Parting the Red Sea

A Relics Novel #2

By: Joseph Racconti

Narrated by: Gary Furlong

Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Padraig Plunkett loves history and has devoted his adult life to it. Now in Argentina, he hopes to find something in the forgotten Ruins of Quilmes.

Along with his intern, Sofia, and Argentine government representative, Arianna, they discover more than any of them could have ever imagined.

After emails of his discovery are intercepted on their way to news agencies, the excavation site is quickly shut down by a group of men with many questions and few answers.

Nationalist, criminal organizations, and political alliances reaching back to the civil war all find themselves racing to find what may have one day been kept at the Ruins of Quilmes.

But are they searching for themselves, or is the Shneym-asar pulling the strings again?

©2014 Joseph Keffer (P)2015 Joseph Keffer

plenty of action and mystery for an enjoyable ride

A strange discovery is made in an archaeological dig in Argentina, not the ancient ruins of an ancient civilization as they are hoping, but an underground cold-war era bunker.  Why is it here and what is it hiding?  The archaeologists don’t get a chance to find out as the site is immediately taken over by American thugs posing as Homeland Security.

The chase begins and the action continues across the world, Northern Ireland, Cuba, Russia and more.  No character is what he seems, all are hiding some secret past that reveals itself as the story unfolds.  The Neo-Nazi captors want the relic that will give them immense power while being unwittingly manipulated by their Israeli masters.  All will stop at nothing to recover it.  Plots within plots unfold like layers of an onion, everyone double crossing everyone else.

The brutal and stupid Neo-Nazis seem to have unlimited luck as they force the Irish and Argentinian archeologists to do their search across the globe.  Friends become enemies and the listener is never quite sure who is ultimately the good guys.  It keeps us off balance, but always hating the racist Neo-Nazis.

The action is nearly non-stop, only pausing enough to give the listener some insight into the characters, usually raising more questions than answers.  The secret group in Israel is shrouded in mystery and innuendo that leads us to the sequels for answers.  The plot has some serious holes, unfortunately.  The characters are just too lucky sometimes to be believable, stumbling on major discoveries seemingly at random, more to move the action than anything else.

The story is performed by Gary Furlong who does an excellent job.  There are quite a variety of accents in the story and he does them well, keeping the many characters discernible and identifiable.  He is enjoyable to listen to and gives the story its appropriate mood.

This is an entertaining story with some flaws.  The historical chase in the style of Indiana Jones is fun for most listeners.  There is plenty of action and mystery for an enjoyable ride, just keep your skepticism on a short leash.

Audiobook was provided for review by the narrator.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Great Read

What did you love best about Parting the Red Sea?

Very nice story line and a good range of characters and interactions. Loved the twists and turns as it was nice to have a good adventure.

What does Gary Furlong bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator did a great job matching the voices to the characters. Not over the top, but very appropriate for the situations.

Any additional comments?

I received this audiobook from the author, narrator or publisher for free via audiobookblast in exchange for and unbiased review.

Stunningly captivating story with fantastic narration

The story was great. The plots and its twists kept you on the edge of your seat . The character development and back stories were well developed. The narrator stole the show and put it all together, the voices, the accents were all just amazingly executed. I received this audiobook from the author narrator or publisher for free via audiobookblast in exchange for and unbiased review

A bit messy for what it is

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Candidly, this book has some issues, and unless my "friend" was a big fan of the genre, or the reader, I couldn't recommend it heartily. Maybe in a pinch.

What was most disappointing about Joseph Racconti’s story?

It stumbled from plot arc to plot arc, had very little probability, and the scenarios seemed more pure dramatic devices than true story telling art. Not his best effort to be sure.

What three words best describe Gary Furlong’s voice?

Authentic
Consistent
Strong

Did Parting the Red Sea inspire you to do anything?

Well like all thrillers soaked in geographical history, it did inspire me to do some personal research.

Any additional comments?

This is not necessarily a bad offering, just not the best to date from this author. The performance is solid, with the caveat that there are a number of accents that could be complex listening for some people. I can give this a nominal recommendation, with reservations.

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Blast.

Good historical mystery conspiracy treasure hunt

This is an above average historical mystery conspiracy treasure hunt (if that isn’t a legitimate genre, it should be!). It had a lot of action and very little “down” time but the author still managed to accomplish a lot of character development and I felt personally invested in the outcome of “the good guys”. Some of the plot devices maybe stretched the believability a little far, but this novel was good escapist fun and I enjoyed it. By the end of it, I felt like I had run a marathon along with the characters and I look forward to the next installment of this promising historical conspiracy series. And, I should also note, I have been motivated by this book to further research some of the plot devices mentioned in it on my own. That is praise in itself, to inspire further research. The book appeared well researched and I look forward to furthering my knowledge.

The narration was outstanding and made the book that much more enjoyable. The narrator flowed seamlessly from foreign accent to accent with an astonishing range and yet never went “too far” in his performance that he overshadowed the story itself. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the print version as much as the audio version simply because the narrator’s voice and performance was so smooth and accomplished.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast.