The Crystal Skull

well, this was my first manda scott book, i really enjoyed the story, especially the cedric owen chapters, the nostradamus angle was pretty cool imo, i've been looking for a fiction book with him in it, so that was a nice surprise! anyway, i really liked the crystal skull and i'll be reading more of scott's books in the future, if were still here, that is!

I picked this up over the summer, or whenever it was earlier this year that the last Indiana Jones movie came out (although it has no link whatsoever with the movie). I'd never heard of the book or the author, but because the story is about the crystal skull legend the bookstore had placed it prominently in the front as a very loose tie-in with the movie. There were a few like that on the shelf that day, and this one seemed the most interesting. I wasn't looking for anything too serious - just an entertaining fictional yarn. It ties together two legends that have been linked before - the idea that the ancient Mayans' calendar stops as of 12/21/2012 because that's when the current 5th `age' we live in will end, thus ending the world as we know it, and the legend of the mythical 13 skulls that allegedly exist in different places on the planet for various purposes depending on what theory you go with. In Scott's tale, the 13 skulls must be reunited on a certain date in order to avoid the Armageddon predicted by the Mayan calendar. It's a cloak and dagger adventure wrapped in an academic mystery, so it's a terrific mix of the cerebral and physical. The narrative travels back and forth in time, between the life of a 16th century English scholar named Cedric Owen whose ancestors served as guardians of one of the skulls, and the present, where astronomer / scientist Stella Cody and her new husband, Kit, are the ones burdened with the knowledge of what must be done to prevent the end of the world, but not yet sure how to do it. Stella, a descendant of Cedric Owen, learns she is the current keeper of the skull, but she must do more than just protect it as her ancestors have done. Ancient caves, cryptography, murder attempts and a ticking clock make it quite the page-turner, and Scott's juggling of characters and time periods is done expertly. Even the skull itself is a major character, sounding a haunting heartsong when content and a palpable sense of danger when threatened - sensations only the keeper can hear and feel. As hokey as it may sound, it wasn't at all. Manda Scott pulled this off really well, with exceptional grace and talent, and her prose is almost poetic. It was a pleasure to read and very satisfying. The difference intelligent writing makes never ceases to amaze me! I really enjoyed it and consider this author another lovely new `discovery' for my bookshelves.

Considering all of the research that purportedly went into the writing of this book, it's unfortunate that astrological research was not included. In the astrological wheel that was printed (early in the voyage), it's glaring that there was no Part of Fortune indicated (especially when it was discussed so prominently in the text and was the very reason the chart was drawn). Also, Chiron is indicated within said wheel, but it wasn't discovered until 1977 (and this horoscope was supposedly cast in the 1500s). It's unfortunate that neither the author nor the publishing house's editor thought to look at the astrological aspect of editing.

This was an enjoyable read, I'd even say a great read...up until the last three chapters. At that point, the logic, the reasoning, and the painstaking tying/weaving of two story lines separated by 450 years that had marked the first 343 pages abruptly ended to be replaced by a hasty and incomplete conclusion (I think authors/publishers have become brainwashed by too many series titles and have forgotten the necessity of a well-executed closing sequence). That said, the book still makes it onto my recommended read list because Ms. Scott has succeeded better than most at tying past to present to future, creating a plausible end-times scenario based on the current political/economic climate, and manages to take us into beautiful locales in New Spain and Great Britain in the process. In fact, if she had not succeeded so well up until the end of the book, my expectations would not have been high enough to be disappointed in the conclusion. The story revolves around two main characters, both appointed by destiny (the gods?) to play a pivotal role in saving the human race from precipitating their own self-destruction. One, Cedric Owen, physician and scientist, lived during the time of Bloody Mary, Elizabeth I, Catherine de Medici, Nostradamus, the Mayas (?), and the exploration of South America. I wouldn't bother looking too deeply into the "factual" basis of this book, but just enjoy it for what it is. Cedric has inherited a blue skull stone that has passed through his family for generations and has been given a quest to 1) learn how to use the stone, 2) learn where and when the stone needs to be used, and 3) safeguard this information and the stone so that it can only be, and will be, retrieved by the correct person 450 or so years into the future. His quest is fraught with danger, most originating from the church, who believes his stone is a work of the devil and his science is sacrilegious, from nature, or from those who wish to use the heart-stone's power for themselves. The other character is Stella Cody, newlywed, avid caver, and academic astrologer, who has married a man and befriended two others whose goal in life is to find the blue skull which has been missing for 450 years. Needless to say, she finds the stone. Her quest then becomes to stay alive long enough to find out what she needs to do with the stone and to do it, in order to revive an, uhmm, mythical creature who will somehow keep the human race from destroying the planet. Really, the heart of the story is human relationships and emotions. The lust for power, the strength of friendship, the crippling effect of jealousy, the bitterness of loss, and the blindness of preconception all play pivotal roles in the story and are reflected and enhanced by the sentient crystal skull. I recommend this book to those who enjoy adventure stories, light suspense/mystery enthusiasts, and those who can enjoy Armageddon theories that have nothing to do with the rapture.

Her new husband Cambridge Professor Kit O'Connor gives his wife expert speleologist Stella Cody the perfect marriage present. The professor provides her with the sixteenth century work of Cedric Owen who in his poetry says he hid an ancient powerful artifact in the Gaping Ghyll, England's deepest known pothole. The newlyweds spend their honeymoon digging in dirt inside the Yorkshire cave until Stella finds the incredible sapphire skull. They soon realize others want the skull and will do anything including murder to obtain it; Kit gets hurt while they escape. Stella learns more about the skull yet understands less as conflicting information surfaces. It appears that it is one of thirteen that need to merge to avoid Armageddon as prophesied by the Mayans which will occur on 12/12/12; or perhaps it needs to be destroyed at the right time in the right place to avoid the 12/12/12 end of the world; then again maybe doing something with it leads to 12/12/12/12 Armageddon. Based on a crystal skull in the British Museum, Manda Scott provides an action-packed fast-paced tale. The story line mostly focuses on the modern day countdown, but also has interesting interludes to the Elizabethan Era travels of Owens to Zama in the Mayan Empire. Readers will appreciate this end of the world thriller so Brownian yet so different as even seemingly loving Kit is under suspicion by the bewildered heroine who is unsure what she should do next as any error could mean Armageddon. Harriet Klausner