Book Review: Black Sun

The thriller, Black Sun, is by Graham Brown. It’s not his first book. He’s also the author of Black Rain. While both books center on the same characters, the two can stand on their own. According to Brown’s bio, writing is not his first career. In addition to a degree in Aeronautical Science, he has a law degree. He’s also a pilot. He also, apparently, has a sense of humor. The caption under his author pic says, “The author - looking suspiciously like a game show host.”

Here’s the back cover blurb for Black Sun:

In the heart of the Amazon, NRI operative Danielle Laidlaw makes an incredible discovery, a translucent Mayan stone generating massive waves of energy while counting down toward the infamous apocalyptic date December 21, 2012. And somewhere, there are three more just like it.

What power will be unleashed if all four stones come together? Who created them – and who has them now? Using a cryptic Mayan map and a prophecy that points to the end of the world, Danielle and her team race toward answers. But one staggering question remains: Were these artifacts meant to save us – or to destroy us once and for all?

Black Sun is a thriller with a short time clock relentlessly ticking. Laidlaw has to find the stones and decide whether to destroy them or bring them together. They’re spread all over the world in remote places, none of them easy to get at. Plus, her team is not the only one trying to find them and others will kill to get them. On her team are Professor Michael McCarter, a university scholar, and Hawker, a former CIA agent turned mercenary.

Black Sun kept me turning pages, so it was a fast read for me. Plus, it’s a timely read since there have long been rumors about December 21, 2012 being a date of a Mayan prediction of possible apocalypse. Brown puts adequately difficult blocks along the way and plenty of them. The characters are not only fighting the ticking clock, they’re working to keep the stones away from an adversary who intends to use them for his own evil purpose. They’re also working against some members of the U.S. government.

You’re kept guessing as to what will happen if the stones come together and what might happen if they don’t. You’re also never sure who will live and who will die … and who is right about the stones.

All in all, I give Black Sun a Hel-Yeah!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FTC Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by Kaye Publicity, who did not ask for a review, but did say I might be interested in doing a review, but that’s not why I’m recommending it, nor did it influence my review. It’s nice to see a fully developed female lead in a thriller. Most times it’s a man who moves the story forward and makes decisions. If there’s a female, she’s a secondary character or a love interest. Which begs the question, Why is that? In your family, who do the kids come to when they scrape a knee? The mother. When Billy pushes little Sally down on the playground, who confronts Bully Billy? The big sister. Who somehow manages to cook a roast, bake a cake, make mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach and get it on the table all at the same time and all hot? The wife. Who lifts one side of a couch while using the other hand to push a vacuum under it? The woman. Who better to lead a team to discover an ancient secret and decipher a terrifying prophecy? Yeah, uh-huh, you know who.