The Lost Throne

AS A BIG TIME FAN OF ADVENTURE SERIES I WAS BLOWN AWAY BY "THE LOST THRONE". THE MAJOR CHARACTERS JON PAYNE & DJ STAND RIGHT THERE WITH INDIANA JONES AND JAMES BOND. THIS BOOK WAS SO EXCITING THAT I HAVE NOW FINISHED ALL OF CHRIS KUZNESKI'S OTHER THREE NOVELS IN THE SERIES AND LOOK FORWARD TO ANY FUTURE WRITINGS. NOW FAN #1.

As this thriller opens it is the end of the 19th century, an old man is dying and a policeman is trying to discover his identity by attempting to make sense of the gibberish he is mumbling. Then the action shifts to the modern day as two free lance soldiers of fortune and former special ops agents (of course ruggedly handsome and possessing witty charm) are vacationing in Florida when a plea for help from a beautiful young woman sends them rushing to her aid half a world away. Meanwhile, in Greece a ruggedly handsome Interpol agent is investigating the massacre of a group of monks. These seemingly unrelated storylines are all drawn together with a delightful inclusion of long lost treasures, secret armies and daring midnight battles to the death. This is very much a classic thriller type of story, the men are young, tough, intelligent, rugged and stoic as they battle fantastic opponents in a quest to locate a fabulous long lost treasure, the women are decorative. The characters and their motives are not complicated, the action is straightforward, their ultimate success is a forgone conclusion. All of this is skillfully combined by Kuzneski into a delightful, enjoyable read to take on vacation, or along in the car to fill in those gaps waiting for the rest of the car pool to arrive. The plot is exciting enough to keep the pages turning but not so complicated that it requires prolonged concentration to follow the story. This is an exciting thriller sort of story, one that would appeal to a wide range of readers. Happily there are few scenes of violence (about what would be average for a primetime network show) and no overt sex scenes making this a great book to pass along to anyone ranging from a young teen or a senior citizen without worry of offending. Although this is a part of a series a reader would have no trouble following and enjoying THE LOST THRONE without reading any of the previous volumes. It probably will inspire the reader though to seek out and read the previous books while waiting for the next one to come out.

Take one part The Librarian, one part The DaVinci Code, and one part National Treasure. Stir in a few dashes of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Season to taste with Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt. Mix well. And the end result is THE LOST THRONE by Chris Kuzneski. THE LOST THRONE is an effortless, entertaining, summer thriller that gets your heart pounding and leaves you wanting more. I really had a lot of fun reading THE LOST THRONE. This novel is apparently the third in a series featuring Jonathon Payne and D. J. Jones, ex-military special forces, who as private citizens, frequently do freelance work, taking on very dangerous and deadly missions. In THE LOST THRONE, the two best friends must find and recover an ancient treasure, one that could change history as we know it, and stop a mysterious, unknown, lethal opponent from killing again and destroying the treasure. THE LOST THRONE is a rollicking roller coaster of a page turner. I was immediately captured by the story; I simply could not stop reading this book. Mr. Kuzneski writes with in a simple, easy-breeze style, making THE LOST THRONE a quick, relaxing read. Short, intense chapters make this book easy to pick up and put down whenever you have a spare couple of minutes. In this day and age of over programming and not enough time, I truly appreciate being able to quickly slip into and out of a story. The plot is familiar, but with several creative twists and innovations that keep the story fresh and fun. The characters are all engaging and interesting, if a bit stereotypical - the handsome and intelligent heroes; the brilliant, beautiful damsel in distress; the evil, menacing bad guys; the mysterious, secretive monks; the typical red-shirts. From the first page to the last, THE LOST THRONE is an exciting adventure, one that can take you away from reality and keep you there for quite a while. A perfect summer, beach, or vacation read that will keep you captivated from beginning to end. I, for one, will be seeking out the other books in this series as soon as possible.

This is a top-notch international thriller, and a great summer read, think The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, as a similar experience. When I opened the package that brought this book to my place, and I saw the size of the book my immediate thought was, "Whew, how long is it going to take me to plow through this!?" The book is nearly 500pp long, but once I cracked it open I had a tough time putting it down, and now, less than two days later, it's done. The author drew me in, kept me engaged, and wondering how all the parts fit together until I reached this story's fulfilling conclusion. The author takes his readers from St. Petersburg, Fla, to St. Petersburg, Russia, to Germany, to Finland, to Greece, and I enjoyed every step of the journey. The book contains many angles of possible interest - isolated monasteries, unexplained murder, treasure hunting, the grandeur of St. Petersburg, Russia, fame, fortune, risk, gun play, monks, former military, a hit man, interpol, and more. The only two criticisms I have about this book are 1) the stereotypical use of lead characters that include a former elite military man that is 6'4" and a chisled 240 lbs., and a breathtakingly and incredibly smart beauty in peril; and 2) the smattering of language that I could have done without. Even with these weaknesses, I still think this is a solid offering. I have to admit that I very much enjoyed the good-natured bantering between the principle characters of the story. You'll see what I mean. I could easily see this book being used as the basis for a movie, though it would have to have an "R" rating for the type of brutal murders that take place (you'll see) and occasional language including some strong language. I thought that this book rated 4.5 stars, but rounded up to 5. Thanks for the good read...I'm sorry it's over.