Themis by Paul WeilMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Themis is a fast-moving thriller that combines the sci-fi/fantasy world of super-heroes with criminal acts of murder, tyranny and world-domination. The super-heroes are not the ones so often portrayed in action movies but a group of siblings invested with amazing powers, such as healing and mind control. There are many scenes of good versus evil involving inevitable battles between experts in the martial arts and with machine gun bullets flying everywhere. The main problem for this reader was that the writing moved so quickly from action scene to action scene, admittedly with a few intriguing twists and turns here and there, that it felt as though I was reading a movie script. I would have liked a few sections in the book to include more exposition. The main character, Sarah, is well drawn and her inner conflicts come through quite well but I’d have like far more description about Lars, Titus and one or two others. Admittedly this would slow things down somewhat but for this reader it adds a lot more context and perspective to the plotline. It is like seeing a movie with too many special effects and very little plot. There appears to be plenty of plot in Themis but kept back for later, maybe in the sequels planned for later? I prefer novels, even in a series, that can be read as stand-alone books with a satisfying beginning, a middle and an end. Moving so quickly through the plot often left me scratching my head asking, “What happened there?” and “Who are they?” and “Where did they come from?” It is generally a very well written book but another look through the “final” draft from an editor is needed as there are a few spellings and grammatical issues that I found distracting. No doubt Themis will appeal to fans of the action packed, shoot 'em up variety of “sci-fi thriller”.
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.
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