A rash of seemingly ritualistic murders are being investigated by the FBI, but the connection between the deceased isn't clear at first. A man believing himself to be the antichrist attempts to prove to a "council" (dedicated to welcoming the antichrist) that he is indeed the man they have been waiting for, hoping to secure more of their trust and resources. All religious conspiracies worth their ilk are connected to the Catholic Church. This story is no exception.I liked this more than The 13th Tribe, and people wanting to dip their toe in this genre might appreciate this one more than The 13th Tribe because it focuses less on debating about the nature of God and more on a religious conspiracy that's spanned back many generations. The story wasn't anything extraordinary for this one (where as The 13th Tribe did have a story that was different), but it is fast paced and engaging and presents an interesting POV on prophecies and the lengths that people will go into to secure their own safety even if it seems excessive.The author has a bit of a formula for causing his characters to descend into the realm of uncertainty about their religious convictions. Seems his formula of choice is having someone close to the character die in a car accident due to a drunk driver and having said driver get off because something went wrong with the judicial process. So, the protagonist doesn't outright hate God, but the relationship has suffered from what is viewed as a betrayal from someone who supposedly loves and protects His own. With that being said, I appreciate how the author tries to handle this as realistically as possible. He acknowledges through his writing that a person's relationship with God can be just as complex, just as much of a struggle, as relationships between people. And in the case of Alicia who is agnostic, she doesn't suddenly become on fire for God, but the possibility that she could is left there for the readers. The book doesn't condemn her for being agnostic or try to argue that this way of thinking is wrong as some Christian books do. It seems to illustrate the fact that the choice, the relationship, is up to the individual. There were some loose ends and dangling plot lines that were highly unneeded, though. The Pip storyline that had taken up a great deal of the novel fizzled out to nothing. One of the councillors of the organization seemed bent on proving the new "antichrist" is a fraud, but that petered out to nothing. And it's not that I'm against these dead ends, but they weren't ended in a graceful manner. They were just cast aside and forgotten.Also I wasn't feeling the whole idea about there being a group of Vikings who hated Christianity so much that they spent generation after generation helping the people who are trying to find the antichrist. They don't share any religious convictions with those people. I just found it hard to swallow that the Vikings would be that willing to help on the merit that Christianity equals bad. It wasn't explained well enough to make me believe, and the Viking himself just seemed out of place in the story when looking at the overall big picture of it.I wasn't really sure how the guy claiming to be the antichrist actually found out about the council or that such an organization existed since I wouldn't think this would be something he could easily find out. And the ending was mostly a letdown after spending so much of the book on such a frantic note. But I still thought this story was much more engaging than The 13th Tribe.
Can you believe there are people who anticipate and await the coming of the antichrist, who will do anything they can to facilitate his arrival, and who will rejoice when he gets here? And these people are rich and powerful?FBI profiler Brady Moore and special agent Alicia Wagoner, in Comes A Horseman , run right into this chilling scenario as they hunt down a crazed, butchering serial killer who has crossed state lines. In these grisly Pelletier murders, a pack of wolf dogs restrains and savages victims while the killing blow is made with an ancient-type war axe. The book is fast paced, seat of your pants stuff. Don’t let the length put you off. It’s a page turner.Brady and Alicia cannot find a link between the murders, except for the method used. Emotionally damaged and still mourning his wife’s death, Brady realizes he is a target of the killer and moves his young son to a safe place. The tender scenes between Brady and his son give us a break from the terror and tension. Then it’s back into the soup.While Alicia, outwardly tougher than Brady, uses electronics and suspect methods to move their investigation forward, Brady, often soul weary and broken, relies on what he sees as his duty and his faith. This spellbinding book’s Christian theme weaves throughout without sermonizing. Intense action and the chase is the thing. It touches on the apocalyptic, but is ultimately grounded in the reality of the interrelationships of its characters. Alicia discovers Father McAffee, a Catholic priest in an aging church in New York City who’s entire life work, research on life after death experiences, has been taken. In addition, a malovent presence haunts the priest, trying to drive him insane. Liparulo does an exceptional job showing how evil takes control of the ruffian harassing the priest. You can almost smell the death and decay oozing from the cretin.At the same time, Lucas Scaramuzzi, a charismatic con man, using murder, bribery, and devastating charm is now Italy’s ambassador to Israel. Luco starts believing his own hype while trying to pass himself off as the antichrist to a powerful, centuries-old satanic cult called the Watchers. In this intricate thriller, Luco is assisted by renegade Vatican priest Father Randall’s knowledge of Bible prophesy. These two twist ancient prophecies to convince the Watchers Luco is the one they await. In this way, Luco can gain control of the fortune they aim to bestow upon the antichrist.With Alicia’s often-flagrant disregard for procedure and the emotionally and spiritually wounded Brady making mistakes, the authorities as well as Scaramuzzi’s earthly forces of evil are after the duo. Scaramuzzi captures Alica and it looks as if the gig is up. Brady finds out how true it is that you don’t know what you have until it’s lost or almost lost. With Alicia in the hands of ultimate evil, he begins acknowledging he has deep feelings for her. But the odds are overwhelming and even he doesn’t think he can save her.
What do You think about Comes A Horseman (2006)?
I wanted to give this a 4 star rating, but let me explain why it is a 3. This book is a ride on the edge of the seat. You feel the thrill and tension from the beginning. You know how sometimes you can figure out the outcome of the story within the first chapters? Well, this is not one of those books. Your brain can't keep up with the action and all that is happening. It is truly a thrill ride. The characters are real, and you relate with them. The horror is real, real enough to make you not want to look out your windows. I honestly had trouble sleeping some nights - but I love that kind of ride! So why the 3 stars? When you've been on the edge through the entire book, how do you end it? I found the end a little anti-climactic after all that we'd been through together. Selfish, right? I think the author just couldn't top himself. If I could give it a 3 1/2 I would, it probably deserves a 4, but I was so bummed out with how quickly it went from 100 mph to 0 that left me wanting something more. The author is very talented, so read all his books! His Dreamhouse Kings Series (teen?) is amazing!
—Jennifer
Wow. I mean, wow. This has been described as a rollercoaster ride and that is so true. However, this is a rollercoaster which comes out of the loading dock straight into a free-fall drop and never slows down until the very end. Take The Da Vinci Code, add few more octanes of amphetamine-fueled energy and you get Comes a Horseman. And that's the problem. As much as I love exciting, grand conspiracy-fueled action-thriller novels, I also like a bit of breathing room to take everything in, to allow my heartbeat to slow and my adrenaline to drop back to its baseline level. I don't mind the action getting a running start from the get-go, but, like any good rollercoaster, you need some flat sections, some gentle curves before your brain gets scrambled and your insides get rearranged by the next loop-de-loop. Right up until the very end, Liparulo keeps the action at a break-neck pace and by the time the finale rolls around, you as the reader are just so damned tired you're more numbed than relieved when the bad guy gets it and the battered yet satisfied main characters return home. However, the story itself is so well-told, so well-researched, with enough gruesome killings, conspiracies, and misdirections, when that ending does come, you don't care that you have the energy level of a beached jellyfish. You're just glad that it's fiction (or, at least, one hopes it's fiction) and can set the book aside for something a little more upbeat at the end of the day. And I have to say that even though the plot does concern the advent of Antichrist (that's right, just 'Antichrist', no 'the' involved) and the Christian mythology which revolves around such a person, there's a level of realism involved which makes the concept not only plausible, but downright scary, as there're no metaphysical elements involved. No appearance of the Devil, no singing of angels, just men who believe so much in a particular destiny that they will do anything, kill anyone in order to bring it about. And let me tell you, that's the scariest thought of all because you know there are people out in the world today psychotic enough to do just that a million times over. Hell, history is full of such megalomaniacs and the advent of bigger and more destructive weapons has made their quest for glory that much more bloody and deadly.See more of my reviews at: http://lollyslibrary.blogspot.com/
—Lolly's Library
So, it started off absolutely brilliant. Because trained killer hybrid wolves are SCARY. There's really no way around it.Then, the protagonists were introduced. And that's when it started going downhill. Because they are the two most useless FBI agents I have EVER seen. They get beat up, knocked unconscious, kidnapped, locked in cells... Yes, they're more real than those super agents that appear in most books (the ones who can do no wrong), and they're certainly easier to relate to than said meg
—Stef
