Book of Q (edition 2007)

This is a really tough read. Way too much information and not enough story. ( )

I struggled through this book. There were some good, exciting parts and characters. But there was an equal number of confusing, boring descriptions and shallow characters. The story is about a young priest who comes into possession of an ancient scroll from a heretical sect called the Manichaeans. It follows the priest through a test of faith to the catholic church and his personal alliances as he decodes the clues of the "Perfect Light" to an alternate history conspiracy. ( )

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery novels involving secret texts, conspiracies, and a story where you have to think. This is not a passive novel...you have to take some time with it! Also, it is not a cookie-cutter type of mystery -- it is way way way above average & will provide you with some fodder for thought. I found myself looking up a LOT of stuff on the Internet that came out of this book and was amazed.

Anyway, let me try to briefly provide a synopsis here:

Ian Pearse is the main character in this book, an American priest at the Vatican. We first meet Ian in Bosnia during the heyday of the conflicts there. He meets a woman, Petra, while he is there, and as human nature would have it (this is before he actually took the collar), they fall in love & yada yada yada. But while in Bosnia, Pearse and Petra encounter a man who is carrying a strange looking set of documents, with symbols on them that Pearse, who has studied ancient languages and classics, cannot recognize.

Move forward in time 8 or so years; Ian has become a full-fledged priest, is living in apartments at the Vatican. A friend of his, Cesare, comes to Ian in fear; he has discovered something buried in the scavi under a church at the Vatican. It turns out to be a scroll in a language that Ian cannot make out - Cesare tells him that there are people chasing him and that his life is in danger. Ian takes the scroll to a friend, a professor, who has the capability to decipher the scroll, and the information takes him on a quest to Greece, then to Bosnia (where he meets Petra again) and back to Rome. Underlying all of this is a plot that is so nasty and with such evil people in high levels that it has the potential to bring down the entire Catholic Church...and they are after Ian.

A fun mystery story that will keep you entertained for quite a while. ( )