The Samson Effect By Tony Eldridge - Book Review

The Samson Effect
By Tony Eldridge
Publisher - iUniverse - Editors choice & Publishers choice
Website - Samson Effect
Available at these locations

I have been waiting for The Samson Effect to be completed since June when I read the first three chapters and pre-viewed it. Now at last I have the book, and have just finished reading it. It was everything I expected, and more. I stayed up reading it until after midnight because I could NOT put it down.

If you like reading Clive Cussler and Dan Brown, then you have to read this book. As I said in my preview, the action starts from the very first page, and it literally does not stop.

Michael Sieff, an Israeli Archaeologist has been looking for the Samson Effect and finally he has found a new piece of the puzzle. After an encounter with a Palestinian "warlord" intent on a world jihad, Michael calls his closest friend and colleague Dr Thomas Hamilton (a Biblical Archaeologist professor teaching at a small university in New Hampshire) to drop everything and come to Israel.

Thomas goes to his Department head and tells him that he is taking a 3 month sabbatical to go to Israel. Thomas' request is denied, but says he is going anyway. As he drives away, behind him the Archaeology department building explodes. Thomas becomes a wanted person for the bombing. He drives to the airport and after an incident at the airport, Thomas is sneaked aboard a private jet and flown to Israel.

Michael's Uncle Benjamin Ben Hur is the Israeli ambassador to USA. His assistant is Hanna. Hanna joins Michael and Thomas in their search for the Samson Effect. So far the biggest clue they have is a location - Hidden in the Belly of the Devil - somewhere close to Hebron. In Biblical times the devil was also a serpent or a snake.

The Samson Effect is a drug or plant of some kind that makes people strong just like Samson in the Old Testament. Thomas also beleives that the Samson Effect may also cause mental illness, depression and other pyschological illneses.

The rest of the story is a race between the Jews and the Palestinians to find the Samson Effect first. Also mixed into this race is a mysterious group of Jewish rabbis who already know the secret of the Samson Effect, and are determined to protect it at all costs.

There is action on every page, some romance and certainly some prejudices between Jews and Arabs. Otherwise this was a great story. Just over 200 pages, but every page is jampacked with action from start to finish. I think this book is worthy of being made into a movie. I thought Thomas was just like Indiana Jones, Azim was Belloq, and Michael was Sallah. As I said at the top, I could not put this book down.