The Tenth Circle by Jon Land

Published by Open Road Media on December 17, 2013

Beginning with a missing colony on Roanoke Island in 1590 (which left behind the word Croatoan) and continuing to the missing crew of the Mary Celeste in 1872 -- as well as Napoléon, who was counting on the cargo that the Mary Celeste was carrying, disguised as barrels of alcohol, to help him reclaim his empire -- it's clear that a new world-threatening danger is being unleashed, and that only Blaine McCracken can save the day.

Turning from the prologue the present: Israel's defense minister wants to destroy an Iranian nuclear complex but the Israeli military isn't up to the task of penetrating the heavily guarded underground facility. To whom does the defense minister turn? Blaine McCracken, of course. Following the formula of his earlier novels, Jon Land starts The Tenth Circle by having McCracken do something outlandish and, having lulled the reader into abandoning any sense of disbelief, moves on from there to the truly strange.

The new threat to America is, in some sense, the typical thriller threat -- Islamic terrorists are blowing up bridges and buildings all over the country -- but Land makes it interesting by giving the terrorists a new motive: a crazy Christian preacher with a murderous past who is stirring up religious bigotry and hatred against Muslims. Yet the true villains are not so easy to identify and the weapon they wield -- well, it isn't a dirty bomb or a deadly virus or other conventional thriller fare. Conventional isn't a word that comes to mind while reading a McCracken novel.

Land writes pure escapist fiction. This isn't the kind of story you want to think about too deeply. Very little in The Tenth Circle is believable. McCracken and his sidekick Johnny Wareagle are so close to being comic book superheroes that they should be wearing capes and masks. Does it make sense that Captain Seven, McCracken's mad scientist friend (who is more of a stoned scientist friend), just happens to have the Roanoke Island governor's journal from 1590 sitting on his desk when McCracken comes calling? No, but Land is one of the few writers who can craft a completely implausible plot that I completely enjoy.

The Tenth Circle moves like lightning on crack. Action scenes are vivid and original. Land never relies on clichéd phrases to tell his story. Dialog is amusing, particularly when McCracken is talking to Captain Seven. Although Land always plays it straight, he brings a tongue-in-cheek attitude to certain scenes (a group of senior citizens taking on armed commandos with bocce balls was one of my favorites). The Tenth Circle isn't serious literature or even a serious thriller, but it's seriously fun to read.

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