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The Order
of the Sanguines Series #2
James Rollins and Rebecca
Cantrell
HarperCollins Publishers
December 10, 2013
ASIN: B00CKOV72Y
Fantasy / Horror /Adventure
Reviewed
by Linda Morelli
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Authors Rollins and
Cantrell have provided a fast action thriller based upon a totally
unexpected theme: that Christ wrote a “blood gospel”
(the foundation of the first release in the series) and that
a “trio of prophecy” must bring the book to the
"First Angel" for his blessing in order to secure
salvation for the world. This trio consists of Father Ruhn Korza,
(the Knight of Christ), army sergeant Jordan Stone (the Warrior
of Man) and archaeologist Dr. Erin Granger (the Woman of Learning).
It’s up to them to discover the identity of the First
Angel and deliver the “blood gospel” into his hands.
The book starts off in 1099 Jerusalem, with Bernard, a knight
from the Order of the Sanguines, who searches for the holy weapon
that would purge all evil from the world. These Sanguines were
once strigoi, unholy beasts who fed on man’s blood at
night. Sanguines vowed to serve God and Christ, and sustain
themselves on consecrated holy wine. The vampiric strigoi are
plentiful and are truly frightening, and the blasphemare, monstrous
incarnations of natural animal forms, add a great deal of eeriness
to the plot. The biggest surprise for me was Judas Iscariot,
damned by Christ to immortal life, and whose blood can kill
both the Sanguines and the strigoi.
I haven’t read the first release in this series, but the
authors provided sufficient backstory to allow this novel to
stand on its own as a great read. I loved the action packed
adventure and the blend of horror, mystery and religious concepts.
The characterization of Jordan, Erin and Ruhn provided realism
and emotion, and I felt as though I knew them. The fast paced
mystery and ingenious plot had me glued to the story, wondering
what would happen next. Definitely an outstanding read.
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Reviewer
Note: Blood Gospel is the first release in
this series; mass market paperback of Innocent Blood
releases May 24, 2014 |
Reviewer
Linda Morelli is the award winning author of three published
romance novels. |
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