Official Review: Gravity. The Alex Cave Series book 4.

Anirudh Badri · Post by **Anirudh Badri** » 06 Aug 2017, 04:00

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Gravity. The Alex Cave Series book 4." by James M. Corkill.]

2 out of 4 stars

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Gravity, by James M. Corkill, is a fast-paced action novel and is the fourth book in the Alex Cave series. It focusses on themes like friendship and action, with a little romance as well.

The protagonist, Alex Cave, starts the story as a geophysics professor who is bored with his staid job. He yearns for the adventure and excitement that he experienced in the past as an operative of the CIA. When he hears news about a strange incident in Iceland where gravity behaves differently, his excitement is kindled. He accepts an invite to an urgent conference and sets off on a journey to discover what is going on. When Alex learns that the strange situation in Iceland is the result of an ancient and powerful machine that can affect and control gravity, he finds that he is not the only person interested. Janice Sloan is an unscrupulous individual who wants to acquire the machine by any means necessary and sell it to the highest bidder. She cares nothing for who gets hurt as long as she gets rich. The danger of the gravity machine in the wrong hands is only eclipsed by the news that a large asteroid is heading straight for Earth. Together with his friend and partner, Okana and a NASA scientist named Jadin, Alex Cave needs to find a way to save the world from all the dangers surrounding it. Alex’s girlfriend, on the other hand, does not want Alex traipsing around the world and risking his life. As a result, Alex also stands at a crossroads where his love life is concerned. Meanwhile, Jadin’s relatives in a small town need to struggle with the ramifications of the changing gravity in a small town. They must fight just to stay alive. Who will survive? Will anyone survive at all? Will Alex be able to save the world and his relationship? You will need to read the book to find out.

With so many action books out there, the question of what makes this one special and worth reading is a natural one. This book has some unique quirks that make it stand out from the plethora of action books released every single day. One interesting feature that this book has to offer is the fact that Alex Cave is a geologist. The professions generally featured in action books are far more exotic. In contrast, the relative normalcy of the protagonist made this book more relatable. The other aspect that was interesting to me was the quality of the character development. Through the course of the book, we see Alex Cave transform and begin to accept his desire for adventure. In the beginning of the book, he would certainly not have admitted it to himself. Later, he admits to himself that he yearns for adventure and cannot be happy without it. Finally, the underlying plot was pretty fascinating. There were many disparate elements that came together to weave a complex plot.

On the other hand, the book does not fully deliver on its potential. For one thing, there were a great many problems with the pacing of the book. Some scenes which were fairly important to the story and had potential went by absurdly quickly. Simultaneously, there was a great deal of importance given to the incidents in a small town where Jadin’s family was working on saving the town. The problem with this focus on the small town is that the slower pace of the small town setting also impacted the pacing of the larger plot. This separate plot thread was also overly long and focussed on trivial details. This book would certainly be improved by cutting out large chunks of the subplot and focussing on the larger plot.

However, my biggest issue with the book was the villain. The dynamic between the hero and the villain, and the character of the villain both play crucial roles in thrillers. Unfortunately, the villain in this book is a joke. We know nothing about her apart from a sketchy background. We largely only see her threatening a rather cartoonish form of violence or spouting corny one-liners. This one-dimensional approach to the villain really ruined the book for me. I was largely bored by Sloan, and certainly did not fear her or hate her.

In conclusion, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. While the plot has potential, substantial editing is needed to make the book more focused on the central plot and the villain. I would recommend this book only for action fans who really want to see new types of protagonists. This book does deliver on that score.

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Gravity. The Alex Cave Series book 4.
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KlareAllison · Post by **KlareAllison** » 10 Aug 2017, 08:21

Nice review, Anirudh. I am not a huge fan of action narratives generally. Asteroids, gravity machine, NASA scientist and all the adventures around them don't appeal to me. The fact that the book is fast-paced appeared encouraging, initially. However, the boring character of Sloan seals the "don't want to read" position for me.

Post by **kandscreeley** » 10 Aug 2017, 08:27

It sounds like this one had potential, but it needs a little more work. It's too bad about the villain. Thanks for the review, though.

Excitedreads · Post by **Excitedreads** » 10 Aug 2017, 09:28

Sounds like the general plot was one worth examining more, but i guess with a few improvements should be a worrhwhile read. Meanwhile i like the protagonists' character and the fact that the author threw some 'love' in to add some complexity to the storyline. Otherwise, much appreciated honest review! May read the novel.. eventually...

Ndayisabayamado3 · Post by **Ndayisabayamado3** » 10 Aug 2017, 10:53

Very wonderful story!!

jemgirl202 · Post by **jemgirl202** » 10 Aug 2017, 11:04

Great Review! Sounds like it has a lot of potential!

Anirudh Badri · Post by **Anirudh Badri** » 10 Aug 2017, 14:58

KlareAllison, I would not recommend this for people who are not fans of the genre, so I totally understand.

kandscreeley: This one certainly had potential to be a great thriller. Pity about the execution.

ExcitedReads: Hope you like it when you get to it!

Ndayisabayamado3: Glad you liked the plot from the review! You might want to check out the book then.

jemgirl202: Thank you! The potential was certainly there.

MrsCatInTheHat · Post by **MrsCatInTheHat** » 10 Aug 2017, 16:43

One dimensional characters, especially key players, will often doom a book.

Anirudh Badri · Post by **Anirudh Badri** » 11 Aug 2017, 14:02

CatInTheHat: Exactly. The role of the villain is especially important as it presents a counterpoint to the protagonist. This focus is crucial to making great action thrillers.

Kelebogile Mbangi · Post by **Kelebogile Mbangi** » 17 Aug 2017, 15:43

This plot sounds like it could be turned into an epic movie! Its too bad the book needs more editing. Anyway, thank you for your review.

Anirudh Badri · Post by **Anirudh Badri** » 18 Aug 2017, 04:05

Very true. The visuals with a story like this could be a great action/survival movie. Even as a screenplay the book needs more editing though.

AshwadRaj · Post by **AshwadRaj** » 20 Aug 2017, 07:39

Wonderful Review!
You're right about the importance of pacing, it is often an overlooked aspect of writing and can determine the success of a story.
As for the villain, I think without a strong antagonist there is simply no appeal in a story.
Anyway thanks for the review!

Anirudh Badri · Post by **Anirudh Badri** » 20 Aug 2017, 08:16

Thanks a lot. The pacing always helps with making books seem interesting and keeping the interest of the reader, which is why it is so important in making books successes.