The Sign

By: Raymond Khoury

Narrated by: Richard Ferrone

Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Another cutting-edge thriller set at the intersection of science, religion, and history from the best-selling author of The Last Templar.

In Antarctica, a scientific expedition drops anchor for a live news feed. As the CNN journalist begins her report, a massive, shimmering sphere of light suddenly appears in the sky, enveloping the ship in luminous white light before disappearing as mysteriously as it arrived - the entire event witnessed by an incredulous world audience.

Meanwhile in a dusty bar in Egypt, a dozen men are lazily discussing the state of the world when the brilliant, glowing symbol on the television stops them cold. One man breaks out in a sweat, crosses himself repeatedly, and rushes out of the bar muttering the same phrase over and over again: It can't be.

Across the Internet and around the globe, a stunning controversy threatens to consume the world: Has God finally decided to reveal himself? Or is something more sinister at hand?

©2009 Raymond Khoury (P)2009 Penguin

Critic reviews

“Raymond Khoury explores the concept of religion by posing the ever-present question What if? in a unique and appealing way. It’s fiercely intelligent and equally curious. Khoury casts his fictional world in a dark pall - a fitting atmosphere for his protagonists as they race both time and shadowy instincts toward a scintillating conclusion. The Sign is a rapid paced adventure that delivers equal quantities of story and lesson, neither one suffering in the process. Khoury’s background as a screenwriter shows. He is especially adept at action scenes. His expertly chosen verbs cause the scenes to leap from the page. You can literally feel the blows as they’re landed; wince as the bullets find their marks. He has an intense brand of storytelling all his own. The Sign is a prize to be savored.” (New York Times best-selling author Steve Berry)

"[A] solid thriller...Unrelenting action and a suitably twisted ending.” (Publishers Weekly)

Fair book but hated political speeches

Decent book, but the unnecessary political rants made me want to turn it off.

Just not entertaining

This book is boring and I just couldn't stay interested. It took several weeks to get through it. The plot and character descriptions are really thin and the action just isn't exciting. I ended up listening at 2x speed on my iphone just to get finished. Although the political issues presented are problems in current US politics, I couldn't figure out what the author was trying to do with this story, since most of the political rants were by the bad guys.

Waste of a Credit

This book can't decide what it wants to be. Tough guy adventure? Supernatural thriller? Techno thriller? Political nonsense? It falls apart on any level, except the political nonsense. The author has a right to spout his political views. I can choose not to listen, but the damage is done because my money is already spent. Don't waste yours on it. This was a waste of time and a credit, which is a real shame because the story has potential, if someone else had written it. A real shame.

Great Premise, not so Great Delivery

I'm not going to bash the work based on politics or religion, my issues are word usage and boring action sequences. It just didn't hold my interest nor did I identify with the characters. Khoury's selection of words particularly during action sequences made me wince. I did complete the book, but it just left me flat.

Don't Buy

Love SF, this doesn't fit. This has the scientific validity of 2012 (an ark?) and is as entertaining as an Al Gore speach. The author has tried to over-do-it with vocabulary. It's a difficult listen, and has led no-where. No offense, if you want good alien or first contact SF look elsewhere. How did this get such good ratings?

Very disappointing

I had to really force myself to finish this book. First, the narrator's voice grated on my nerves! As to the actual story line--slow, predictable, and very disappointing. I have also read Khoury's latest 'Templar' book. First one was good, this one was awful. I wanted to bump off the main character. If all our FBI agents are as stupid and inept as Sean Reilly, this country is in big trouble. I will not read another book by this author no listen to another audio book with Ferrone narrating.

Bully Pulpet

The author has a slant to his story that might offend many. Not only a low opinion of Christianity, but also a low opinion of conservative politics.

Long, boring, and confusing

20+ hours of blah, blah, blah with no explanation of what the sign is! Just people chasing people that didn’t seem to connect.
So surprised that this was written by Raymond Khoury. This is definitely not one of his greatest works.
So disappointed!!