Book Review: Midnight Ride - Ben Mezrich

I am a regular reader of Ben Mezrich books. In my view, his works detailing actual events are his strongest. Like most people, I liked 21. I thought Sex on the Moon was a nearly unbelievable true tale.

Unlike his news-based books, The Midnight Ride is pure fiction. It tells a post-war Paul Revere story through the eyes of artifact thieves. It tries to make a serious subject of alchemy.

To my review, the story began with a heavy set of references back to the author’s learnings about card counting from his 21 days. From there, the story was National Treasure, Part III. Calling Nick Cage. It was a romp through historical places and artifacts, with the occasional pause for a history book excerpt.

The book has a fast pace, but the plot was predictable in my view. So as not to spoil it, I won’t detail the few twists, but I will tell you that every twist had the same trigger.

I’m a fan of Ben’s, and I wish him the best with the movie rights. However, regarding this book, a thriller it was not.