Official Review: The Merkin Chronicles by Pygmael Eon

[Christabel Uzoamaka]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Merkin Chronicles" by Pygmael Eon.]

---

2 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

The Guild is a powerful organization and has its reach in Australia and the United States of America. They embark on a genetics project to procreate children with the Assassin Strain. Their first targets are Thomas Merkin and Elizabeth Bennet, who fall in love without their interference. The pair produce Francis Merkin, a child prodigy. The death of Francis’ mother at childbirth allows the Guild to have a direct influence on her upbringing through Sister Angela, a nun trained in martial arts and a member of the organization. Francis is amazing at anything she tries, and her father indulges her every whim, whether it is karate or pickpocketing. What Francis will soon find out is that she is only a pen in the Guild’s hands. She has a greater purpose. The Merkin Chronicles by Pygmael Eon details Francis’ life and her rise to power.

I loved Francis as a child. The author wrote Francis endearingly. She was the perfect balance between brave, blunt, and charismatic. Just like the other characters in the book, I felt drawn to her. I loved the author's depiction of her relationship with her father and Sister Angela. For example, after two negative incidents that happened with Francis and Manu, she still trusted her father enough to tell him the truth and her opinions. It was also entertaining to read about Francis’ exploits as an adult.

However, while I liked Francis and her relationships, including violent, friendly, and sexual ones, I couldn’t help but feel that everything was too convenient. Every plan that Francis made was always executed perfectly, with little to no hitches. Then, at the ending, the author just suddenly created two glitches that served as underwhelming plot twists. This was disappointing since I expected better.

It wasn’t until I read to the middle of the book that I realized that I didn’t even have a mental image of what Francis, or any other character, for that matter, looked like. There was hardly any imagery, and I only know that Francis has blonde hair. The author’s writing and timelines were also not clear. I could not tell, immediately, when Francis was older. For example, when she had her first lesbian sex, I was utterly confused because, just a chapter ago, I thought she was still in middle school. There was no clear distinction in her growth and age; readers are supposed to just know that she’s older.

I would have given this book three stars because I found it truly entertaining, despite its shortcomings, but the number of errors I found was staggering, so my rating is 2 out of 4. This book needs another round of editing. Another thing influencing my rating is the author’s unrealistic depiction of sex. There was a lot of indiscriminate sex, with vivid scenes, but there was no mention of protection or the aftermath of unprotected sex with just anyone. I found this unrealistic and dangerous because people who do not know any better could get hold of this book. There is a lot of sex and mention of cocaine, so readers sensitive to this should stay away. I recommend this book to readers who like crime and gang stories.

******
The Merkin Chronicles
View: on Bookshelves

[Mwatu]

The beginning of your review piqued my interest and I initially thought this would be a book to get for myself and read. Disappointing to see the character development could be better, the errors and the unrealistic depictions of sex. Hopefully, changes will be made and I can get around to reading this book. Thank you for your review!

[PeterRabitt20]

It is too bad that the character development is lacking, not to mention confusing. The storyline seems interesting; genetically modified babies. Thanks for your review!

[Kavita Shah]

Francis could have been a better defined character and then her story would have been a lot more appealing. Thank you for the good review.

[NetMassimo]

This seems like a crime thriller with potential but I agree that it needs more editing to develop that potential properly. Thank you for your honest review!