Buy this book at Amazon.co.uk
To Past Reviews Index
Back to Last Page
Title/Author

The Nostradamus Prophecies

Mario Reading

Average Review Rating Average Rating 8/10 (1 Review)
Book Details

Publisher : Atlantic Books

Published : 2009

Copyright : Mario Reading 2009

ISBN-10 : PB 1-84887-124-4
ISBN-13 : PB 978-1-84887-124-3

Publisher's Write-Up

An ancient secret... A deadly conspiracy... A potential international bestseller. With translation rights sold in 27 countries, this high-octane commercial thriller tells of a hunt for the lost prophecies of Nostradamus and the two men who will do anything to discover their secrets. It is an entirely compulsive page-turner for readers of Raymond Khoum's The Last Templar.

Nostradamus wrote a thousand prophecies. Only 942 have survived. What happened to the missing quatrains? And what secrets did they contain to make it necessary for them to remain hidden? And why did Nostradamus leave his daughter a sealed container in his will? This mystery drives two men with very different desires. Adam Sabir is a writer desperate to revive his flagging career; Achor Bale is a member of an ancient secret society that has dedicated itself to the protection and support of the 'Three Antichrists' foretold in Nostradamus's verses - Napoleon, Adolf Hitler, and the 'one still to come'... The pair embark on a terrifying chase through the ancient Romany encampments of France in a quest to locate the missing verses.

Column Ends

space

Reader Reviews

Why not Submit a Review your own Review for this book?

Review by Chrissi (310809) Rating (8/10)

Review by Chrissi
Rating 8/10
In the vein of Dan Brown, James Rollins, David Gibbins, et al, this is a cleverly constructed novel which appeals to anyone who likes a good conspiracy/adventure thriller. The central plot revolves around the Prophecies of Nostradamus and the supposition that they were edited to remove certain pieces of information concerning the order of events of great significance to humankind.

Unlike the heroes depicted by Rollins and Gibbins, the man at the centre of the plot is not a member of any special sect or society. Adam Sabir is a writer who has published a book on Nostradamus and who is researching another line of enquiry when he is contacted by a man who may have something of interest to him. Although this man may be a fraud, he arranges to meet only to have the man attack him and tell him that two words are important before he leaves and does not return.

Sabir tries to unravel the clue whilst, unbeknownst to him, another man is seeking the same goal. His life is placed in danger as he attempts to follow the line of enquiry and he finds himself accused of killing the man who contacted him. His protagonist is a less than pleasant man who believes that he is working for a cause as his family did before him; their goal is the support of the third antichrist. The information concerning the third antichrist is thought to be in the lost quatrains written by Nostradamus and it is vital to their cause that no one have this information else their plans may come to naught.

With plots and counter plots, good and evil characters, there is plenty here to entertain anyone who enjoys the machinations of a well written conspiracy adventure. As with many of these stories, the characters are secondary to the pace of the plot, although there is sufficient flesh to them that you do sympathise with their plight.

Mario Reading is the author of other non-fiction books on Nostradamus and so he handles his subject matter with obvious familiarity. I do not therefore imagine that it was a huge leap for him to turn one of his favourite subjects towards the writing of this thriller. I do enjoy books like these, the amount of research that the writers must do and volume of information which they impart to the reader to keep them up with the plot is simply breathtaking. All you need to do is simply sit back and enjoy being entertained!
Chrissi (31st August 2009)

Back to Top of Page
Column Ends

space