A history driven, mystically inspired, action thrill-ride
931425
George Pierce finally gets to follow in the shoes of his silver-screen hero, Fiona learns more about her heritage and the mother tongue, and our old friend BishI mean, Lazareth continues to fight his inner demons. We find more hidden strings Alexander has manipulated behind history, and go for one hell of a ride in the process.

Cerberus Groupa spinoff of the Jack Sigler Chess Team seriesnever fails to deliver on a history driven, mystically inspired, action thrill-ride.
1981966
David Gemmell's premiere novel, "Legend," is a stunning debut in the realm of heroic action-fantasy. This is a blood-and-thunder tale of battle, great warriors, blood-red axes, sinister magical forces, and heroism in the face of hopelessness, all cast in the mold of the great Robert E. Howard (creator of Conan). But Gemmell manages to transcend most of the generic heroic fantasy put out today by Howard imitators. "Legend" contains numerous surprises, the largest of which is how human a story it is -- despite the towering, mythic quality of the narrative. Gemmell makes characterization a strong part of his story, so the reader isn't merely waiting for the next big battle sequence to carry them along to the end.
The story is straightforward: the barbarian tribes of Nadir, under the rule of conquest-hungry King Ulric, make a concentrated to push to overthrow the long-standing nation of Drenai. Only a major fortress, Dros Drenloch, stands between the Nadir and a complete sweep across the lands of Drenai. The deciding battle will come at the walls of Dros Drenloch, and the defenders have small-to-zero chance of holding back the barbarian tide. That is until Druss the Legend, the greatest Drenai warrior, strides down from his hills to join the men at Dros Drenloch. But Druss is now an old man, and can even his legendary status and the aid of The Thirty, an order of men with mystical powers, hold back the mad barbarian horde?
The entire book focuses on the build up to and the battle of Dros Drenloch, a sustained piece of action and tension. Gemmell can write raw, ripping action scenes, and his military descriptions ring with accuracy. But he also has a cast of wonderful characters, and manages to make them achingly human and vulnerable, where most other authors would make them larger than life and impossibly invincible, and therefore impossibly distant from the reader. Druss is a great cast in point: a legendary hero, but now he is in his sixties and obviously past his prime. He knows he can die, and knows that he probably will die soon, but tries to do everything in his power to last until the end. The legend aura swirls around him, but the reader comes to know the real person inside the myth. However, the real protagonist of the tale of Rek, who becomes the Earl of Dros Drenloch. Rek is a seemingly average warrior with fears of cowardice, but with a streak of the berserker in him. In his doubts and anxieties, and also in his great romance with the beautiful Virae, the readers find their true connection with the story. Also surprising is the sympathetic portrait Gemmell creates of the "villain," Ulric.
"Legend" is an all-around excellent heroic fantasy. If you love epic battles and tales of grand heroism, you won't find one much better written -- or more poignantly human -- than this one.
4751877
This book is phenomenal. From beginning to end, THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC is  seductive, thrilling, and a thought-provoking fictional story masterfully told by author, Vincent Czyz. Artfully interwoven with personally researched historical facts, Czyz, through his true-to-life characters (with all their human short-comings) and the realistic, picturesque setting of lands and travel foreign, hooked me from the get-go and led me willingly on an expedition ripe with murder, romance, and intrigue. In all of this, too, I was drawn in by Czyz's clandestine skill at unfolding--and challenging--long-taught Christian beliefs. My own included. So, whether you like the mysterious and murderous elements, or like to travel to lands otherwise unknown to you, or are looking to be challenged in your own belief system, THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC, is a must read. One I intend to read and study again and again.
3002347
This is a fast-moving story with fascinating historical background, part real and part fantasy. The characters are well-defined and the action is very believable. The character of the First People comes through clearly from start to finish. Readers will thoroughly enjoy this story.
103610
Bennett does a staggering job pulling together every historical source he can find, pouring some color between the lines, and stitching a massive, incredibly complex series of events and enormous cast of characters into a gripping, page-turning narrative that never stops. The characters are nuanced and relatable. The scenes are captivating.

And at 3 or 4 perfect moments, Bennett switches gear to a whimsical, imaginative scene that gives the reader an invitation to give emotion and color to a sterile black-and-white historical figure like Eusibius or Emperor Julian.

The great thing about the story is that it's so complex and multidimensional that you don't at all get the feeling that the author is trying to slant the facts to draw his own picture. If he does err, it's definitely on the side of over-explanation and excessive backstory; I personally love all the backstory, but I feel like some readers might want him to just "get on with it." This aspect might make the book less accessible to a less scholarly audience.

This book let me see the early church more vividly than I ever had before. Fun, enlightening, historically informative, spiritually inspiring. Most rewarding book I've read in years.
171704
Lots of fast action, some historical information, interesting characters and a fascinating setting.
3531924
Innocent Blood follows the popular thriller, Blood Gospel, in the Order of the Sanguines Series. Cantrell and Rollin's collaboration in this daring tale explodes the boundaries of genre, taking their fans and new readers on a 4 dimensional odyssey in which the past and the present collide for the ultimate battle of good and evil.

Monsters of myth, and figures from scripture, confront credible contemporary characters with a deadly puzzle and enlist them to fulfill a world-changing prophesy. Intriguing science, a secret Vatican sect, gothic undead, historical villains --this book is full of mysteries! The storytellers bring alive both the present and the ancient past in their telling, with the sounds, smells, textures, and temperatures of pivotal historical places.

Woven into this fast-paced, surprising, adrenaline-juiced thriller are provocative postulations about sin, redemption, and the true price of penitence, as well as the  realization (at least for me) that most of us find it easier to believe in demons than in angels.

I recommend that you read Blood Gospel first if you can. Have fun!
179352
The Seventh Sentinel is a fast-paced, supernatural thriller steeped in the rich history of the Knights Templar and Catholic dogma. This is a world that exists on several planes, where Archangels and a special group of humans (sentinels) cross over from heaven to earth with fantastic ease, where mythical lost artifacts hold the key to the worlds continuing survival. Where the fate of the world rests on a young man who has no clue of the power he holds, or the battle thats been raging for centuries practically on his doorstep.

Yolanda Ramos takes these familiar elements and creates an original story for her readers. I enjoyed the easy, casual style of writing, but more than that, I was completely immersed in the level of detail and background information that is so casually thrown into the mix that you won't even realize youve just had a history lesson.

This is clearly part of a series of booksI caught the tiny clue that signals an ongoing war and more dramatic, intense tales to come! I recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Dan Browns books, because frankly, Yolanda Ramos has a much stronger and more vivid style of writing than he does.
2519992
This book is a thrilling trip through history with adventurous characters that hold the world's most sacred artifacts and religious belief systems in their hands.  It was easy to slip right into the world of Gideon, the Siccari master agent and to Charlotte, the frenetic and tenacious news reporter and mother on their non-stop quest.  This book opens the imagine for new beliefs and details of how the cornerstones of religion were constructed.  It is some of these ideas that governments and religious sectors will go to extremes to protect and hide from the masses.  I recommend this book to the avid thrill reader!  Cant wait for a second book in the series!
529946
The wild ride continues with Day of Atonement.  I found myself riveted by the action sequences.  The setup from book 1 leads to frenetic chase sequences, daring escapes, and blockbuster cat-and-mouse moments.  There is some additional character development for Joshua and Iris, as well as insight into the motives of Sophia and David.  This gives the non-stop action a good balance and carries the reader on a breathtaking adventure.  Excited for the final book of the trilogy!
1785247
Jean Zimmerman has spun an imaginative tale out of historical threads that is both suspenseful and action packed, yet still quite beautiful.  As a result, The Orphan Master is an immensely entertaining novel.

The setting is the island of Manhattan in 1663 when the island was named New Amsterdam and was occupied by the Dutch, their African slaves, and the native Indians who managed to survive the Europeans.  The backdrop for our protagonist and her romantic interest shows the dynamic that soon created New York.  As only a historian can, Zimmerman shows the hysteria, religious fervor, and political conundrum of the time and its effect on a lively cast of characters from the vulnerable to the truly evil.

Zimmerman manages to convey raunchiness, love, hate, madness and even grisly murders, with a deft and gentle hand.  This could have been the result of editor Betsy Lerner's keen tutelage. Not a single foul word or cringe worthy scene. The women are strong and the hero is perfect, even when he is imperfect, so it sniffs, mildly, of a romance novel, one with Fabio on the cover, except The Orphan Master is smarter, more suspenseful - though we know early on who she will choose - and despite revealing the villain half-way through, we still hang in there to see who will survive.
2850204
Tom Harper has written some really amazing and fascinating adventures, in the "historical fiction" genre. Starting with his great series with Demetrious Askiates in Byzantium during the first crusades, Tom Harper continues his writing, with a story taking place shortly after WWII.

The Lost Temple opens up on the invasion of Greece by the Nazi's in the beginning of WWII. We are introduced into our cunning main character, Grant. As a disgraced ex-special solider, he eventually turned to gun running for the Jews before there was a state of Israel. He had been giving a mysterious tablet, with a language not yet deciphered, and dating back to over 3000yrs ago. Uncoded, this language, Linear B (a real language which was deciphered in the 1950's), would be a map leading to not only the worlds most historical and mythical treasure, but something that could change the future for all human kind.

Grant finds himself in the company of a British "spook," an Oxford professor, a CIA man who only goes by the name of "Jackson," and a former lover and patriot of Greece, Marina. Hot on their trails are the Russians, former Nazi's, and a wild adventure leading them across the middle east, and all around the Mediterean Sea and the Black Sea.

Now, before saying, "Yeah, i've heard this one before," I don't think comparing this book to the "Da Vinci Code," is the best comparison. It is closer tied to the Indiana Jones series. Tom Harper's writing is very sharp, and you can tell he took great pains to do the immense amount of research for this novel. Not at one point did I ever feel that I was reading a text book, the history flowed naturally from the characters, and seemed real.

You might as well call his a 1940's historical action novel, because that is exactly what it is. Through the almost non-stop action, we learn about what our hero's and "gods" were, or could've been like, all while on the race to find our most precious treasure, of a man that will forever live on in name, no matter how long.

Readers who enjoy history, historical fiction, puzzles and adventure are sure to Enjoy Tom Harpers, "The Lost Temple!"
4976343
A real page-turner! The heroes and villains zip through the pages with their barbed dialogue, high drama, and daring action. The author manages to seamlessly weave painstaking research on everyday medieval life with a thoroughly enjoyable and cinematic plot. I took it everywhere with me despite its hefty and satisfying 600+ pages. If you're a history nerd and you haven't picked this up yet, get it now! There's a sequel in the works too and I'm sure she won't disappoint...

<3 anka
3610275
Cleverly complex and exquisitely detailed, this stunning debut novel is a real treat. Beautifully merging together fast-paced, thrilling action/ adventure with modern technological advances and science, one is presented with a detailed concoction of literary delights as to capture the imagination! Brought to life with captivating characters this exciting story is one that will intrigue and astonish, as you loose yourself within a suspenseful, dynamic adventure. The first book in the Winner trilogy (the Awakening) takes you to a dangerous world that is both remarkable and creatively illuminating; as computer viruses, powerful nuclear devices, a tsunami, a stock market collapse and occult rituals and ancient artifacts merge together in one explosive, mind-blowing phenomenon! As the protagonists endeavor to prevent the end of their planet, I found myself mesmerized by this refreshingly original take within a competitive genre.

Hero, Martin Slice is a likable, appealing character who uncovers a great cataclysmic plot to destroy all of man kind. Upon discovering this as well as his `destiny' one soon understands that he is only a part of something much greater than ever imagined; which involves the multi-dimensional eternal war that has been raging between the guardians of the universe and a deadly, ancient evil. As Martin sets out on the quest of a lifetime to purge the universe of this horror, before it is too late and all of existence is consumed, you will find yourself being pulled into the addictive story.

Highly entertaining and totally unexpected, I am truly stunned by this novel which is certainly like nothing I have encountered within this genre. The distinctive, colorful characters (such as a Vietnam Vet, merciless Nazi and dishonest lawyer) make for an outlandish, vibrant read that takes you from the exotic to the harsh and desolate. Attention grabbing dialogue and dramatic action had me glued to the pages, as I felt I was partly witnessing Bond (007) movie within an otherworldly adventure. Earthreal and vividly depicted, I was so impressed by how Marc Bolda incorporated myth and legend, fantasy and science-fiction with an altogether modern, current feel.  Dry wit and humor, in-depth character-study and relentless twists and turns in the plot make this a stand-out novel and one that I highly commend.

Acutely sharp, stylish and simply sublime this well-written, bold and ambitious work is just exceptional hence I cannot praise it enough! Blown away by book one, within a terrific trilogy, I now cannot wait to read book 2: the sundering veil and book 3: the last knell of tarumus.

*I won a copy of "Winner, Book 1: the awakening" by Marc Bolda, through a Goodreads giveaway*

I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the author for this wonderful opportunity.
1920419
Robert Liparulo had me at "Immortal Vigilantes". What a concept! I had to read it, despite my usual tendency to avoid anything dealing with "experimental technology".

Liparulo starts setting the scene from page one with such descriptive precision that the mental images and subsequent cold chills keep you turning the pages... before you know it, you're hooked!

Blending Bible, History, Technology, and the Paranormal seamlessly, Liparulo gives you plenty to think about with his captivating story line and complex characters.

I loved the care that was taken to set up the world in which the story takes place, the attention to detail, the rich history, the pacing. It allowed me to immerse myself into the story. I didn't want to leave this inventive world, but I had to put the book down from time to time in order to catch my breath.

I especially enjoyed the fight scenes. They are intense and written with such exactitude that I felt the need to check myself for blood splatter!

Thrilling with exciting twists, interesting characters, skillful prose, and a solid story interwoven with a strong faith-filled message. This book definitely keeps you inspired and intrigued.

Hard to walk away from that last page and close this book without feeling exhausted and invigorated- all in one pleasurable mix.

Mr. Liparulo, consider my socks blown off. ;)
473043
This is another John Bowen genre-bending tour de force. A self-described multi-genre author, youll find this the perfect, if unlikely, blend of historical fiction, paranormal fiction, action-thriller, and techno-thriller.  But lest you think this a highly experimental and wholly unorthodox storytelling technique, I should tell you Ive found that Clive Cussler and James Rollins (two of my favorite authors) blend their stories together in just this fashion.  And they're loads of fun. So it is with The Vessel.

Our action-thriller hero, who it is clear from the get-go would be far more comfortable in your standard FBI Special Agent investigation, is drawn into the most unusual case of his life when an all-too-familiar woman (the love of his life) calls him and explains that shes in need of his special skills if shes to survive the night. Now, I should tell you, that at the outset of the story these lovers are entirely estranged and their relationship ended one-too-many life-and-death missions abroad ago, one more than she could take, anyway. But he cant exactly say no to her plea for help, and well, I mean, what a made-to-order setup if he ever hopes to reconcile with her.

Reconciliation will have to wait, however. First they have to escape the people after whats in her shiny metal case.  Turns out their kind have been protecting this secret for millennia. And thats where the story shifts to historical fiction for the backstory before bringing us back to the present. But its not history like you know it. The history you know, apparently, has been manufactured to keep you from the truth.  And the real story behind the lies is one wild ride youll just have to experience for yourself.

Highly recommended for people of fine minds and discerning tastes.  Plebeians and small-minded types should probably stick with stock and trade genre fare, lest they blow a fuse.  (Apologies. Its late at night and Im feeling a bit cheeky.)

His Death Stalks Kettle Street was one of my favorite novels of Q1, 2017.  This one seems to be destined to make my favorites list yet again for Q2, 2017.
2032745
This book reads as a novel - fast paced and illustrated. The book is a scholarly thesis with original research, yet is an easy and fascinating read about a little documented period in US history. Many plots are included which would make excellent action movies. There are laugh-out-loud twists of fate, fascinating characters, wild action scenes, adventures at sea in dead of night. There are murders, betrayals and successes. But which side are you rooting for? Where does it all fit into history? This is a must read. Most of this information will be completely new to you.