Micah Nathan

First: do I recommend it? Yes. I think maybe others might enjoy it much more than I, and it does have an average 4-star rating on Amazon.com. Not that I always agree with the bulk of the Amazon reviewers. So maybe someone else will get more out of it than me.

Set at a small college in Connecticut, the main character of the story is Eric Dunne, who lost his parents at an early age and went on to live with a foster family in the NJ tenements. Deciding that he needed to make something of his show more life or stay in the tenements forever, Eric goes on to become an academic wunderkind graduating early and getting accepted on scholarship to Aberdeen College. There he is placed in advanced courses, assigned to work in the library, and captures the attention of Art, who is like the TA in his 3rd-year Latin class. Art happens to work for a Professor Cade who is working on a project that he hopes will win him a coveted literary prize, and Art invites Eric to be a part of the team that is helping the Professor with the project. The rest of the group lives in Cade's house for the convenience. Anyway, Eric joins this circle of people and he is immediately aware that there are things going on that no one wants to come out and say. Here, I give the author a LOT of credit...he builds very well the tension in the house that exists between its members so that the reader just has to keep reading to see if these will be resolved and what the underlying "mystery" is that keeps everyone talking around Eric. As Eric comes to know the people better, Art begins to divulge secrets that are being kept and it leads to tragedy.

Up to the tragedy, I was just sort of waiting for the big "thing" to hit which gave this book a 4-star rating on Amazon and led some reviewers to call it one of the best books of the year. After the revelation of the tragedy unfolds, this is where the author hits his stride, and after this the book is very very good. It just took WAY too long to get there! I swear, if I had read one more scene of over the top drinking binges I was going to hurl. If the first part of the book had been as good as the last, it would have been an incredible story. Not that I'm a professional critic, but I am a member of the book-buying public, and I think that this author has a great deal of greatness yet to come out so I'll look forward to his second novel. show less

Micah Nathan's 2005 debut novel, Gods of Aberdeen (Simon & Schuster) is one of many recent books seeking to slot itself into the 'literary thriller' genre. It may not be perfect, but it's better than most of the others.

Set on and near the rural Connecticut campus of Aberdeen College, this novel tells the rather improbable tale of Eric Dunne's extremely unconventional experiences as a college freshman. Eric Dunne, a 16-year old, orphaned, Latin prodigy from the slums of New Jersey catches the show more attention of famed Aberdeen scholar William Cade, who arranges for Eric to join his research team - other current and former students who live at Cade's home and work on translations, research and composition for his magna opus, some sort of massive history of the Middle Ages. But that project isn't the only thing Cade's assistants are up to ... led by the enigmatic Arthur Fitch, the boys are on the trail of the Philosopher's Stone and the immortality it will bring. You know that can't possibly end well.

If that sounds a little silly, it is. But Nathan manages to keep the book flowing, and while the flawless retrospective memory seemed a bit much (Eric is remembering the events years later, but somehow manages to recall everything in mind-boggling specificity) and the ending left something to be desired, I enjoyed Gods of Aberdeen for its examination (however far-fetched) of life at a small college, its depiction of the dangers of taking oneself too seriously, and its well-paced narrative.

http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2008/04/book-review-gods-of-aberdeen.html show less

Although well written the authors style was distracting and did not mask a rather mundane story. The character's journey lacked depth and I failed to connect him or any of the other characters. The entire story felt forced.

A college grad nursing a broken heart is hired by the "real" Elvis to travel to Tennessee to find his illegitimate granddaughter. Literary feel. (125)