A Matter of Degrees by Alex Marcoux

by Alex Marcoux

Novelist Jessie Mercer has always had the gift of precognition. Shortly after she conjures up the idea for her newest book, she is drawn into a web of conspiracy, intrigue, and murder. Bits of a previous life in the far-distant past are slowly recalled, uncovering ancient secrets that connect Egyptian pharaohs, the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, Mary Magdalene, the Sumerians, the Roman Catholic Church, the devil, and even God. For Jessie's story began in ancient Egypt and has woven its thread through the tapestry of human history - only to come to a climax in modern America.

Mass Market Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Alex Marcoux is a seeker of Truth and international author of spiritual nonfiction and visionary fiction books. She was welcomed into a world few people see: the sacred mysteries and magic of autism. When asked by three nonspeaking autistics to make known their truth, “Destination New Earth: A Blueprint to 5D Consciousness” and “The Unsuspected Heroes: A Visionary Fiction Novel” emerged. “The Unsuspected Heroes is a 2021 International Book Awards finalist in Visionary Fiction and 2021 American Book Fest Best Book Award Finalist in Visionary Fiction.
Marcoux was the Living Now Book Awards Silver Medal winner in Metaphysical for her spiritual self-help book, “Lifesigns: Tapping the Power of Synchronicity, Serendipity and Miracles” (Jenness and Golden Turtle Press). Her fiction readers dubbed her the “lesbian Dan Brown” and #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Gardner called “A Matter of Degrees“ a rollercoaster ride of suspense.” She is also a Lambda Literary Award Finalist, a Golden Crown Literary Award Finalist, and the RMFW Penn Award recipient.

Reviews

[Hardly · Rating 2 out of 5]

All in all, this book was dull and devoid of energy. The plot was convoluted, unnecessarily so in my opinion, and by the end felt like it was made so complex to cover up the lack of character development and growth. I felt no compulsion to keep reading because I pretty much knew how it would end. The characters felt like puppets being frogmarched through the plot-- there was no symbiosis between plot and character, no connection.

Part of this is because characterization is so poor: characters' motivation are all either altruistic (in the case of the protagonists) or entirely dastardly (in the case of the conspiricists). The leads are too perfect-- too attractive, too clever, too talented. Their relationship is too perfect, as well, an idyllic little dynamic that doesn't feel remotely realistic when tensions are high and the pressure is on. And the antagonists are all evil bad guys without any redeeming or at least human qualities whatsoever. I almost expected them to start twirling the ends of their moustaches, a la Snidely Whiplash.

Both narration and dialogue are wooden, and description of setting is either rote and dull-- reading like a decor magazine-- or nonexistent altogether. There's little blocking (telling us what people are doing with their bodies as they speak, body language, etc). There's too much "telling" instead of "showing", and characters' introspection lacks a sense of authentic emotion. We don't get the feeling that we're granted access to the person's thoughts, so much as we're being informed what they're thinking. It's a subtle but dramatic and important difference.

Careful attention to creating a more visceral experience-- making the reader *feel* the danger, the heightened emotions-- would have made this story come alive. But as so often happens in mystery series written by a less-deft hand, situations and characters feel artificial, created to give the protagonist(s) something to do, rather than having the entire situation arise in a more organic and natural-feeling way.