Earth Shaker

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$15.38


The novel begins inside the labyrinth of Daedalus, where the mythological figure of Theseus searches to destroy Asterius the Minotaur. We jump to 1980, where a young and talented archeologist named Naomi and her boss, Hackett, discover the cocooned Minotaur. When Hackett decides to steal it and threatens to take sole credit for the discovery, Naomi must find a way to save her professional career.

Guimond creates intrigue by blending mystery, romance, horror, fantasy, and the classic Beauty and the Beast story. But he gives us a twisted version; it’s a love triangle consisting of Naomi as the moral and ethical professional, Asterius the earthshaker, a creature possessing “the attributes of amazing sexual potency and the strength that all Greek men desired” and Naomi’s lover, Teddy, the pilot who helped smuggle Asterius out of Greece.

Guimond interweaves the elements for a spectacular story by filling every scene with intricate descriptions from what the characters are thinking to the grisly details of the murders. Readers will be surprised by the cacophony of subplots, murders, and deception that bring these characters together for the final showdown.

However, as the story develops, it becomes increasingly laborious to empathize with our heroine Naomi, the most interesting of all the characters. She tells her lover, “You have a very doable body.” As a woman reborn by the experience of love, the dialogue feels unnatural and stilted by the middle of the novel making it difficult to suspend our disbelief. When we reach the long-awaited climatic ending, we are left with a sense that a love triangle between humans and a mythical beast is simply too incredible. With so much descriptive action, the numerous character perspectives, and the steamy love scenes, this novel would have functioned better as a blueprint for its film adaptation.


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Author
Star Count 3/5
Format Trade
Page Count 442 pages
Publisher CreateSpace
Publish Date 12-Mar-2012
ISBN 9781461115885
Bookshop.org Buy this Book
Issue October 2012
Category Horror
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