SOLOMON'S KEY THE CODIS PROJECT: A CONSPIRACY THRILLER (Solomon's Key) | 
| Author: R, Douglas Weber
Creator: James, S Rollins
Publisher: ERISTA-HUTTON-HAUSER
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $13.46
You Save: $1.49 (10%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  27 reviews
Sales Rank: 6078
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 380
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 1
ISBN: 9545857366
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9789545857362
ASIN: 9545857366
Publication Date: May 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
An ancient secret society. The Vatican. The lost tomb of Jesus--the King of Kings And an ancient scroll that unlocks the secret of the Goddess . CODIS-the FBI's Combined DNA Index System-has found a match. A link between the past and present. Between a royal bloodline and the world's foremost terrorist. On the anniversary of their downfall at the hands of the papacy, the Knights Templar vow revenge. The ultimate spies and the ultimate threat: Reunited lovers brought together by fate, Italian-born OSI agent Nick Rossi and beautiful Mossad agent, Josie Schulman, battle an al-Qaeda orchestrated wave of terrorist attacks directed against Rome, the Vatican, and the newly elected Pope. But the investigation means plunging into Rossi's own past and into the arms of Bast, the alluring stranger, who may be his downfall. The ultimate secret: Beneath the Dome of the Rock, in Solomon's Temple, an ancient scroll is found. It unlocks the Holy See's brutally suppressed truth concerning the divine feminine, Mary Magdalene's true identify and role-and the location of history's most important tomb. The ultimate deception: As world leaders converge on Rome for the Pope's funeral, Rossi and Josie race against time and follow a cryptic trail of symbols hidden within German Renaissance paintings: the keys to a mystery that points to a secret Masonic nexus of power, the secrets of the Widow's Son. What would you do for love? What would you do for honor and country? Two strong-willed women find themselves at opposing sides of a struggle for power. Josie a Mossad agent, who is battle weary and disillusioned, and the other-Bast a notorious al-Qaeda operative. But they share three things in common: they seek revenge for the murder of family members, and they both seek love and meaning in their lonesome existence. The third thing they share is the affection of the same man. The man is Nick Rossi intelligence operative stationed in Rome. Rossi seeks the advice of his uncle Professor Giovanni, a man versed in history and the schemes of secret societies. Together they must solve a riddle, clues left by a Masonic Nexus that has infiltrated the Vatican. Rossi knows that his uncle's and even the Pope's life depends upon his actions. And time is running out. Behind the veil of enigma lies the Eschatology Institute, a New Age pop culture Church, complete with Hollywood celebrity spokespersons, secret oaths, and dark agendas. Its leader is on a mad power trip and will kill anyone who stands in his way. And his sights are set on the Vatican.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 22 more reviews...
 Probably the worst book I've ever read July 6, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
There is really nothing in this book that I found worthwhile.
Starting with its poor typography (and multiple font & styling errors) of the many ill-formed sentences containing numerous factual errors, it started off bad and never got better.
In addition, the book read as a "let me tell you every single piece of minutiae that I can think of" rather than an actual true plot and storyline. And in the end, he just killed off characters rather than wrapping things up.
Not worth the paper it's printed on. Even if someone gives you copy - give it back! Mine's going in the trash so no one else wastes their time on it.
 Fast and Furious the Makings of great movie! May 2, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Thrills, chills, and juicy conspiracies. A Mossad agent and an Italian-American secret agent square off against an al-Qaeda terrorist. But there's trickery and manipulation on a world-wide scale. A New-Age cult, similar to Scientology, and its power-crazed, delusional leader, are behind the plot to overthrow the world's organized religions and pit Christian against Muslim. Using false-flag terrorism, The Eschatology Institute sponsors a reign of terror, bombing and kidnappings in the Middle East and Rome.
The story begins with the discovery of the true Book of Q beneath The Dome of the Rock.
With the aid of Professor Alberti Giovanni, the agents must solve a puzzle hidden within the Clavicula Salomonis, the Greater Key of Solomon the King.
Meanwhile, the within the Vatican, high-ranking cardinals plot with the New-Age cult to also unlock the book's secret and launch a vicious attack against the Church.
The final scenes in Kashmir and the race to discover the Tomb tie the plot together nicely. There's also a nice character arc when the heroine and her nemeses discover a link that binds them for eternity.
Religious history and facts about secret societies pepper the plot. Whether any of it is true or not ... well who cares? It sucks you deeper and deeper into the mystery. Lots of action and spy daring-do scenes.
I found nothing chauvinistic about this novel. It uses the standard model and characterization of spy thrillers. Sure there is a femme fatale villainous, a few racy scenes, but that's typical for thrillers. But I related to the main heroine, Josie, her emptiness and search for love and meaning in her life.
Also, I saw some misquotes by one reviewer. I don't think that fair usage of copyright allows for this, but if you're gonna do it at least get it straight! and don't take things out of context.
Here's what the reviewer quoted incorrectly:
The language, some examples."Bast, having donned a nun habit, run with uncany feline grace." Another one: "haughty German posture." Or "the voice of the other end of the pistol said" (before the voice orders a woman to strip).
I tore open my book and searched for these quotes.
Here's one example. In my copy the actual sentence reads:
Speaking of the villain spy:
'Another nun ran to join them, clutching her over-sized white wimple as she merged with the group. Bast, having donned a nun's habit, ran with an uncanny feline grace.'
What's wrong with this?
Next:
An overbearing newswoman climbs into her van.
'She went to the news van, pulled open the rear door and climbed into the back. When she looked up, the gaping maw of a handgun's muzzle greeted her.
"Close the door," the voice on the other end of the pistol said.'
Yes, the character is asked to strip. But it turns out that it is the heroine who is asking, because she is in need of the newswoman's clothing and ID to pull off a mission. Not sexist at all, despite what the misquotes imply.
While I'm on a soapbox, the reviewer states that a character is referred to as "the Little Man," as if this is somehow demeaning.
It's common fair for thriller novelists to invent tag names for characters, especially villains. It just adds color and is a writer's device, nothing more.
James Patterson among others uses tags like:
The Fat Man
Mr. Trenchcoat
Mr. Clockmaker
The Geek
Funnyface :alluding to a villainess with a nasty facial deformity.
In this case, the Little Man, is a despicable, sadistic killer who is short in stature, and is described a looking like Truman Capote's evil twin. It's simply a colorful way of referring to a character.
Enough. But I think people should at least try to be familiar with the genre they are reviewing, don't you?
 Decent, but overly complicated February 22, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
This was a good book with a good concept but the storyline is heavily complicated with too many characters. I found it difficult to follow the story as it jumped from country to country, company to company, and person to person.
The best of the religious conspiracy genre February 16, 2008
13 out of 21 found this review helpful
An amazing story, including the Knights Templar, the Italian Secret Service, the Vatican, the Holy Grail, the Holy Bloodline, cryptography, Mossad agents, the FBI's DNA database, all weaved together in a fast-paced, believable storyline. Weber's research into religious history and artifacts provides the detail that makes the story believable. His characters, and there are a lot of them, are well-developed, especially the two female protagonists. Solomon's Key is the best to date of the religious conspiracy genre.
Solomon's Key February 13, 2008
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
What a boring, slow moving, over hyped, dissapointment! I was a good third of the way through and there was no charchter development. And, very little to follow in the form of a plot. But, if you like reading a hundred latin phrases and there translations, you will be on the edge of your seat.
One of the very few books I could not finish.
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