Book Review: The Secret of Ka by Christopher Pike

Title: The Secret of Ka

Author: Christopher Pike

Published: 2010

Edition Read: eGalley from NetGalley.com

Overall: Just not completely pleased with this story, and how it was handled. As a stand-alone I'm disappointed. As a possible series starter I'm a little more intrigued.

Summary (From Publisher) : One minute Sara's bored on vacation in Istanbul. The next, she's unearthed a flying carpet that cleverly drags her to the mysterious Island of the Djinn—or genies. By her side is Amesh, a cute guy she has a crush on but doesn't yet trust. When Amesh learns the secret of invoking djinn, he loses control. He swears he'll call upon only one djinn and make one wish. The plan sounds safe enough. But neither Sara nor Amesh are any match for the monster that that swells before them. It hypnotizes Amesh, compelling him to steal Sara’s flying carpet and leave her stranded on the island.

Discovering the carpet has sparked a new path for Sara, one that will lead her to battle creatures even deadlier than djinn. In this fight, Sara can save mankind, herself, or the boy she cares for. Who will she be forced to sacrifice?

My Thoughts: I'm truly torn with this book. On the one hand I really was thrilled to read a new book by Christopher Pike. I loved him when I was younger, and I read all his Adult books because I love his work so much. I was even more thrilled to find out that his older books are being repackaged and reissued. Especially the Remember Me series which I still love. The Thirst books, originally the Last Vampire series, which I'd actually not read when it first came out. A new book by Christopher Pike? Yes, please!

But here is where I'm confused. Was The Secret of Ka the start of a new series? Because the ending was left wide open. I looked around on the interwebs, but found nothing about this. If not, and The Secret of Ka is really a stand-alone, then I'm even more confused. What was Pike thinking writing a book that ended in the way that Ka did? Loose ends weren't tied up, new revelations happened and...and...what happens next?! I'm thinking Ka is supposed to be the start of a series. We'll just see how that goes.

That aside I wasn't thrilled by this book. Overall Pike took a long time to get where he was trying to get this the story. By the time Sara and Amesh found the island of djinn I believe I was on page 75. That is a long time to get to the point of the story. In a book that was over 400 pages long I really felt like Pike needed to get to the point. I'm a get-to-the-point kind of person when it comes to my books. I understand you can't just say what you want to say because you want to build mystery and create a more diverse world by gradually bringing the reader into it. Especially when your main character is a 16 year old girl from the modern world dealing with creatures like djinn. But, in all honesty I just really feel like Pike could have spent more time on the island building up Amesh and Sara's relationship or building up Sara's knowledge of djinn and that world instead of just getting us to the plot point of Amesh making the big mistake of getting involved with the djinn. And, of course, not listening to Sara tell him HOW bad of an idea it was. THEN, start teaching us about the djinn. I may be in the minority, but that's just how I personally felt.

Then you read on as Sara risks everything to save Amesh from his very bad decision. Even if that means risking her own life and soul to do so. And, no I am not exaggerating when I say she risks her own soul. You can see why I feel like a little more time on the island building more of a relationship between Amesh and Sara so that her risking her own soul to save him would have made a little more sense. Or at least you'd understand her romantic interest in Amesh a little bit more then she'd just met, fell in love with him, and will now risk everything for him. I'm not an unromantic  person. I even believe in love at first sight, but the way that Pike navigated Sara and Amesh's relationship did not leave me with the sense of happiness for their love. It's really the best way I can put this.

That being said if Pike continued on with their story I'd still read it because I am intrigued greatly by the fairy tale-like aspects, and the world of the djinn. I loved the world building, the history of the djinn and how Sara plays into it. I really want to know more about Sara and her family, and, yes, I'd even like to see if Amesh and Sara's love will mold into something more. As a stand alone this novel simply confused me, and for that I'm sorry to have to give it such a low review.