The Third Translation

By: Matt Bondurant

Narrated by: Paul Michael

A literary page-turner about one man's quest for an ancient mystery through the perilous streets of modern London Walter Rothschild has nothing but his work. Estranged from his wife and adult daughter, he spends his days and nights lost in translation -- constantly working and reworking the riddles inscribed on ancient funereal stones. A gifted American Egyptologist, he was hired by the British Museum in London to try to crack the code of one of the greatest remaining hieroglyphic mysteries -- the Stela of Paser. Stuck, with no new inspiration, he meets a seductive young woman who seems interested in him and his work. When Walter invites her back to the museum to get a closer look at his work, she secretly steals an antiquity and disappears. Thus begins Walter's frantic search to repair the damage he's caused. Threatened by villains real and imagined, Walter races against time to win back the antiquity and his reputation, without losing his life in the process. Utterly original and told in electric prose, this is a novel that beautifully weaves together exceptional insight into the inner yearnings of men with a fast-paced plot about ancient mystery and modern conspiracy. Ingenious, witty, and compelling, it is a novel to be savored and urged on all of your friends.

Okay

I listened to this book during a 15 hour long drive. Not fantastic, but not terrible either. It was okay entertainment. The story is a little weird and not quite what I expected.

Good Idea/Bad Storytelling

The idea was a good one, but nothing great ever materialized. The storytelling was very weak, and it never did draw me in, least of all to actually care about what was happening to the protagonist. The writing was filled with so much strange prose and metaphors that the actual action (when there was any) or interesting occurrences had to be sacrificed to make room for the protagonist's constant musings. I would not recommend this audiobook to anyone interested in a good story.