You might recognize Steve Cash’s name from the music group Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and I admit that’s one of the reasons I picked up his book The Meq. I love the music and hoped I’d love his book as well. I was not disappointed one bit. Cash’s fiction writing is as entrancing as his lyrics.
From the back-cover,” On May 4, 1881, the day that Zianno Zezen – Z. for short – turns twelve, his life changes forever. Amid the chaos of a tragic train wreck, he has the first inkling that he is no ordinary boy…that he is not human at all, but instead a member of a race known as the Meq. The Meq have lost all memory of their origins; they do not know why they heal with astonishing speed, or why, once they turn twelve, they stop aging, unless they meet the single other member of their race destined to join with them.
Certain Meq possess even more amazing powers, thanks to the mysterious Stones they have carried since before the dawn of recorded history. Z’s father carried such a Stone, the Stone of Dreams. Now that Stone is Z’s to bear … and to protect.”
The Meq reminds me of a James Clavell novel as far as the complicated plot and number of characters. You’re taken away to another dimension by Cash’s mystical, lyrical writing style. It’s not a book you’re going to speed through; the very nature of the writing forces you to take your time and absorb the story fully. I can’t recommend The Meq highly enough.
Which is way more than I can say for Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein Book One Prodigal Son. I usually like Dean Koontz, but I couldn’t buy into this story all the way. There were a few leaps in logic I couldn’t make. Throughout the book, the groundwork is laid for Book Two, and frankly, that book sounds more interesting than this one. I wasn’t drawn to Detective O’Connor or Detective Maddison; but Deucalion is as mysterious as they come. If you like Frankenstein or Dean Koontz, you’ll probably read this one, but keep your expectations low.
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