"I'm reviewing these two together because I read them totally out of order. leaving me with little idea of story quality. I'd read Griffin and Sabine years ago and loved it - the artwork, the interactivity of it, and the way it ended mysteriously. A couple of years ago I acquired these two books at a sale and put them away until I could get the missing three, and read them in order.

Except last night I was in the mood for books with pieces, so I grabbed them to read anyway.

Definitely not a series to read out of order. The Golden Mean was ok - I figured out enough from having read the first book to follow along fine, but Alexandria has new characters that were somehow involved in everything and I was more than a little clueless, although I was left with the feeling that Bantock was reaching for plot by the end.

Regardless, the art is still stunning. I love the postcards and whenever a 'real' letter appeared on the page, the thrill of opening it, extracting the letter and reading it, never got old.

I'm still going to search out the rest of the books; if I ever find them, I'll read the whole series again - in order - and see if the plot goes as off the rails as it looks to me now." ( )

You all know the star couple of the early 1990s, Griffin Moss and Sabine Strohem, but do you know Matthew Sedon and his lovely paramour, Isabella de Reims? Matthew and Isabella are caught in that can't-connect world Griffin and Sabine know all too well. Separated by continents, absence is making the heart turn passionate. Matthew struggles to keep his mind on archaeology dig in Egypt while Isabella attempts to study in France. Both encounter evil signs of nemesis Viktor Frolatti who seems bound and determined to keep them apart.
As always, Bantock's art is stunning. Bold colors, violent insinuations, and passionate designs decorate every postcard, letter, envelope and stamp exchanged. As always, the voyeuristic thrill of opening someone's mail cannot be ignored. ( )

Griffin and Sabine have disappeared and suddenly Sabine appears and asks for help from and archeologist in Egypt. This book is filled with danger and strange forces. Matthew and Isabella must unlock the secret world they have become a part of. ( )

My blog post about this book is at this link. ( )

So far this is my least favorite in the series, but Bantock's art is still interesting and the structure of the book is unique an still very imaginative in my opinion. ( )