Bone Chase was a fun, mythological thriller of one man’s burning need to finish his father’s work and prove the existence of giants. There was history, bad guys, lots of nerdy science/math, and even a smidge of romance. This was an action packed and fast paced thriller, that is actually a topic of factual reality in the real world. I really enjoyed reading this book.

I received this book complimentary from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

I liked this. The characters drew me in. I struggled with the plot as it seemed a little esoteric at times and it took me some time to really grasp it. It was well written though and enjoyable.

Wow. Really enjoyed this book by Weston Ochse. He kind of mixes genres, but does it very well. This book had great characters, great pacing, and a great story, with lots of history/lore mixed in. Can't wait for more from Weston Ochse.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book! I loved the idea of this book but the information in it was super idiotic and unrealistic or researched.

This is definitely not what I thought and although the premise was good it lost me after the beginning chapters. Definitely not like the Da Vinci Code and was a far fetch on the comparison.

This book has a lot of really interesting lore and concepts. however they aren't always communicated to the reader in the most clear manner. It can be a bit disorienting at times, but maintains some elements of fun.

This started out interesting enough, but it lost steam and I lost interest quickly. I think it was trying hard to be like a Da Vinci Code type but it definitely was not.

Not every book needs to be compared to the Da Vinci Code. I think it actually did this book a disservice. When comparisons are made, it raises and colors expectation.
Ethan, the main character was all over the place and the story was choppy.

The blurb of the book was really promising.

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me.
As a reader, we are pushed into a world where there into much of a buildup. The characters know a lot more about what is happening and that's not great for the reader because it ends up being a tad disorienting,
The characters make some weird choices which doesn't really fit.

I wish the author would have plotted the book better.

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't care

Guy gets hooked on a bit of Biblical trivia and obsesses. Decides to tell the world about it through a supposed thriller along the Dan Brown model. I don't care about the Biblical trivia and I don't want to read a blog disguised as a book.

DNF at 12%.

Many thanks to Saga Press for the NetGalley ARC, but this story is straining credulity too much for me to continue any further.

Much of this comes down to the manner in which the story is presented. Weston Ochse thrusts us headlong into a narrative in which the characters know so much more about what's happening than the reader. This, in turn, makes for a disorienting read and demands that the reader accept these spurious claims and leaps of logic involving the existence of giants and global conspiracy to keep them secret despite there being no narrative build-up to invest in similar beliefs alongside the reader. We're given no real reason for the characters themselves to believe these outlandish ideas, and I'm at a loss as to why I'm supposed to believe it just as readily. These opening chapters come off more like a random drunk, demented guy on the subway ranting conspiracy theories at you and expecting you to run off with him to uncover the truth despite just having met the man.

Early blurbs have compared this book to James Rollins and Dan Brown. Say what you will about those authors, but at least they took the time to invest in world building and presenting their fictional evidentiary findings to goad you along. Here, there's little reason to buy into the fantastical and of the four chapters I've read this morning, each bit grows more ludicrous than the previous, and then I finally hit the perfect line to decide to call it quits on, in which "the woman backed out of her car, not carrying a baby but a shotgun."

Ah, the ol' baby-shotgun switcharoo. Yep. I'm out.

This book claims to be perfect for fans of Dan Brown, but I would caution fans of Dan Brown before picking this up. While this absolutely had a premise that would snag a Dan Brown fan, I think the blurb hyped this book up so much, I was bound to be let down when reading it. The characters are not well created, which leads to a very flat feeling throughout the story. I also felt like I was reading a textbook through all the ancient texts and terminology. This book had a lot of potential, but it didn't quite achieve what it was claiming.

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

The science, mathematics, and biblical explanation portions of Bone Chase were relatively frequent, which bogged down the story for me. I found them tedious, to be honest. I was relieved at the introduction of the third member of the “team” because Ethan and Shanny’s theories, musings, etcetera often needed an explanation in layman’s terms. The DaVinci Code was written without making you feel like you had an inadequate background on the subject or lost in what it was trying to prove. The history behind the giants was quite intriguing, in addition to the intended or unintended mistranslations of text and languages over time.

Ethan was honestly a little underwhelming, hard to connect with, and childish for someone in the primary role of a book like Bone Chase. There’s also the factor that he was a high school math teacher, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just had a hard time reconciling against a character like Professor Robert Langdon in The DaVinci Code. I felt like Matt’s character and backstory could have been better developed, especially since he seemed significant to Ethan’s father. I don’t feel like any of the people in the story have enough backstory or development to establish much of a connection with them, and since I didn’t connect with Ethan – it made me care less and less about what happened to most everyone.

After all the buildup, it felt choppy to get thrown into the situation Ethan finds himself in and what he witnesses. The first two-thirds of Bone Chase is reasonably fast-paced, has its fair share of narrow escapes, and action – yet it felt rushed. The ending also felt rushed, as if the journey there took too long, and everything needed to be organized and boxed up for a neat conclusion.

I would possibly recommend this book to readers who enjoy mystery, thriller, supernatural beings, and myths. As always, a big thank you to Gallery/Saga Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital ARC of Bone Chase – all opinions are my own. *Rounded up from 2.5 stars*

This is the 2020s answer to The Da Vinci Code. Part thriller, part history lesson, part conspiracy theory, this book had me hooked. Step aside, Robert Langdon, a new scholar sleuth is in town, and he means business.

Ethan is a jobless High School math teacher who hasn’t exactly been telling his parents about his current employment issues. When his father dies suddenly and leaves him a box with clues to a centuries-old mystery, Ethan feels like he needs to find those answers. Is there an ancient race of giants who are integral at weaving humanity’s path? Ethan will find himself shot at and running all over the states to find the solution.

Billed as a National Treasure/ DaVinci Code-type thriller, the plot doesn’t let up very often… But while you’re going to find a non-stop chase, parts of the story don’t exactly stick together well, and I will get to that in a bit.

One of the first things Ethan does is hook back up with his ex… she’s smart, she cares about him, and she’s an ex-soldier. Everything Ethan will need to keep the Six-Fingered man and the Council of David away. The many legions and allies are out for the duo. And in this sense, I find Dean Koontz’s Jane Hawk series to be a much better fictional world to compare to…

And here comes the balance in my review… But unlike Koontz, Ochse’s transitions between the “real” world and the scifi elements are often rough and necessitate a rather large leap. In the business of deep-state conspiracy writing, it’s hard to keep the illusion up without that (fictional) credible evidence. It mostly comes up in those transitions between dashes from one clue to the next.

While Bone Chase is loaded with those thriller-tensions, the ties that bind the plot don’t always work together.

3 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery/ Saga, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

The sixth time is not the charm. That is how many of Weston Ochse's books I've now read, and this is the first to disappoint. It has an interesting premise, and it seems he did quite a bit of research on it, but the execution is lacking the usual tense progression and solid character development. It's more a series of set pieces that don't add up to a satisfying conclusion.

This was a very unique story. I wasn’t expecting to read about Giants, but I really enjoyed it. I like how there’s certain parts where the author is taking information from other sources and connects it all together.

It was a fascinating read and really enjoyed the characters.

For me, this was a thriller which lacked the fundamental "thrill." It was neither titillating in action nor was its psychology pulse-climbing in any anticipatory degree. The premise of Bone Chase, like giants themselves, had enormous potential but the narrative itself sputtered its plot, characterization, and suspense like a punctured balloon. The characters were affable enough, I suppose, but they lacked substance. Dimension. Personality.

The story suffered from a lack of depth overall. Readers are never afforded a sufficient explanation as to why these "bone hunters" are willingly hurling themselves headfirst into danger to unearth the whole giants-do-exist underground. Nor are we given good reason as to how or why Ethan's father became involved in particular, or why he'd pass the torch to his son after he died. Furthermore, there's little distinction between the two rival factions and what they want. Their justifications for going after bone hunters like Ethan are frail at best, non-existent at worst. Even the giants were a disappointment because the footprints they left behind made no indentation on my imagination at all. They simply...faded into obscurity.

I wanted so much to love this but ended up struggling to simply like it.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Gallery Books/Saga Press for the ARC in exchange for my review.

I love conspiracy books and this one was very good. I liked the characters and the plot was good. Some places I bogged down reading details but overall I really liked it.
Many thanks to Gallery Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was not interesting to me and not an enjoyable read. It was convoluted and unclear and more of a task than pleasure.