Paul Roche (1916–2007)

Clive Cussler jumped into my mind as I started reading Echoes of Time. Paul Roche’s writing style is similar to that of the more famous author. However, with the growing cheekiness with which Roche described the flirtatious actions of one of Johnne Walker’s supporting characters, he deviated from that style, and did so more as the story moved toward its conclusion.

Roche’s book is about the discovery of clues to a secret project mentioned in documents found on a sunken Nazi warship show more located in the waters off Gozo, Malta. That clue led to other findings in Antarctica, Germany, and Poland, each clue leading Walker and his support group closer to unraveling a further collection of clues. While exploring, Walker is being watched by a criminal-minded Nazi enthusiast whose objective is to reincarnate Hitler’s Reich.

The story is captivating on its own. I can only guess that the growing cheekiness toward the story’s end is there to capture a testosterone-driven book reader.

From his writing, it’s clear that Paul Roche loves the Maltese community he works and writes in. His description of its people and geology made me Google it. Despite the extent of his descriptive eloquence, he in many ways understated its beauty. I’ve added it to the places I’d like to travel to and see. show less

Echoes of Time (Johny Walker Book 2) by Paul Roche had plenty of potential but wasn’t the most enjoyable book I have read.
After the first dozen times of having various parts of the female anatomy described, I got the impression that one of the well-endowed female characters was literally throwing herself at the lead male character at every opportunity.
I really didn’t have to have the daily ordered menu described in every other page.
If the reader can filter out those annoyances, the show more storyline actually isn’t too bad. Some timeline discrepancies crept in but on the whole it was perfectly readable. Being book 2 in a series, I am assuming that a lot would have become clearer if book one was read prior, I find it is always difficult to jump into a story part way through.
DISCLAIMER: I received this book at no cost in return for an honest and unbiased review, and what I have written above is wholly my own opinion and recommendation. show less

I received this book from Librarything for my honest review.
This is an interesting book. I enjoyed the plot and how well each of the team members developed, but there were some distracting moments.
1. Sex-crazed Pia became very annoying, and I found myself skipping through some of her crazy antics.
2. I could not understand the long, unbelievable boat ride. It’s very doubtful that four untrained people could sail a ship they had never seen before from the Mediterranean to Antarctica and show more back in just a few days is unbelievable.
3. The Nazi’s were a very type-cast. I could almost see them twisting the ends of their mustache as they plotted how to take over the world.
There were others, but I won’t continue. Once I stopped pondering the believability, timing, and sexual antics, I started to enjoy the story. The daily banter and puzzle solving were fun to follow. The bakery nights were also very enjoyable to peek in on. I liked the people and how they worked, argued, and fought along the way. show less

The plotline was interesting. Settings were varied. Nazis were being nazis. I enjoyed the book with a few exceptions. Oversexed Pia grew old fast. Overuse of the word stale as did the phrase “the watchers were being watched”. Worth the read and I thank the author for the free book and the chance to review his work.