Stephanie (aka WW)'s Reviews > Nicked

Based on real, recorded events, this book should have interested me more. I’m a big fan of M.T. Anderson from the years of reading his books to my kids (we particularly liked his Whales on Stilts series) and I had high hopes for what is billed as his “adult debut”.

Nicked would make a better movie than a novel in my opinion. It is almost non-stop action, which held my attention, but tired me out as a reader. The book tells the story of a lowly monk (Nicephorus) living in a small town (Bari) which is being ravaged by the pox in the year 1087. Nicephorus reports being visited by St. Nicholas in a dream and his superiors interpret this dream as a call to steal the bones of St. Nicholas from a church in Myra who houses them in its tombs. The bones are said to emit a substance that heals the sick, which could save Bari’s population and earn the town renown. A charismatic bone-stealer (Tyun) is called to accompany Nicephorus (“the dreamer”) on the mission and the action is underway.

The full-tilt action and adventure in this tale will appeal to many. Anderson is still the compelling writer that I learned to love through the Whales on Stilts books, plus his YA work Feed and the Octavian Nothing series. I had a hard time connecting to the characters in Nicked as I wanted to, however, and wished the pace could be slowed down to accommodate character development. In the end, I felt rushed to finish the novel…too rushed to appreciate subtleties in the tale. Others love the book, though, so readers should consider that mine is but one opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for providing me with an e-ARC of this novel.