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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Review and Giveaway: The Medea Complex by Rachel Florence Roberts

REVIEW:

We all enter this world covered in blood. Some of us survive the brutal entry. Yet only a few of us exit without any still on our hands.

The quote is from the book and in my opinion it sums up the whole idea of the novel.

Let aside all you will find wrote about this book regarding the mentals, asylums, various empirical treatments without any scientific substrate, the Victorian era with all its minuses or pluses! They are mere gimmicks that only staging the story’s plot. The main idea of the book is the human condition. As Mark Twain well said: “Of all the animals, man is the only one that lies.” I would say that Mark Twain was deferent. I might add that the man is the only creature that kills for pleasure or cruelty. Of course, we could go back to the subject of craziness, but as you know, throughout the history there have been a bunch of monsters of this type that had a normal behavior in society. But these would be the evident exceptions because, if it is to consider the whole humanity as a species, we have enough reasons to be at least ashamed. Several thousand years of ethics, morality and religion in any form would not have been able to tame us in the least. You don’t believe me? Look a bit around you! And to make peace with ourselves, we named it survival instinct. But... because there is a big but, would you be able to step on dead bodies, to do just about anything to carry out a plan, not only to save you skin? The author had the courage of such exercise in Medea Complex.

There is another element that obstinately appears in all the stories in which the lack transparency is part of the game: money! And if you add in this disturbing mixture a little drop of the evil specter of Eetes king's daughter, the result will be an explosive and terrible one. So you could read the novel in any key you want: Historical Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, even Detective if you like to put together by yourselves the pieces of this dangerous jigsaw. To try, you may do it, but the author will take you on different tracks that at some point will clog and you'll see the big picture only when she will consider that the time has come. And what a picture!

The characters ... you will not meet any to like, maybe only to pity them sometimes, but when their true nature will be revealed, you will catalogue each of them as they deserve. It will be a game of cat-and-mouse in which the victim and the executioner will change their roles several times, a dangerous game in which the main characters will not care if there will be collateral damage. The winner takes all and a second place doesn’t exist. The characters are not the usual of an ordinary story, in the sense of the good, the bad, the damsel in distress, which is why I made the introduction.

The ending will come with a little surprise for you because, as it happens in real life, not everything goes accordingly to the plan. You get a denouement that will not enthuse, will not disappoint, but will make you reflect on what I said in the lines above.

The Medea Complex is a well-written novel that will keep your curiosity awake throughout the story, a dark story full of suspense and emotions. The author skillfully built the plot that will develop all the time, and readers will find an exciting and interesting reading.

About the author:
British born and raised, Rachel Florence Roberts is a registered nurse, fiancée and mother of one based in Malta, EU. The Medea Complex was written shortly after the birth of her son, and took almost two years to complete. She suffered with postnatal depression in a country that did not understand her, and was henceforth the inspiration behind the novel. The Medea Complex will make anyone who has ever thought, lived, laughed, and loved, question the importance of those and everything around them.


Author's Giveaway

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Amazing review and cover :)

Unknown said...

The cover looks nice!

Lauralee said...

Loved the book too!