The Reckoning

Rating:
Summary: ZERO stars!
Review: A story that was born of a great concept (A cloning of DNA from the bloodline of Christ) falls so far short that Monteleone can be accused of churning out a book to make sure he has money at the Christmas season.

This book belongs in the Science Fiction section of your local bookstore. Research into basic Vatican protocol is non-existant ("Grace" is a title of respect for a Bishop, not a Cardinal or Pope). The Pope wearing tee-shirts and not a scull cap is unheard of.

Monteleone does not capture the basic essence of the story. The flashback to the the "why" this Pope was created falls short as almost a bookmark His timeline is so far off in cloning that it renders the story insulting to Vatican fiction (and non-fiction) readers (not to mention typos in hte text - page 216 for example).

For those who are looking for a fast paced Vatican novel (that you can go beyond the 5th chapter and still remain in suspense) go read (or re-read)Vicar of Christ and let this High School level novel be left to the library wher you can read it for free and only worry about your time being wasted.

Rating:
Summary: Cartoonish, Yet Oddly Compelling
Review: I wanted to like this book a lot less than I did. After all, it's got just about everything in it that bothers me about bad writing: gratuitous action (see INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DUMB for the ultimate gratuitous action cultural artifact), whirled views (New Age-ism on the half-shell: the Seven Churches of Revelation turn out to be--surprise!!--holy sites of the world's major religions), bad theology (Catholics spouting tired works-righteousness views), a dodgy premise combined with shaky metaphysics (a clone from DNA from Jesus' blood equals Superman), etc. But somehow the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I know it's probably a really stupid book, but I generally liked it anyhow. Maybe Monteleone is the Clive Cussler of theological thrillers. One could do worse.

Rating:
Summary: Cartoonish, Yet Oddly Compelling
Review: I wanted to like this book a lot less than I did. After all, it's got just about everything in it that bothers me about bad writing: gratuitous action (see INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DUMB for the ultimate gratuitous action cultural artifact), whirled views (New Age-ism on the half-shell: the Seven Churches of Revelation turn out to be--surprise!!--holy sites of the world's major religions), bad theology (Catholics spouting tired works-righteousness views), a dodgy premise combined with shaky metaphysics (a clone from DNA from Jesus' blood equals Superman), etc. But somehow the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I know it's probably a really stupid book, but I generally liked it anyhow. Maybe Monteleone is the Clive Cussler of theological thrillers. One could do worse.

Rating:
Summary: A fitting conclusion!
Review: Moteleone picks up where he left off in BLOOD OF THE LAMB. The first reviewer misses the point of the novel. It IS unheard of for a Pope to wear slacks and a skull cap...THAT WAS THE POINT! Pope Peter is restructuring, or even trying to kill, the precedent of the role of Pope. Anyways, Monteleone has outdone himself and writes some vivid action sequences and some beautiful land settings. Good stuff! Now go out and buy the damn thing!

Rating:
Summary: A fitting conclusion!
Review: Moteleone picks up where he left off in BLOOD OF THE LAMB. The first reviewer misses the point of the novel. It IS unheard of for a Pope to wear slacks and a skull cap...THAT WAS THE POINT! Pope Peter is restructuring, or even trying to kill, the precedent of the role of Pope. Anyways, Monteleone has outdone himself and writes some vivid action sequences and some beautiful land settings. Good stuff! Now go out and buy the damn thing!

Rating:
Summary: Science, Religion and Action Galore!
Review: Television is full of full of strange and wierd stories. Newspapers provide vivid accounts of macabre and sinister events. It begs the question: 'can the average person any longer be shocked?' Fortunately, the answer is a resounding YES! Thomas Moneleone has done so in "The Reckoning."

Consider developments of the past few years. What are the implications of the cloning of a sheep named Dolly? Almost immediately following that event there began debates regarding the efficacy of cloning human beings. But, if human beings WERE to be cloned, whom would the world first want to clone? The author of this masterful novel takes a stab at the answer.

Suppose, dear reader, that the scientific community were to take a small strand of DNA from dried blood on the Shroud of Tourin that may have covered the dead body of Jesus. And, suppose, for a moment, that the person conceived from this scientific exercise were to grow up to become a Roman Catholic priest. And suppose he were, one day, become the Bishop of Rome...the Pope?

This is a gripping tale that gives the reader an adventrous story as well as a look behind the scenes at the Vatican. There is action galore that takes place on a worldwide scale. Anyone who enjoys a gripping story of intrigue and also fanticizes about possibilities in our modern world will find the two combined in this novel. Truly the story grabs the reader from the first page to the very end. Well worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Science, Religion and Action Galore!
Review: Television is full of full of strange and wierd stories. Newspapers provide vivid accounts of macabre and sinister events. It begs the question: 'can the average person any longer be shocked?' Fortunately, the answer is a resounding YES! Thomas Moneleone has done so in "The Reckoning."

Consider developments of the past few years. What are the implications of the cloning of a sheep named Dolly? Almost immediately following that event there began debates regarding the efficacy of cloning human beings. But, if human beings WERE to be cloned, whom would the world first want to clone? The author of this masterful novel takes a stab at the answer.

Suppose, dear reader, that the scientific community were to take a small strand of DNA from dried blood on the Shroud of Tourin that may have covered the dead body of Jesus. And, suppose, for a moment, that the person conceived from this scientific exercise were to grow up to become a Roman Catholic priest. And suppose he were, one day, become the Bishop of Rome...the Pope?

This is a gripping tale that gives the reader an adventrous story as well as a look behind the scenes at the Vatican. There is action galore that takes place on a worldwide scale. Anyone who enjoys a gripping story of intrigue and also fanticizes about possibilities in our modern world will find the two combined in this novel. Truly the story grabs the reader from the first page to the very end. Well worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: scary...thrilling...chilling
Review: With the new millennium just starting, Father Peter Carenza, the first American Pope, is shaking up the Church with his modern decrees that include his getting married. Unbeknownst to much of the world that hail the modernization program of the new Pope, Peter is the result of a scientific experiment. Using DNA extracted from the Shroud of Turin and planting it inside a virgin nun, Vatican scientists produced Peter, praying for the Second coming.

Pope Peter II seeks Armageddon by finding and destroying the Seven Seals. As most of the world backs the charismatic Peter, very few line up against him, but those sparse souls include those who know him best such as his mother. Is he the true Second Coming as most of the world thinks or is he as his own mother believes the Anti-Christ fulfilling Nostradamus' prediction that the "last pope" would come from the New World?

THE RECKONING centers on an interesting blending of science and religion. The story line is filled with action that never lets up until the novel is finished. Though exciting, all that activity overwhelms the allegorical spiritual side of the tale. Think Karloff's Frankenstein the movie vs. Wollstonecraft's Frankenstein the novel. Fans who enjoy non-stop action will relish this tale. However, this novel will disappoint those readers seeking a deeper meaning to the universe.

Harriet Klausner