2008 Woodie Awards
The Secret Scroll Unrolled
Olivia Wiznitzer
Issue date: 5/13/08 Section: Arts and Culture
Ronald Cutler's first novel, "The Secret Scroll," suffers from an ailment that appears to afflict many a promising action thriller-it's yet another Dan Brown wannabe, an attempt at "The Da Vinci Code" without being as clever or controversial. While "The Secret Scroll" definitely allows for some interesting ideas, the methods of detection, deduction and understanding on the part of Josh Cohan, the novel's protagonist, are hardly as interesting as the symbology touted by Brown. This trend continues when Danielle, the necessary love interest, is continuously portrayed as being witty, clever and having the ability to talk her way out of tight situations, yet rarely demonstrates this supposed skill, relying instead upon the conveniently-timed affections of a large bodyguard in order to escape from prison.
Admittedly, the ideas behind the novel are interesting. Josh Cohan discovers a manuscript that may disrupt the entire State of Israel, if not the world, and is suddenly drawn into a world of intrigue as others demonstrate that they will do anything in order to get their hands on the scroll in question. Unfortunately, all subtlety is lost with Cutler's heavy-handed attempt to demonstrate the importance of the scroll, apparently a biography penned by Jesus Christ himself. That Jesus would write a scroll refuting all the claims later to be made about him, including that of his divinity, is highly comical. It is a little too convenient, and therefore, a little ridiculous.
The rest of the novel reads in this comical vein, which is sad, as it is meant to be serious. Josh Cohan is hardly human. His extraordinary dreams, meditative state, intuition and emotion guide him, so that the reader has no ability to guess at his moves or determine where the plot is leading. The author is always able to throw in another wrench if he so desires and cite Cohan's almost magical abilities whenever one would reach a logical dead end, in which case the action would stop. Cutler has a way of telling his reader everything, not allowing her to infer from the text or put ideas together for herself. This is extremely annoying, and makes for a very bad plot. The best action novels are those where the reader seems to understand where something is heading, is right there alongside the character, in his head, looking at the information that has been dealt him, making decisions alongside him. Cohan's mystical abilities preclude that sense of connection.
Admittedly, the ideas behind the novel are interesting. Josh Cohan discovers a manuscript that may disrupt the entire State of Israel, if not the world, and is suddenly drawn into a world of intrigue as others demonstrate that they will do anything in order to get their hands on the scroll in question. Unfortunately, all subtlety is lost with Cutler's heavy-handed attempt to demonstrate the importance of the scroll, apparently a biography penned by Jesus Christ himself. That Jesus would write a scroll refuting all the claims later to be made about him, including that of his divinity, is highly comical. It is a little too convenient, and therefore, a little ridiculous.
The rest of the novel reads in this comical vein, which is sad, as it is meant to be serious. Josh Cohan is hardly human. His extraordinary dreams, meditative state, intuition and emotion guide him, so that the reader has no ability to guess at his moves or determine where the plot is leading. The author is always able to throw in another wrench if he so desires and cite Cohan's almost magical abilities whenever one would reach a logical dead end, in which case the action would stop. Cutler has a way of telling his reader everything, not allowing her to infer from the text or put ideas together for herself. This is extremely annoying, and makes for a very bad plot. The best action novels are those where the reader seems to understand where something is heading, is right there alongside the character, in his head, looking at the information that has been dealt him, making decisions alongside him. Cohan's mystical abilities preclude that sense of connection.
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