I enjoy authors whose writing gets better with each book, the characters continue to grow and evolved, the plots become more carefully crafted and intricate, and the thriller feeling increases. This is true of Luke Richardson’s Eden Black Archaeological Thriller series. I greatly enjoyed the first in the series ~ “The Ark Files” ~ and the second in the series ~ “The Giza Protocol” ~ is even better. I am admittedly a real sucker for Archeological thrillers, quests for ancient objects, myth related stories, and the like. Yes ~ I loved Dan Brown’s books; Yes ~ I loved and rewatched Indianan Jones movies several times. Happily, the Eden Black Archaeological Thrillers fit into this genre quite well.
Our protagonist is professional treasure hunter Eden Black, a Lara Croft-like lead character who is trying to uncover a variety of ancient artifacts in the Egyptian desert. Eden and her team must venture below the Giza Plateau to find the greatest treasures of all, before a mysterious shadow group take it and destroy all who stand in their way. They both try to find this artifact that has been buried for many, many centuries.
“The Giza Protocol” is a fascinating book and reads quickly with its carefully crafted plot. The characters as are well defined and each has their own different characteristics. I especially enjoy a smart, intelligent female protagonist, and the Laura Croft-like Eden fits what I do enjoy in a book.
Still, some will unquestionably say the story is unrealistic and improbable ~ true. But sometimes we need to step back and just enjoy the ride like with Reacher, Bourne, or even James Bond. I will start the third in the series soon; a solid 4 or 4+ from me.