THRONE is fast, fun, and exciting!"

Alyn Evans (United Kingdom)-
"Just thought I'd congratulate you on writing a thoroughly entertaining book. I don't want to sound like I'm trying to kiss your ass, but THE LOST THRONE is definitely the best book I've read in a long time (probably since SIGN OF THE CROSS!!!)"

Robin Fearn (United Kingdom)-
"Just wanted to say thanks for three of the best books that I've ever read. I'm currently enjoying SWORD OF GOD, hot on the heels of finishing THE LOST THRONE and SIGN OF THE CROSS. . . I'm no expert reviewer, but the reason I find your work so good is the pace of the action that you sustain throughout the books, combined with just enough info about the characters and the settings without getting weighed down. . . Keep up the great work!"

Stan Hill (United Kingdom)-
"I just read THE LOST THRONE and I must congratulate you on a brilliant book. There was not a chapter in it that did not keep me fully interested. I would love to see it made into a film." 

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