Official Review: Based On A True Story

[Braktooth]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Based On A True Story" by Christopher Holdsworth.]

---

1 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Based on a True Story, by Christopher Holdsworth, is an ambitious, far-reaching story with elements drawing on science-fiction, fantasy, and adventure. The author works hard to introduce readers to many different characters, each of whom have some impact, major or minor, on the story. It can be very difficult to make a story with treasure, magic, philosophy, and superscience work as a cohesive whole, and the author doesn't completely succeed here.

The main story, if there is one, concerns the quest of Zed, following a map he finds hidden inside a used trunk in the warehouse of his father's restoration business. Following the map leads him on a trip across the world, and then much further than that. Chased by a mercenary group led by Colonel Colt Cordell, Zed finds fantastic beings, lost tribes, and other worlds, before returning to his starting point, enriched in many ways by the experience.

The book can be difficult to follow: one minute you're reading about a young man trying to figure out a treasure map, the next you're trying to make sense of an intelligent insect-like creature trying to get permission for a world-building project from some sort of intergalactic council. The next chapter might be an interlude of philosophical babble. That kind of jumping around might not be so bad in principle, but the execution is lacking.

This is simply not a well-written book. From the military group, although all-American, who still manage to have members covering several different countries and backgrounds, to the lost tribes found by the treasure hunters, to the alien species, stereotypes abound. There are too many things that do not make sense, too many things that are impossible. Having impossible things is far from a detriment in a book with fantastical elements, but a good writer finds a way of making a framework where an impossible idea at least seems plausible, or adds to the story; Holdsworth doesn't do so. When nearly every page makes you ask questions about what's going on, then there is a problem. The earth originally from another solar system entirely and dragged into its orbit around the sun by a comet? A former military commander who decides to follow a young man hunting treasure, and calls on former subordinates to track him without having ANY idea whether the map is real, or if it leads to anything with any real value? Issues like these can take you out of a book very quickly, and unfortunately, there are a lot of them.

I rate this book 1 out of 4 stars. Although I admire Holdsworth's courage at trying something this challenging, I believe the finished product needed a lot more refining. It was simply too hard to read, and there aren't enough reasons for readers to keep doing so.

******
Based On A True Story
View: on Bookshelves | on Barnes and Noble

Like Braktooth's review? Post a comment saying so!

[kimmyschemy06]

That was a very honest review. I agree with you that it 'needed a lot more refining'

[Sarah G]

Good review. Very well thought out constructive criticism as well. it really shows that you have thought well about what you've read. Shame the book missed the mark as it sounds like it could have been something really new and different :/

[anonanemone]

I hope the author will be able to use this constructive criticism to integrate all of the disparate pieces together. Given this review the title seems ironic to say the least. Good job on this honest review, Braktooth!