A couple of months ago I did a review for Into The Jaws Of The Lion by N. S. Wikarski, where I pretty much compared the book to an Indiana Jones movies coupled with a Dan Brown mash up. To be honest, I am stuck here with the same similitudes but at the same time I want to add: Dan Brown who?
My friends know that I love the Da Vinci Code and that I like Angel and Demons, lets not talk about Book 3 that for the life of me I cannot remember as I felt it was so mediocre and I will admit that Inferno has been sitting on my bedside table since release day and I have not had the heart to read it. I think I am too scared I will dislike it as I did book 3… why can’t I ever remember the title?
Anyhow….
Here comes The Virgin of the Wind Rose and boy oh boy what a book! It took me a few chapters to get into it, but do not fret my friends I got hooked really quickly!
We have pretty much 2 storylines one set in the 15th Century mostly talking place in Portugal following 3 boys through their lives and then we have the second storyline happening today covering a good section of the planet since there is a lot of traveling involved with our 2 main protagonists Jaq and Boz (aka Elymas). Both storylines run in parallel and our contemporaries are working hard to unravel an old old mystery.
I need to mention that the Knights Templars are involved.
Ever since I read Les Rois Maudits by Maurice Druon when I was a teenager, I have been always really keen on the Templars. For me it has always been the injustice of how the Order ended, all so petty and disgraceful.
Ok… back to the book…
We have a conspiracy on our hands guy and of course religious zealots, I find those preachy types really annoying, I think over the years they make me cringe more and more every single day. Now that I am writing about, I am thinking about our resident baddies, first we have Queen Isabelle the Catholic from Spain (i.e religious zealot #1 brainwashed since childhood by “priests”) and then we have in our present time a ghost by the name of Hosaam (zealot #2) but it is even more complicated that we can imagine. I am not saying a word, you have to read the book.
There are quite a few twists and turns in both timelines that are really enjoyable, though I admit there is one I saw coming a mile away!
I have to say that the amount of research that went into writing The Virgin of the Wind Rose must have been staggering. There is of course the historical research and then there is everything related to code cracking. I remember thinking midway that I was in dire need of my notebook and start taking notes to keep up. Actually, this is where an ebook is a disadvantage to good printed copy.
The Virgin of the Wind Rose is beautifully written with a wonderful pace and really spellbinding characters. I have really enjoyed Boz so much that I am hoping to see him tangled in other adventures in another book maybe, though can I say the ending of this one left me really heartbroken. Our boy Boz has lots of potential, plus I am thinking he is way more sexier than Robert Langdon.
Before I close this post, I wanted to point out the one think that Jaq says that made me laugh so so hard, she said something like “everyone knows Jesus in Christian.” I couldn’t find the page back to make sure the quote is accurate but this is as close as I remember. Like I said funny!!!
The Virgin of the Wind Rose is a phenomenal, addictive mystery and I am looking forward to reading more from Glen in the future. If you are under any doubt, I am highly recommending it.
Get on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1UqwR9Q
Author’s Bio:
Glen Craney holds graduate degrees from Indiana University School of Law and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He practiced trial law before joining the Washington, D.C. press corps to cover national politics and the Iran-contra trial for Congressional Quarterly magazine.
The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences awarded him the Nicholl Fellowship prize for best new screenwriting, and he is a three-time finalist for Foreword Reviews Book-of-the-Year Award. His debut historical novel, The Fire and the Light, was honored as Best New Fiction by the National Indie Excellence Awards. His books have taken readers to Occitania during the Albigensian Crusade, to the Scotland of Robert Bruce, to Portugal during the Age of Discovery, to the trenches of France during World War I, and to the American Hoovervilles of the Great Depression.
Awards:
AMPAS Nicholl Fellowship Winner
indieBRAG Medallion Honoree
Chaucer Award Double Finalist
Nautilus Silver Award Winner
IPPY Silver Award Winner
NIEA Award Winner for Best New Fiction
Eric Hoffer Finalist/Honorable Mention Winner
Three-time Foreword Reviews Book-of-the-Year Finalist
Da Vinci Eye Award Finalist