The Lucifer Gospel

For Satan so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten ... uh ... oops, wrong Gospel!

The Lucifer Gospel is so unmitigatedly bad, it makes even the worst novel ever, The Da Vinci Code -- the novel it shamelessly rips off royally trying to cash in on the Catholic/Illuminati secret society conspiracy craze -- good. And that's a bad, diabolically bad thing, for a book to do.

Close, but no cigar.
The Lucifer Gospel really could have been good, but wasn't. It was like a Dan Brown wannabe-lite. I gave it every chance, but it failed to deliver and finally, I couldn't get Clive-bloody-Cussler out of my mind.
(A Clive Cussler book has got to be one of the worst things ever to have wasted ink and paper and, more importantly, my time).
The majority of the plot actually seems to do its best to avoid the front and back cover's set-up entirely and involves a race across the world to find something, we're not really sure of. Even the title, or the actual item the title seems to describe, turns out not to be what you think it 'should' be, it's almost a play on words and I couldn't help but feel a little cheated.
It all show more starts out alright, ticking all the right boxes for the historical/biblical mystery, thriller-genre (if there is one); there's a possibly world-changing lost treasure, a desert, a sympathetic heroine, a helpful, knowledgeable male co-lead character who can do just about everything, a mad millionaire...oh yeah, see; all going wrong, all going Clive Cussler on us already.
The story then takes us from Egypt to Libya, across half of Europe, to the Caribbean and finally, the USA. Luckily, for each tricky situation they find themselves in, or faced with, they have the necessary experience required. The most eyebrow-raising point for me, came when they were trying to figure out how long somewhere had been deserted. They found a Coca-Cola bottle without a ring-pull opening. Fortunately, the heroine's mother had been to school with the man who invented the ring-pull system and the heroine had written a thesis on it and was thus able to estimate how old the place was...I think I finally lost touch completely with the book at that point, just as well it was towards the end or I might not have persisted.
The Lucifer Gospel actually has some reasonably interesting characters and situations, problem is, they're mostly the supporting characters and situations that aren't the big set-pieces. It's nicely written, decently put together and generally a pleasant read. But that's the problem, it's all too slight, too inoffensive and too far from being one I can recommend. show less

I fully expected to not enjoy this book or just find it mediocre at best. While I wouldn't say my expectations were shattered, I will admit I found it an enjoyable read. It got pretty predictable at parts and also had a couple ridiculously unbelievable action scenes, but Paul Christopher generally did a good job of hooking the reader with suspense. Overall, I'd recommend this book for long plane rides or car trips. If you're looking for a truly great read, look elsewhere.

This is my first Paul Christopher book, and just may be the last. The writing is spotty at times and by spotty I mean sometimes good sometimes poor. The book drones on with complication after complication, yet the complications are only chases. And unrealistic ones at times. As a writer, it pains me to give poor reviews: hence the three stars. In my opinion 3 stars is not a bad book. But, as another reviewer has said, maybe think about borrowing this from the library first. The end, which had the potential of being great, was merely lackluster. Also, towards the end, it's starting to get interesting and I was really excited for the ending, only to be letdown. That is the worst kind of let down. And also, there was way too much telling show more and not showing and way too much information dropping. I know the difficulties of writing a book, but I feel that you should not write a book for mere profits or potential profits only to let your readers down. That is such a disservice to the customer and a great way to ruin your career. Maybe I am being a little too harsh, and if I'm to be honest, I think I will try his best book which I am told is Michelangelo's Notebook. But in the bane of honesty I have to keep it real. show less

When archeologist Finn Ryan lands a summer research assignment on a dig in Libya she's thrilled. But only hours after landing in Egypt she's already been the target of a giant, machete bearing mute. Barely escaping, she's not sure who to trust - the nattily dressed millionaire funding the dig? The somewhat scruffy, all-too-knowledgeable aerial photographer she met on the plane? Surely not the militant priest with strange connections....

Finn and photographer Virgil Hilts promptly stumble upon some mysterious WWII wreckage and (of course) an equally mysterious crypt. It's Roman seal sets them kiting off to parts slightly more civilized trailing bad guys, murderers and shady millionaires. It's like Dan Brown channeled Clive Cussler - show more badly. Maybe it's because I came in on the second series installment? Not sure, but in any case it wasn't stellar reading. show less

An undemanding read that follows recurring character Finn Ryan, this time teamed up with a mysterious archaeologist called Hilts. Entertaining, but has one, annoying flaw: we never find out what the "Lucifer Gospel" is or was.

Dan Brown look alike but written with less skill. Wandering plot. A cozy aaction.