Sons of Fortune

Rating:
Summary: Archer Plays a Strange Type of God
Review: Twins are seperated at birth. One ends up in a family of wealth and priviledge - the other to a middle class family. However, both are twins in many ways - they are both smart, like the same kind of girl, and are adept at their chosen paths of finance and criminal law. Each also faces a common enemy - a character of low worth who is only out for himself.

Both sons of fortune find themselves married to a woman who loves them back - one an immigrant who had a secret; the other a scion of history. Though they run against each other in a governor race, each respects each other enough to put politics aside in the favor of what is right.

Archer makes major mistakes in this well intended novel - one man would not defend his enemy in court in a heated political campaign. Another is that marriage to a foreign born translates into citizenship is another - one man loves his Korean born wife to death. Plus AB blood type means somebody can take blood from anybody. The sons find out their common blood via this, but it is a medical mistake.

However, I do agree with Archer's main point - that blood doens't matter much. Both twins agree to keep their heritage secret. Adopted or by blood, they had parents who loved them and cared for them - and raised them with all their love. The only effect of their revealing the secret would be to destroy their families and loved ones. Both are honorable men who put ambition apart from family in the end.

Rating:
Summary: Not Acher's best effort
Review: With Sons of Fortune, Archer spins an intriguing tale of two twin brothers who, through a well-intentioned yet criminal act that remained secret for decades, were separated at birth. Each grows up in worlds that are parallel but different. As the decades pass, Archer takes the brothers through a variety of life experiences that were relevant and important in their day. At the same time, the lives of the brothers inevitably become more and more entwined. Although character development is solid, the story itself gets bogged down in places and leaves huge gaps in time in others. That said, Archer kept me turning the pages. Although this is not among Archer's best, his fans may want to at least give this a chance.