Book Review: The Thirteenth Guardian by K.M. Lewis

Rating: 3.4 stars

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Goodreads summary: Da Vinci’s secret pales. Michelangelo concealed an explosive truth in his famous Creation of Man fresco in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. Everything we have been taught about Eve is wrong—she didn’t cause the fall of man. Instead, Eve carried a far more devastating secret for millennia; one that will change the world forever.

As the modern-day world suffers the cataclysmic effects of the “Plagues of Egypt”, Avery Fitzgerald, a statuesque Astrophysics major at Stanford, discovers that she is mysteriously bound to five strangers by an extremely rare condition that foremost medical experts cannot explain. Thrust into extraordinary circumstances, they race against time to stay alive as they are pursued by an age-old adversary and the world around them collapses into annihilation. Under sacred oath, The Guardians—a far more archaic and enigmatic secret society than the Freemasons, Templars, and the Priory—protect Avery as she embarks on a daring quest that only legends of old have been on before. Avery must come to terms with the shocking realization that the blood of an ancient queen flows through her veins and that the fate of the world now rests on her shoulders.

I really loved the premise of the book - an impending apocalypse, biblical lore, conspiracies, a cast of strangers who find themselves connected in a way they never could have predicted. As an avid consumer of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series, this book should be perfectly suited to my tastes, however, there were a few things about The Thirteenth Guardian that prevented it from being a 4-star read for me.

My main issue is how the story is written. It just really wasn't my cup of tea. I felt the pace was too fast - I like an action-packed story as much as the next person, but I don't want to feel rushed. There was also much more TELLING, rather than SHOWING. From feelings to setting descriptions, it was all so straightforward and blunt, which did not help to bring either the characters or the story to life, and ultimately made it hard for me to fully immerse myself into the story. The cast of characters, while all interesting and unique in their own way, did not really strike a chord with me. I really found it hard to connect with them, and I think that mostly had to do with how unrealistic I found them and their reactions to be. They were either crazy attractive, crazy smart, crazy wealthy, or all of the above. And even though the main crew was comprised of adults, there was something about them that made them seem very... young. I get that this is all fictional, but sometimes I couldn't help but think: "did an adult really just say/think that?".

Despite these issues - which are, of course, subjective - The Thirteenth Guardian was a fun read. It is a very interesting story with a lot of action, cool characters, and many a biblical conspiracy (which are always entertaining to read). There were so many layers, so many characters, and so many things going on, that you can really tell that the author put a lot of work into researching and planning this story. If you like Dan Brown's work or enjoy reading urban fantasy and apocalyptic science fiction, then give The Thirteenth Guardian a try.

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