Why do I do it? This is my third book by David Gibbons—and I like them less and less. I keep thinking: a real archaeologist writing an adventure novel, how perfect. If I were smart enough I would BE an archaeologist. I also want to be Dirk Pitt or Kurt Austin. So what’s the problem? He’s a good writer—what don’t I like? Um . . . how about ‘boring?’ You can’t just throw in a ton of facts and expect them to be interesting. Besides, how will we, the great unwashed, differentiate between what the author knows to be true and what he is inventing for the story? As I read this book, I kept telling myself to relax and enjoy the ride—but the text was completely overburdened with details, foreign words, and descriptions of ancient objects that are probably real. I happened to notice a 20 page ‘Authors Notes’ in the back of the book so I kept flipping back there to see if there was any basis for what I was reading. Half yes and half no. What the hell is wrong with me? This kind of thing has never bothered me before. Maybe it is because the blurb on the cover states the author is a cross between Indiana Jones and Dan Brown. Wait a minute. I don’t want those two mixed metaphors in my head. Besides, Indiana Jones is fun and I have a fridge in the back yard, just in case! Dan Brown . . . well . . . he’s rich, which has nothing to do with anything.I liked the idea of the ‘lost’ [Roman:] Legion, a story which has been around for hundreds of years, heading off towards India. Good idea. And just as the modern day search for ancient Legion artifacts takes off, the author stops for fifty pages of hero back story—something to do with his father getting lost in Cambodia. What? Was I not paying attention? Yah, I was.I began flipping ahead, which I hate doing—I paid U.S.A. $7.99 for this sucker—to get back to the story. I know, I know, the author is going to tie it together, but can’t all this exposition find an interesting way?I put the book on the coffee table for a while. Read two other books in the meantime. Then, picked it up again. I remember right where I left off. The mind-numbing part—page 221.The guy sells books and I want to know why. Wait a minute. Danielle Steel sells books; I’d better not go that route. It was a dark and stormy night. I finished ‘The Tiger Warrior.’ Lightning struck the coyote fence and the power went out. The neighbors barn burned to the ground just before the flood washed the ashes into the reservoir killing the swans. Daniel went to the emergency room with a cell phone stuck up his, and someone out there with allergies ate peanuts. It was the best of times--yet I finished the book. Had too. I knew I couldn’t get my $7.99 U.S.A. back.
Good:David Gibbons is a trained archaeologist. There is so much fact (or at least, supposition based on evidence throughout history) in this book that it is really thrilling to read. His details of the Koya people of India, and the Pashtun people of Afghanistan, were fascinating to read. The basis of the adventure, the possibility of Roman soldiers being captured as slaves, and moving into Asia along the Silk road and then becoming mercenaries; is very realistic and the way that he paints the possible events is beautiful and elegant. This is the kind of fiction I really love, where you learn as you read. Where the lessons are so seamlessly and elegantly woven into the story as to make you feel as if you are a part of it.I have always been fascinated by books like this! Indiana Jones, Dirk Pitt, Robert Langdon. Each is a wonderful opportunity to learn new and exciting things in the frame of a good story. I am excited to add Jack Howard to my list of awesome characters to follow!Bad: The evil baddie sort of felt like a prop piece. One scene we see into his warped reality, then the rest of the time his henchmen are there to add unnecessary pressure to the search and discovery. For me, Howard's family allure, not to mention the amazing finds he was uncovering, were enough to keep me drawn in. Even the ancient Chinese group sworn to protect the jewels was enough. I'm a bit tired of an overarching villian trying to take over the world.Ugly: There were a surprising number of grammatical errors in this book, considering it was published by Bantam books, one of the "Big Six" publishing houses. I loved the author's note at the end, showing what was real, what was supposition based on historical findings, and what was pure fiction for entertainment. But there was no author's biography. I had to search the web to determine his credentials and learn more about him as a writer.Overall, I love the character. I love the fascinating details that the author is able to contribute, and the way the author excites in me my life long passion of learning about other cultures and history. I am definitely looking forward to reading more Jack Howard novels.
What do You think about The Tiger Warrior (2009)?
The story was decent. I guess that is why I got back to these even as they frustrate me. The concepts are good, and there is even some good, like the background written as flashbacks. But the dialogue continues to turn into lectures: "Rembember when in profesor so and so's class""Oh yeah,...." for the next several pages. There are other ways to get that same message across.A few other comments:Note to David Gibbins' editor. It is not necessary to repeat Jack's great, great, grandfather every 5th page. we get it. we got it the last 30 times. Unless you are trying to add page count, there is no reason for this.Note to Mr. Gibbins: A child you met just a few months ago that is in their late teens won't call you Dad. They will call you anything but. It takes years to establish the bond that gets you there, not a couple of months on a boat.You also don't need to name every brand and recite the spec sheet (unless of course, you are selling those particular models.) I'm all for details, but this gets tedious (kind of like paying $12 to go to the movies and then being forced to watch 20 minutes of commericals.)
—Paul Doyle
Two ancient cultures, a lost treasure from the distant past: what powerful secrets does it conceal.Soon the world’s top marine archaeologist, Jack Howard, and his team of scientific experts and ex-Special Forces adventurers are pushing their way through the mysterious jungles of India, following in the footsteps of a legendary band of missing Roman legionnaires. Dive into a new full-throttle hunt from master of the action-adventure thriller David Gibbins. a little Dirk Pitt ish but still a well written book worth a read.great for fans of clive cussler style books
—Wayne
David Gibbins' novel, The Tiger Warrior, reveals the author is an intelligent, educated and worldly man. The novel brims with historical and archaeological facts and theories spanning in time and place from the birth of the unified Chinese empire in 221 BCE to Caesarean Rome to British colonial rule on the Indian subcontinent to present day Afghanistan. Most of these facts and hypotheses are intriguing, and all are patently the result of Gibbins' commendably deep research, study and thought.Unfortunately, none of the above renders Gibbins a master of character, dialogue, or narrative pacing in the art of storytelling. With rare exceptions, his characters are uniformly dull. These characters do not converse with each other so much as they lecture at one another. They often speak for hundreds of words at a time in single stultifying paragraphs that frequently fill more than an entire page before being subjected to an equally bloviated and professorial response. Real people do not talk this way, and wading through lecture after lecture churned out by one flat character after another makes for tedious reading and slows the story to a crawl.Had Gibbins paid as much attention to character and dialogue as he did to his excellent research, this book would be enjoyable, rather than merely informative. He did not, and accordingly the novel reads far more like a textbook than a good story told well.
—Richard Gazala
