An Italian named Luco comes up with the perfect plan to gain both power and wealth. It’s simple: he’ll just have to convince everyone that he’s Antichrist. But first, he must convince a group known as the Watchers of his alleged identity. Luco will allow nothing to interfere with his scheme as he becomes more and more engrossed in his role. On the other side of the Atlantic, FBI agents are desperately tracking a ruthless killer who beheads his victims. Could he possibly be linked to events occurring in Europe?

Written in a similar style as The DaVinci Code, though more religiously conservative, Liparulo’s novel is filled with both grand schemes as well as everyday struggles. I appreciated that the author took the time to develop his characters on a more personal level rather than allowing them to become faceless pawns. For example, Liparulo includes the FBI agent who struggles with the grief of losing his wife, the son who is terrified of losing his father, the ruthless killer who is also the compassionate father/husband, and the little boy who has a narrow brush with death but doesn’t know it. These snatches of the commonplace help bring the story to life for the reader. On the more negative side, the book contains many gruesome scenes. I think the author went a little far with some of his unnecessarily coarse descriptions. The plot goes back and forth between the FBI agents in the United States and the machinations of the supposed Antichrist in Europe until both, rather predictably, converge. Full of mystery and intrigue including an evil cult, a Cardinal with dubious loyalties, and a trek through an underground labyrinth, the author nevertheless includes some humor to keep the novel from being too dark. Overall, Comes a Horseman is a good option for those who enjoy intrigue, action, suspense, and aren’t overly squeamish. ( )

I will never read another book by this author for as long as I live. It amazes me that I withstood the torture that is this book and actually finished it. I found it so incredibly boring.
As far as Christian fiction is concered, I am sticking with Ted Dekker.
Update: I have checked other reviews of this book on various sites and it appears that I am the ONLY exception to this book. Everyone else positively loves it. I'm pregnant, maybe that's my problem. :-) ( )

One of the best in this genre I've ever read. Two FBI agents investigating a serial killer become hunted themselves. Tracing the killer leads them to a secret society plotting to usher the antichrist into the world. Liparulo knows how to keep a reader on the edge of his seat for hundreds of pages. ( )

http://dhamel.typepad.com/book_blog/2...
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Review by Jeremy Taylor

I purchased this book from a Christian bookstore partly because the title and cover looked kind of intriguing, and partly because the plot description on the inside flap looked interesting, but mostly because of the enviable collection of endorsements Mr. Liparulo managed to collect from such best-selling mainstream authors as David Morrell and James Rollins, as well as those from Christian authors like Ted Dekker, Frank Peretti, and Angie Hunt. If all these people liked the book, how could it be bad?

The answer: it couldn’t.

Comes a Horseman is a stunningly written crime story with strong characters, a believable and suitably evil villain, intense action sequences (almost overly so at times), and a Christian undercurrent. It contains vivid settings from rural Virginia to a vast labyrinth deep beneath the streets of Old Jerusalem, a Dan Brown-esque secret-society conspiracy with ties to the Vatican, apocalyptic imagery, great CSI scenes, a romance, compelling dialog, and spiritual depth. It also has a surprising amount of seemingly unnecessary violence and even gore.

The story follows FBI agents Brady Moore and Alicia Wagner as they investigate a series of grisly slayings all apparently perpetrated by a single murderer. As the evidence mounts, the agents become increasingly convinced that the murder weapon and the MO of the killer point to a centuries-old legend in which an entire Viking town was wiped out. When the agents themselves become targets, they go on the offensive, tracking clues around the country and eventually to Europe and the Middle East, where they discover that the real evil behind the deaths is far greater than they could have imagined.

Though the book is well written, it would have been well served by an editor who could have worked with the author to tone down some of the violence. The realistic depictions of brutal hand-to-hand combat—one scene involving a garrotte, another including a small child as a witness—become at times difficult to read. Nevertheless, they do paint a vivid picture of the potential darkness of the human soul and the depths to which godless men can sink.

Another drawback comes toward the end of the book, where it almost seems like the author wanted to end it as quickly as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a sequel in the works next year, which would account for some of the abruptness of the conclusion, but not all.

The Christian content is on the weak side, though not for lack of opportunity. I think the author got a bit too carried away by the medium and forgot to include quite enough of the message. Still, Christian themes and discussions are found throughout the book. Interestingly, neither of the primary protagonists are devout believers. One is more of a seeker, and the other classifies herself as an agnostic. The fact that the author uses these very real and familiar character types to get his Christian message across is a tribute to his skill.

In spite of its weaknesses, the book is well worth reading both as an example of solid fiction and as a potential forecast of what lies ahead in Christian fiction. The line between Christian and secular fiction continues to blur; Comes a Horseman is a novel that mostly walks that line well.

(http://www.cerebralexchange.com/books...) ( )