Blog Tour: Fateful Eyes

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Title: Fateful Eyes: Volume 1: The Puzzle and the Journey

Author: Panos Nomikos

Date of Publication: June 21, 2012

Formats Available: Paperback, E-Book

Buy This Book: Amazon

Synopsis: Fateful Eyes is a story about a life spent searching for love, accomplishments, and true fulfillment, within the world upheavals that, unfortunately, characterize the beginning of the new millennium. In his own life, Panos Nomikos (the author) has traveled in many continents, has been acquainted with many different people from different cultures, and he has also humbly attempted to comprehend the dizzying pace of events that are unfolding in such a frenetic tempo around us.
Panos aspires to share those experiences by narrating the story of “Peter”, a cosmopolitan who is traveling around the world at several exotic places, trying to solve a great puzzle, trying to locate a mysterious lady who came from his distant, youthful, and lustful past, and upset his life and his relationship with his affectionate lover. All the while, she is trying to fend-off by the threat posed by that mysterious rival in his heart.
Yet, the puzzle itself is not the essence of this novel. The puzzle is only a “pretext” to justify the exposure of Peter’s tortuous and twisted path in life, as well as to narrate the lives of everyone around him, as they all become unwittingly entangled into the rolling thunder of the world’s current upheavals, terrorism, wars, and economic crises. Like a modern Odyssey, the real essence of this novel is Peter’s long and tormenting journey towards his destination, towards the completion of his mission. Notwithstanding the mystery, the problems, and the upheavals, this story also celebrates love, affection, optimism, and the enthralling beauty of marvelous life.

My Review: 

Fateful Eyes is a tough one for me to review. Being a novel so far outside my genre and unlike anything I had ever read before I didn't have anything to compare it to or any basis for me to base my review on. While it was far from poorly written I just couldn't get myself into the story or feel interested by the plot.

I think the hardest part of this novel, for me anyway, was relating with the characters. Me being an 18 year old girl from the United States I had a hard time relating to the trials and tribulations of a forty year old man from Greece. It wasn't that I disliked the Peter necessarily but having never been in any kind of relatable situation made it hard for me to get myself interested in the story. Likewise much of the novel, especially in the beginning, focused on his job and early life both of which provided important background but at the same time weren't interesting to someone who couldn't relate to the character.

I did enjoy reading about Peter's travels and how he interacted with the environment around him. From Greece to the UK to Manila there were plenty of interesting locations in the novel. Seeing the world through Peter's eyes was an interesting experience and the author has a very intriguing writing style that really worked well for the story. The switch between the past and present was a little confusing at first but once I got used to it I really liked it. The constant switching adds a definite air of mystery to the novel.

As I said, this novel is by no means poorly written but it just wasn't for me. I can completely understand how someone else would enjoy it and I believe that Nomikos has a lot of potential for writing.  Even though it wasn't my cup of tea I encourage those looking for a mystery/fiction novel with a European vibe to check this one out!

2/5

*I received a free copy of this novel from the author/publisher/publicist in exchange for an honest review and received no monetary compensation from this post.

Author Information:

I am Panos Nomikos and I was born in 1961 in Athens, Greece, this beautiful country that has become lately the epicenter of the raging global financial crisis. During my carefree, youthful years, I roamed the idyllic islands of my home country having fun on the golden beaches under the sun with my friends and lovers. Later on, I studied for a Ph.D. in the UK and I started a career in Information Technology in the maritime sector, roaming again across the world on intercontinental business trips in faraway places in Asia, Europe and America. In the course of my career I have authored numerous essays and articles in professional publications.

Similarly, I have always aspired to share all those views and experiences and my quests to discover my own ‘true meaning of life’ by writing books. My first novel, ‘Fateful Eyes’, narrates the story of Peter, a busy professional who travels constantly around the world trying to solve a perplexing puzzle that has upset his life, whereas his affectionate lover tries to fend-off the threat posed by a mysterious antagonist in his heart.