Review: The Columbus Affair by Steve Berry

The Columbus Affair by Steve Berry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Borrowed from my library through Libby.
Audiobook narrated by Scott Brick.

Characters: 7.2/10
Atmosphere: 7.1/10
Writing: 8.5/10
Plot: 7.6/10
Intrigue: 6.8/10
Logic: 8.5/10
Enjoyment: 8.6/10

Points: 54.3/70
True 4 Stars

I've complained for several Cotton Malone books in a row about how he's a whiny Peter Parker.

Isn't a good thing this one wasn't a "Cotton Malone" book? Per se. Magellan Billet and Stephanie Nelle show up near the end. (Have I mentioned that I would love a Stephanie Nelle series? Oh yes, I have.)

Is it Cotton adjacent? Yeah. Does it connect to another book in the Cotton Malone universe? Yeah, sorta. It's a novella, #6.5 The Devil's Gold, which was also Cotton Malone adjacent, following a guy who has been dreaming of revenge upon Malone for years.

We know at this point that Christopher Columbus was a bad dude. Berry doesn't shy away from that fact in this book, a rare thing, especially published in 2012.

Reviews saying this is a bit of a slower pace than the Cotton Malone series aren't completely obsessed with reading alternate history. I ate it up, loving the character of Sagan, the bad guy, the historical aspect of the discovery... My favorite OWMT are the ones that are Raiders of the Lost Ark-esque. But modern... Bad guys trying to reinstitute old relics and programs of the old bad guys... and being thwarted.

And again, I didn't have to deal with Cotton and his whiny Peter Parker butt, so I was happy. Would love if Berry wrote more in the world that wasn't centered around Cotton.

Also, Scott Brick... Amazing narrator. He gave accents to the island natives that were believable and still understandable. Chef's kiss.

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