A thriller adventure involving an alchemical weapon hidden somewhere in Manhattan. This follows the character of Robert who receives a mysterious mission to unlock seven hidden keys throughout the city before the evil secret society of Iwnw (yoonu) remakes the world.

Some contrived plot holes and way more like The DaVinci Code than I think the author wanted. This could have been really good but the characters didn't develop and weren't too interesting. This focuses on a lot of conspiracy and banks on the reader's ignorance of world cultures and events; playing on Islamophobia in some aspects as well as mysticism from both Islam and Christianity. ( )

Peor incluso que el Código Da Vinci ( )

Peor incluso que el Código Da Vinci ( )

The Malice Box sounds like a novel hanging on the coattails of the recent explosion of religious thrillers. However, Martin Langfield's début read is like Clive Barker collaborating with Dan Brown. Although grounded in that current popular genre of running around solving riddles, The Malice Box is heavily laced with a supernatural/mythological slant. This fresh angle should deliver a more engaging read than Langfield delivers. The Malice Box jumps back and forth with flashbacks, never creates characters that are particularly likeable, for they are all flawed, and most importantly the writing style creates frustration. Throughout the book, in an effort to create mystery, narrative stalls the reader with frequent efforts at halting converstaion with clumsy results. Almost at every turn Langfield answers questions with questions, or characters simply refuse to discuss critical plot elements. Overall, a good effort for a first novel, marred by sloppy attempts to create tension. ( )

An interesting thriller which attempts to weave elements of science and the spiritual together. The flashbacks serve as a device to give backstory, and evlove the plot. There was no real attachment to the characters, and although there were a few pulse racing moments, I found it too predictable.

Ultimately this book may have tried to convey a message showing how clinical we, as humans, have become; but the lack of emotional attachment to the characters diluted the message until it was almost undetectable. ( )