Cibola

Mystery and Adventure!

As a reader who loves both a good mystery story and a fun adventure, Cibola was perfect for me. The plot twists kept me guessing, and there was just enough action, humor, and even a little bit of romance. It was like a lighter version of a James Rollins book. Good fun!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Cibola Treasure Found!

For the last few centuries, people have been combing the deserts of the Southwest looking for the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. A lot of people have come away disappointed, a few haven't come back at all, but no one has found that legendary treasure.until now.

David Wood, author of Dourado (which actually had nothing at all to do with that other pre-Columbian American treasure El Dorado) has found the treasure of Cibola, and as it turns out, that treasure is Adventure! Wood's heroic team of Dane Maddock and Uriah Bonebreak, just back from the search for Goliath's sword, are ready to tear up the deserts of the American Southwest. Following the clues left by a Spanish conquistador, dogged by a militant religious cult, and courted by a memorable pair of brainy beauties, Dane and Bones-and Wood of course-once more deliver the goods: a rousing adventure with a nifty twist on the Old Testament. There may not really be any treasure out there in the desert, but David Wood certainly strikes gold with Cibola.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

OK

I'll keep the review short.

Overall a fun read, but I have quips about the dialogue and overall prose.

This book is much like his first novel, not much new here and that includes the stilted dialogue.

david wood a very good series

Really good I ended up reading his entire series. I like the archaeology and the underwater parts. This is very similar to Andy McDermott's series. The main characters are Dane Maddox and his partner a large ex-seal from Native American ancestry. Dane meets a different girls but seems to have one favorite.

If you like archeology, adventure-thrilled mystery this is a good series.

Not what I expected. I really didn't enjoy reading this book.

There were so many proof reading errors in this book it was distracting. Whoever was responsible for this task did an extremely inadequate job. I wasn't stimulated by the plot or the characters. I like books that keep me awake into the night reading because I can't put them down. This book didn't do that for me.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A Giant Leap Forward for a Talented Writer!

David Wood takes a giant leap forward with his new thriller Cibola,
which puts a new twist on the legendary cities of gold. Dane Maddock and "Bones" Bonebrake are back for another adventure. Two separate archaeological finds lead them through a series of Anasazi ruins, where they discover pieces of an ancient artifact upon which is engraved clues to an unknown treasure. Along the way, they run afoul of the Dominion, a paramilitary group of Mormon radicals (definitely a new angle) and dangerous creatures out of legend.

As in his previous novel Dourado, Wood preserves the element of mystery throughout the narrative. Dane and Bones aren't sure what exactly they are looking for, and even when they think they have all the answers, there are new surprises, including some at the very end of the adventure. Wood skillfully weaves Biblical, Egyptian, and Native American legend into an intriguing story that keeps the pages turning. Where Cibola improves over the equally exciting Dourado is in terms of plot complexity. The story holds multiple twists and a few big surprises, and is more fleshed-out than Wood's debut novel.

The area in which Wood truly stands out, though, is in his characters. Dane is tough and resourceful enough to be an admirable action hero, but also has shortcomings that make him human to the reader. Unlike many leading men in the thriller genre, he actually grows and changes in each book. Bones steals the show again with some laugh-out-loud lines. Even the secondary characters are interesting, and not the "cardboard cutouts" of so many other thrillers.

Better development of the antagonists is definitely in order. I wanted more information about the Dominion and their aims. Its leader, the Elder, and Issachar, the baddest of the bad guys, needed more scenes and a greater intimation of the danger they posed.

Overall, this is a very good book, and a major step up for a talented author. Wood strikes a nice balance between mystery, action, and characters, and spins an intriguing yarn. If he shows similar growth as a storyteller in book three, David Wood just might become the new master of the biblical action-thriller.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.