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Four Pieces For Power: Book 1 of the Vendicatori (Vendicatori, 1)

Marc Estes

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Nov 19, 2014 Philip Dodd rated it really liked it

I found Four Pieces for Power: Book 1 of the Vendicatori by Marc Estes to be a very enjoyable thriller to read. I have watched quite a few thrillers on the cinema and television screen, but I have not read many thriller novels. I can understand why readers like them. There is the pleasure of a puzzle solved, for one thing. The book began very well, as far as I was concerned, for its first sentence introduces one of its main characters, Andrew Correo, sat in his study, reading The Phantom of the I found Four Pieces for Power: Book 1 of the Vendicatori by Marc Estes to be a very enjoyable thriller to read. I have watched quite a few thrillers on the cinema and television screen, but I have not read many thriller novels. I can understand why readers like them. There is the pleasure of a puzzle solved, for one thing. The book began very well, as far as I was concerned, for its first sentence introduces one of its main characters, Andrew Correo, sat in his study, reading The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, his favourite classic novel, a book I enjoyed reading myself. Sadly, when people hear the title, The Phantom of the Opera, they are far more likely to think of the films and stage musical by that name, and not the book on which they are based. Could the fact that the book begins with Andrew reading The Phantom of the Opera be a clue to what is to come, I wondered. Now that I have finished reading the book, I know that it did. Robert, Andrew's rival to become the head of the secret organisation, the Vendicatori, is a master of disguise, like the Opera Phantom, for example, which I thought made him an even more chilling, dangerous opponent.
The novel read to me like a journey through a maze, from the first door, deeper and further in, growing more complex, intriguing, so that, of course, I wanted to know what lay at its centre. Once Andrew set off on his quest, first to the Temple of the Sun in Mexico, then to Italy, I liked the way his adventures were contrasted with events at home in America, where his friends and family are preparing for the wedding of his sister. The passages dealing with the preparations for the wedding effectively helped to increase the tension of those concerned with Andrew and his quest.
Marc Estes writes well, I think, in clear prose, and his characters are all interesting and believable. Certainly his story made me want to read Book Two. Anyone who likes a good thriller, a journey down a labyrinth to solve a riddle, and find mysterious objects, which when brought together will solve a puzzle, will enjoy reading this book. ...more

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