It seems to me by reading other reviews of Ron Teachworth's book called Annunciation that they were so taken with his information on frescoes and Renaissance art that they overlooked one main issue: Mr. Teachworth has no command of dialogue at all. His characters have very wooden conversations, and while he does make an effort, the end result is very plain and unemotional.
To give him credit, he's done his research on Fra Angelico's work in Italy and also da Vinci. There were a few inconsistencies, but none that affected the book like his dialogue.
The story opens with American Catholic students going to Italy to repair frescoes that needed cleaning and with others help, restoration. So far, so good. There's some drama, a mystery involving some work of Leonardo da Vinci's that had been hidden for centuries, a romance and a plot to kill then-Pope John Paul II. Sounds appealing and shows promise. I enjoy Catholic fiction and truly love art history, so I figured this book would fill many interests. Well, the story does hold together, even with some hiccups. My recommendation is to stick with the storyline, but make the characters more human and realistic. Give their words emotion, and make them actually believable.
(i received this e-book free to review from booklookbloggers)
