Series: Roma Sub Rosa #1

I decided to finish this after all, but it wasn’t a very exciting read. I know I complained about that incident at the 35% mark, but that just made me want to take a break. Although it started out fun, the story itself just wasn’t very compelling. The solution to the mystery wasn’t very surprising, and the mystery reveal involved a lot of explaining after the fact. Also, after not really bothering with info dumps, the author decided to hit the reader with a history lesson on Sulla at the two thirds’ mark. It wasn’t needed for the story, and I don’t know what possessed him to wedge it in two thirds of the way through. If we’d gone that long without needing to be “educated”, was it really necessary to cover it at that point? Gordianus also did some very stupid things. I’m giving it two stars to be charitable and because there wasn’t much that actually angered me other than the pointlessness of it all.

 I've read 24 pages, and this is why.  I was leaning towards setting it down, not only for these reasons but also telling not showing, and long paragraphs of pontification; and with encouragement from Char and Darth Pony, it simply made my decision easier.

On Amazon, this book has 158 reviews with an average of four-and-a-half stars. Only three of the reviews are below three stars, and even those unfavorable reviews only seem to object to the story being "boring" or similar. I read through two pages of all the reviews and not one of them mentioned having a problem with stereotypes.

And of course I know that you can't take Amazon reviews at face value. But this just seems weird to me -- perhaps I'm overly-sensitive.

i'm settling on two and a half stars for this one because that's exactly neutral.  Since I read 24 pages, I can't say it deserves less than that, but apparently a review doesn't show up on the BL book page if it doesn't have a star rating.

What's next? Crossing my fingers. I'd hate to make it three DNFs in a row.

and I was really excited by the synopsis and the Prologue:

For nearly two thousand years the people who would later be known as the Anasazi gradually developed a culture that still astounds. Then in a matter of only a few years, totally abandoned their great pueblos and homeland, causing a disturbing yet fascinating mystery to forever shadow the canyon lands of the Southwest. It is often referred to as the “Mysterious disappearance of the Anasazi.”

Over the years each succeeding generation of investigators proffered new and sometimes dissimilar theories as to the reason. It is only in the last few years irrefutable new evidence has surfaced which may satisfy all but the most recalcitrant.

In the process, however, a dark and little known side of that ancient people is revealed. A secret long hinted at— yet often denied.

Then i I got to page 1 and this happened: 

Professor George Armstrong Custer bestirred himself from a drunken slumber with the full intent of carrying on business as usual; but as he gazed about the camp in a state of befuddlement, slowly came to the awareness that he was quite alone. His faithful Indian drinking companion and employee, Harley Ponyboy, was nowhere to be seen.

followed immediately by this :

Harley was no stranger to the bottle himself and felt more than a little embarrassed at his deplorable lack of stamina. He realized too late that George Custer was in a league of his own; his Irish heritage had given him a decided advantage.

This is where I make the noise that sounds like a pirate.

i may not make it out of chapter one.

ETA, page 4: and do Native Americans call themselves "Indians"? Because in this book, one does.

"Ancient Truth" by Jack Goodwind is a fantasy book as I always wanted to read. So often I have heard about this alternative version of history, of the Pyramids being built by Aliens and similar stories. Yet, I've not found entertaining stories like "Ancient Truth" that play out that scenarios in such a satisfactory way and with such an excellent blend of fantasy, mythology and fiction.
It starts 500,000 BC with an Alien fleet approaching Earth and skips then to Scotland and other locations in 2013. Thriller and fantasy novel in one the book however also touches on deeper notes that reflect on our beliefs and the human race.
Ancient Truth is the first book in the Line of Blood Saga and is a promising start to the series that has still plenty of territory to cover with its millennia spanning story and the wide variety of legends and myths.
Hugely enjoyable and thought provoking.