Golem [Paperback]

Disclosure: I was sent a review copy of this book so that I would post a review on Amazon. The publisher sent me the copy as I had reviewed another book on the Golem story on Amazon.

Review: As the last reviewer provided so much information in his review, this review will try to avoid what was already covered. I thought Vilk's Golem a pretty good pulp fiction-style read; Clive Cussler does Indiana Jones fused with The Dirty Dozen. The story moves very quickly, which maybe reflects Vilk's background in film, and can easily be imagined as a film or graphic novel. As for being an action novel, it reads well that way. I personally liked that it did not get tied down in discussions of weapons, etc. and avoided all the technobabble that is so common to action novels by say Cussler or Clancy. The spare style of little-detail-provided-writing was somewhat like that of Elmore Leonard. As for being a horror novel, the premise reminded me of F. Paul Wilson's The Keep but was different from that novel in that Vilk's Golem reads much more like an action story and thus I would not say it is horrific.

The reason I gave this book four stars rather than five was that I wish there had been more background in it. This might not be the case for every reader but the history buff in me wanted more than Vilk provided. More on the Golem story and how it eventually ties to the story presented would have been a very good addition to the book. I can imagine how the Munich Pact and the like would have led to where the story picks up with the Germans messing around with the Golem in Greenland but I would have liked to read how the author imagined it, either through the actual telling of the story or at least through OSS reports passed on the US Ranger hero. The question of issues for the SS with dealing with something that was so Jewish as the Golem was one that kept coming to my mind and never was resolved. Also, struggles between the SS and German army are mentioned but not as developed as they could have been. These are the things that interest me and thus I wish Vilk had spent more time on them and less on his cipher which I will not be puzzling out. Maybe down the road Vilk will produce an expanded edition of Golem that will address the historical background to his thriller.

The quibbles of the previous paragraph aside, this is the ideal book for anyone in the mood for a pulp fiction Second World War story.

I think Mr. Vilk knows his genre very well and has executed it perfectly. I was hoping for a good action-adventure story and that is exactly what I got. I absolutely loved the central idea of the Golem itself. Not just the history behind it but the imagery the author creates with it. This supernatural element is blended very well with the tried and true aspects of a "dirty dozen" movie. In fact, it's very hard to read this book and not imagine it as a film, simply because of the imagery created and the pacing set by Mr. Vilk. I actually wish the book was longer but maybe I shouldn't have read so fast. (I couldn't help it). I hope the author writes more stories of this type.

Mr. vilk's story is a MUST READ. Not only for the storyline, which is great, a rival of steve alten's books. But for the ciphers also. No one has really said what they thought of the ciphers. His book is full of ingenious riddles, and clues to help decipher the *ancient script*.

An excellent read for anyone. *I would like to see, maybe an extended version of Golem, but for background purposes only.

Great job, Mr. Vilk, keep on writing!