The Mask Of Troy [Hardcover]

I should have learned my lesson after reading one of his other novels. Mr. Gibbin's stories are archaeological lectures with a bit of story thrown in. He likes to lecture the reader with 3/4 page paragraphs of dialogue between the key characters. If not that, then he just likes to write super-long paragraphs that make the story drag at a snail's-pace. I should have known. However, despite all, I stuck it out and in the end, he wrote a decent story.

I won't go too deep into the plot but it involves death camps, Troy and the search for a deadly weapon that some new Nazis and others want to unleash on the world. What we end up with is far from that. What we end up with is page after page, super-long paragraph after super-long paragraph of exposition and dialogue between characters philosophizing on what could've/should've happened between the Trojan War, a sub-plot involving the Holocaust, and a bunch of whackos out to get the big McGuffin.

Along the way, buried in all of that is a decent thriller that could've been told in a lot fewer pages. It could've been written in a lot brisker pace with a more palatable style that might've gained the author a much wider audience. As it is, I have my doubts about his widespread appeal. I found it especially annoying to dive into a 3/4 page paragraph and have the point of view or action shift from one character to the next and back again without a break. This is something any editor worth their salt could have taken care of. It sure would have made for a better read.

Despite the rather annoying faults in writing style, I found a decent story buried in all the muck. However, when I finally came to the action scenes, they seemed way too short and anticlimactic after all of that buildup. To read sixty pages of exposition and philosophizing just to get to three or four pages of action seemed out of proportion.

By far, the best action scene in the whole book was near the end in water underground. That's all I'll say so as not to spoil it.

I couldn't wait to get to the end of this one just so I could go on to something easier to read. I had James Rollin's Devil Colony sitting on the stand ready to go and thought of putting this thing down several times but there was just enough going on to keep me doing that. I'm glad I finished it but it was a chore. I give it two stars for writing style but five stars for actual story. Mix in the flaws with plotting and everything else, I still enjoyed it enough to average it to four stars. I'm being generous, but Mask Of Troy did have its moments. As a contrast, after I finished the book, I picked up Devil Colony and read 70+ pages in the time it took me to read 20 from Mask of Troy. Only recommended for those that like a high word count and have a lot of patience. There IS a good story buried in there! If he'd tone down the lecturing and get to the point, I think Mr. Gibbins would gain a much wider audience.

The book is all over the place. Many subplots that go nowhere. No real ending to the story. Feels like the author had a time limit for the book. The deadline approaching he just jumped to conclusions. Lot of questions left plain unanswered. More like Mask of Troy, part One.

One of Gibbins better works IMHO. Very action packed and loaded with insightful points to factual sites and events. Great dialogues in some sections relating to social issues that I found profound and moving.

Skip Stein
Orlando, Florida

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