The Cassandra Vector

This week I read THE TRINITY VECTOR by Steve Perry. Many people feel that Steve Perry is turning out a few too many books lately and therefore his quality is down. If that is so then this is the exception.The Story concerns a mysterious silver box. The box will answer almost any question asked of it. It will even predict the future. The box appeared in a temple and a courier was hired to take it to the main temple. Needles to say, things get a bit sticky. A number of people want the box. Then it splits itself into three parts and each main player has one. Each piece will tell where the others are. What follows is well paced and well written.If you pick up the book because of the blurb on the back, you might be a little disappointed that the properties of the box are not mentioned for the first half. But the story works. There is also a steamy sex scene that actually advances the plot. How many times have you seen that happen? Go ahead, take a look at it.

Steve Perry writes books that are fairly open about sex. The details - such as they are - hardly titillate, but there are certainly details. A lot of that depends on your point of view I guess. If I was younger, I'd find the material to be somewhat racy. Of course, the world the younger me lived in was different, but I digress.There is also a strong martial component to his books. I actually prefer the Matador trilogy, because shooting people doesn't make for interesting reading to me.The Trinity vector seems to be more of a story in search of a plot to make it work than anything else.The story is about two people who have loved and lost, and find love again. It's not that bad a story, all things considered.The book doesn't really fit conveniently into any category. The hero is much to sensitive for a good action novel, but some of the characters are much to... Policitally Incorrect for a novel with a sensitive hero. Actually, they are portrayed with more depth than the equivalent character would be in a true New Age novel, and aren't really made out to be the monsters that a shallower treatment would make them out to be.Sure, the ending disappoints, except, it's not about the silver box. Once I understood that, it made a lot more sense.So, what then is this book exactly? Well, for me, it was enjoyable to read. The characters were complex enough tp be interesting, without causing a lot of deep thought about what it all meant. The story read well enough to draw you in, without tripping over itself trying to please. It's just a good, solid, well-crafted story. Nothing ground breaking or earth shattering.A good afternoon's entertainment, any time (my afternoon was a gloomy one in October, yours can be different).

I thought this book was a blast. I couldn't put it down. It starts out explosively and just keeps getting better until the action charged final gun fight. I don't know what a certain other reviewer means when he says the ending fizzles off. It is a great book through and through, with an excellent plot and furiously paced action. And as a fifteen year old I thought it was perfectly fine for a fairly mature reader.

I really enjoyed this book, spending a lot more time than I should have in each reading session. I picked up this book after reading the also excellent The Man Who Never Missed.It follows the adventures of an ex-navy commando who's now a courier, expecting and receiving lethal attention from others trying to intercept the package he carries.I didn't expect such detailed descriptions in the sex scenes though. It's definitely not something I'll lend my teenage nephew.The only real problem I have with this story is that parts of the last few pages appear to have gone missing. The plot thunders wonderfully toward the endpoint, then all of a sudden there's the epilogue and I feel I've missed out on the final scene. What happened in that missing scene that explains the epilogue?If I'd stopped at the penultimate page, I would have given it five stars. It is a great read until then.