The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Brad Meltzer makes a strong case that he be nominated the next King of the Nerds, rising at least to Nerd Historian with this blend of comic book lore, history, and thriller. You can palpably feel Meltzer’s adoration in every page and every reference (of which there are many). It’s adorable, if not quite as strong or believable a story as most in his collection.
The novel revolves around Calvin, an ex-ICE agent trying to get right with himself when he stumbles into a messy plot involving his long-lost felon dad, the missing murder weapon of Biblical Cain, and a mystery involving the creator of Superman. Like most of his books, it is dripping with history and deep knowledge and yet each chapter is rather short.
I can’t say too much without giving things away, but I will say I found the one main female character completely insufferable. She did turn out to be an excellent red herring, though, so at least she had some purpose.
Not a bad read, especially if you too are an ubernerd.
M.E. Kinkade 