Innocent Blood: The Order of the Sanguines Series (Order of the Sanguines Series, 2) - Softcover

Rollins, James; Cantrell, Rebecca

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061991074 ISBN 13: 9780061991073

Publisher: Harper, 2014

Synopsis

New York Times bestselling authors James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell combine their talents in a gothic tale about anancient order and the hunt for a miraculous book known only as . . . The Blood Gospel.

An earthquake in Masada, Israel, kills hundreds and reveals a tomb buried in the heart of the mountain. A trio of investigators--Sergeant Jordan Stone, a military forensic expert; Father Rhun Korza, a Vatican priest; and Dr. Erin Granger, a brilliant but disillusioned archaeologist--are sent to explore the macabre discovery, a subterranean temple holding the crucified body of a mummified girl.

But a brutal attack at the site sets the three on the run, thrusting them into a race to recover what was once preserved in the tomb's sarcophagus: a book rumored to have been written by Christ's own hand, a tome that is said to hold the secrets to His divinity. The enemy who hounds them is like no other, a force of ancient evil directed by a leader of impossible ambitions and incalculable cunning.

From crumbling tombs to splendorous churches, Erin and her two companions must confront a past that traces back thousands of years, to a time when ungodly beasts hunted the dark spaces of the world, to a moment in history when Christ made a miraculous offer, a pact of salvation for those who were damned for eternity.

Here is a novel that is explosive in its revelation of a secret history. Why do Catholic priests wear pectoral crosses? Why are they sworn to celibacy? Why do the monks hide their countenances under hoods? And why does Catholicism insist that the consecration of wine during Mass results in its transformation to Christ's own blood? The answers to all go back to a secret sect within the Vatican, one whispered as rumor but whose very existence was painted for all to see by Rembrandt himself, a shadowy order known simply as the Sanguines.

In the end, be warned: some books should never be found, never opened--until now.

About this title

From the Author:

About James Rollins

JAMES ROLLINS is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers that have been translated into more than forty languages. Known for unveiling unseen worlds, scientific breakthroughs, and historical secrets, Rollins' knack for breakneck pacing and stunning originality has been hailed by critics and embraced by scores of millions of readers around the world.

The Critics Rave

The New York Times says that his "roguish charm comes from his efforts to persuade readers the story is credible [through] real-life sources for his novel's science, history and geography." Rollins' rare blend of action, suspense, and knowledge was also mentioned by the Huffington Post, which stated that "After Crichton passed away in 2008 he clearly passed the baton to James Rollins, who like Crichton, is a renaissance man."

NPR calls his work "adventurous and enormously engrossing..." and the New York Journal of Books had this to say: "If you're a fan of smart, entertaining adventure fiction, this is your summer beach read writ large....All the science, all the history, and all the locations are masterfully intertwined. The characters are multi-dimensional. And the story is, well, a corker."

The Story Teller's Story

As a boy immersed in the scientific adventures of Doc Savage, the wonders of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, and pulps such as The Shadow, The Spider, and The Avenger, James Rollins decided he wanted to be a writer. He honed his storytelling skills early, spinning elaborate tales that were often at the heart of pranks played on his brothers and sisters.

Before he would set heroes and villains on harrowing adventures, Rollins embarked on a career in veterinary medicine, graduating from the University of Missouri and establishing a successful veterinary practice. This hands-on knowledge of medicine and science helps shape the research and scientific speculation that set James Rollins books apart.

Explosive Page-Turning Adventures

The exotic locales of James Rollins novels have emerged as a hybrid between imagination, research, and his extensive travels throughout the United States and Europe, as well as New Zealand, the South Pacific, China, Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America. Recent jaunts include book tours and stops across the country and several European nations to give talks, seminars, and media interviews.In recent years, much of James' travel has involved meeting readers in small and large groups, at writing and fan conferences, and even aboard seagoing "seminars." James' mentoring and coaching skills have made him a sought after writing instructor and guest speaker for workshops, symposia, conventions, and other forums throughout the country.

James Rollins is the author of nine thrillers in the bestselling Sigma Force series (Sandstorm, Map of Bones, Black Order, The Judas Strain, The Last Oracle, The Doomsday Key, The Devil Colony, Bloodline, and The Eye of God); six individual adventure thrillers; and the Jake Ransom middle grade series (Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow, Jake Ransom and the Howling Sphinx.)

From the Inside Flap:

In a masterwork of international adventure, supernatural mystery, and apocalyptic prophecy, New York Times bestselling authors James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell open the next chapter in a world of shadow and light, of salvation and damnation, where the fate of the heavens is locked within a child of....

Innocent Blood

A vicious attack at a ranch in California thrusts archaeologist Erin Granger back into the folds of the Sanguines, an immortal order founded on the blood of Christ and tasked with protecting the world from the beasts haunting its shadows and waiting to break free into the sunlight.  Following the prophetic words found in the Blood Gospel--a tome written by Christ and lost for centuries--Erin must join forces with Army Sergeant Jordan Stone and the dark mystery that is Father Rhun Korza to discover and protect a boy believed to be an angel given flesh.

But an enigmatic enemy of immense power and terrifying ambition seeks the same child--not to save the world, but to hasten its destruction.  For any hope of victory, Erin must discover the truth behind Christ's early years and understand His first true miracle, an event wrapped in sin and destruction, an act that yet remains unfulfilled and holds the only hope for the world.

The search for the truth will take Erin and the others across centuries and around the world, from the dusty plains of the Holy Land to the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean, from the catacombs of Rome to an iron fortress in the Mediterranean Sea, and at last to the very gates of Hell itself, where their destiny--and the fate of mankind--awaits.

With The Blood Gospel, the first novel in the Order of the Sanguines series, James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell breathtakingly combined science, myth, and religion and introduced a world where miracles hold new meaning and the fight for good over evil is far more complicated than we ever dreamed. In Innocent Blood they again take us to the edge of destruction . . . and into the deepest reaches of imagination.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0061991074
• ISBN 13: 9780061991073
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 656