The Dagger

Timothy George

MVP Publishing Group LLC, 2016

ISBN: 9780985236427 (paperback), 9780985236434 (ebook)

236 pages

Genre: Fiction / Thriller

 

Timothy George’s 2016 novel, The Dagger, should come with a warning to all readers: “Fasten your seatbelts”. The fast-paced thriller is a sequel to the author’s 2012 Awaken, a novel that put Timothy George on the Top 30 Bestselling Author list of the African American Literature Book Club for eight times (aalbc.com).

During the first scene of The Dagger, the author reintroduces Thomas Jet, an investment banker and the main character of the previous book. Jet seems to be coming out of a coma: his face and hands are bandaged and stitched. As his memory is returning, the readers receive a summary of his circumstances and previous adventures. We learn about the Brotherhood, a secret African society, with centuries-old roots reaching back to ancient African kingdoms, and a mission of preserving history and reviving the entire continent of Africa.

It turns out that Jet underwent plastic surgery “to make his final transformation as the new leader of the Brotherhood’s intelligence section”. Thus Thomas Jet’s new life and adventures begin.

The action, of course, revolves around the dagger, which appears in chapter three: a beautiful, mysterious, medieval weapon that will undoubtedly change the world and the lives of all the eccentric characters in the novel.  It also propels Thomas Jet to establish and prove his leadership in the Brotherhood by coordinating a quest for the mystical, priceless dagger while fending off ruthless and greedy pursuers and rescuing his lover, who was kidnapped and held for ransom for the weapon and its secret power.

Like in all page-turners, the chapters are short, and there are 42 of them in the 236-page novel. Each chapter ends with a punch line that makes the reader dive into the next one with sparked up curiosity, craving for the excitement and the storyline to continue. George does not disappoint his action-hungry fans. The setting continues to change drastically throughout the novel. The reader becomes a world traveler and experiences the global impact of the Brotherhood. The incoming characters are just as abundant as the exotic settings, and the action leaps to high-octane when the Russian mafia, the White House, the CIA and NASA (among others) are involved. Clearly, this is no chick-flick!

The mixed-genre novel is closest to action adventure, but it is hard to tell. “Fast-paced” does not describe the reading experience; it is supersonic. The boundaries of historical facts, ancient legends, fantasy and the additions from the author’s imagination overlap. Indiana Jones merges with James Bond and other characters from popular techno-thrillers. Dr. Frankenstein says hello at times, also, especially in the scene when a scientist’s work in a high-tech lab is enhanced by the sentence, “A thunderstorm raged outside”.

The Dagger is a fast and easy read. The focus is on action, rather than heavy character development or extensive descriptive effort. With its bare, script-like style, George’s new novel will satisfy action oriented readers, even if those who enjoy the visual and emotional incitement of sensory details and depth of characters might get confused or over-stimulated.

An unquestionably thorough international, geographical, and historical research; a blockbuster storyline; and a unique message support the success of this novel. Timothy George’s story spans over ancient and modern times in the realms of both mysticism and reality.

I highly recommend this novel to fans of fast-paced global action and international intrigue spiced with ancient spiritualism, science and trending modern technology. Timothy George’s readers will undoubtedly look for the wild ride of the next sequel.

 

Hedi Harrington

For The Harrington Review

https://theharringtonreview.com/

May 29, 2016