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“The Emperor’s Tomb”
A Cotton Malone novel

I must admit I had never read any of Berry’s “Cotton Malone” novels but I can’t believe a series this good with a character such as Cotton has been around long enough to have this be the 6th installment and I was not aware! This defies reason for such a book-hound as myself to miss this. I have to also admit that since this is the 6th book I was very concerned that I would not know enough of the past 5 stories or not know enough about the character and his “story” or relationships to be able to keep up with this new book BUT Berry has done such a brilliant job of writing that he made the read easier for me and I had no problem with just jumping in and speeding along with Malone as he takes us to the far ends of the world in this action adventure thriller.

From the first page Berry grabs your interest with a perilous scene that has him and a long time love interest involved in a run for their lives across a rickety bridge over a gorge when, as they are being fired on, the bridge collapses and the two are ripped apart from one another and wind up dangling from the remains of the flimsy ropes and boards … and then he cuts away! Yes Berry starts this novel off with a literal “cliff hanger”.

In this book, Cassiopeia Vitt, who first appeared in The Templar Legacy, gets captured while attempting to rescue the kidnapped son of a friend, Lev Sokolov, a renowned Russian geologist. We are informed of the horrible facts of the kidnapping and sale of children as it is woven into the story. The main plot is driven by two dominating Chinese officials that are on a catastrophic collision over control of China and their search for a new source of oil - which brings us to the amazing “army of the terra cotta warriors” and “The Emperor’s Tomb”.

The plot is centered deep in China’s history, as well as a thoroughly heart pounding thriller. Berry also manages to educate and enlighten the reader about China’s long, violent and fascinating history. My husband, who is a history buff, and myself, who am a mystery buff, both enjoyed this novel … he really liked the details of the history which at times for me made it drag a little. I felt like that kid who gets to go to Disney World and has to spend the first day at Epcot and not the Magic Kingdom and for my hubby it is the opposite. He would never leave Epcot! Even though a few spots get a bit drawn out and there is a character, though completely enthralling, is also changing his alliances so much that I wanted to smack him on the head and say “Pick a side!” But all in all if you like works by Clive Cussler and Lee Child, then you will enjoy this book as Berry gives them a run for their money.

I do have one suggestion to improve your reading and that is to go to the section in back and read Berry’s section on his thoughts of combining China’s true history with his own elaborate ideas as he lays them out in the book. I confess that I am not that knowledgeable on China so reading this part first helped me a great deal.

About the Author:
Steve Berry is a well established writer with many millions of his books sold. He was a lawyer for about 25 years and now lives in St Augustine Florida where he is working on his next book. It is suspected that this time he will bring our intrepid Cotton Malone back home to the USA … that should make for a satisfying read!