The Blood Gospel

The Order of the Sanguines, Book 1

By: James Rollins, Rebecca Cantrell

Narrated by: Christian Baskous

Length: 17 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

An earthquake in Masada, Israel, kills hundreds and reveals a tomb buried in the heart of the mountain. A trio of investigators - Sergeant Jordan Stone, a military forensic expert; Father Rhun Korza, a Vatican priest; and Dr. Erin Granger, a brilliant but disillusioned archaeologist - are sent to explore the macabre discovery, a subterranean temple holding the crucified body of a mummified girl.

But a brutal attack at the site sets the three on the run, thrusting them into a race to recover what was once preserved in the tomb's sarcophagus: a book rumored to have been written by Christ's own hand, a tome that is said to hold the secrets to His divinity. The enemy who hounds them is like no other, a force of ancient evil directed by a leader of impossible ambitions and incalculable cunning.

©2013 James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

A different kind of James Rollins book!!

I'm a real fan of Rollins' Sigma books, so I picked this book up without giving it much thought. The involvement of vampire like creatures, which is not really my thing, made it a bit difficult for me to get into this story. For this kind of book, I did believe it had some very interesting parts. It revolves a lot around the Catholic Church traditions, saints, faith, and history.

Beginning with an earthquake at Masada, Israel, a bomb and strange sacrificial remains are found below the mountain. This space is also occupied by some undead creatures. Some are evil and some have salvation from the blood of Christ. They are all searching for the Blood Gospel, supposedly written by Christ himself, which will supposedly reveal magic powers to whomever finds and opens it up.

Sent by the Vatican, three chosen ones go in search of this book----a brilliant but disillusioned woman archeologist, a military forensic expert, and an undead Vatican Priest. Of course their search is hindered by those evil ones who want the book for themselves. Among the undead, is Rasputin in Russia, who blames the Vatican for not caring about the hoards of children who were left to die during the siege of Leningrad. I found these sections connected with history to be some of the most interesting parts.

This is the first in the Sanguine Series. The Sanguines being a Vatican sect that was rumored to start in Biblical days, and whose start was depicted in a Rembrandt painting. Now that I've finished this first book, I do feel driven to continue on with this series to see what happens next. I think in the long run, I will really like, or really dislike this series. Sometimes it is hard to read a different kind of a book by an author whose writings you already adore!!

A good read.

James Rollins has been my favorite author for a long time. This book in particular was a little farther from his other books. Even though it had most of the ingredients, I felt that it lacked that convincing X factor. His fantastical stories in Subterranean and Amazonia had a factor of conviction that this one lacs. It is just a story .. A good one, but a story.

Not my favorite

Started out very nicely but for bogged down at the end and lost its believability, even for the story line. maybe just a little to obscure for me. love other series by Rollins

Love it!

I've read all of Rollin's books & I feel like this series draws you in to a new shadowy world but still contains all the beloved elements his other books have: action, adventure, a touch of romance, thrills, a mixture if facts & science... Love it!

I really enjoyed this book.

I've never before read one of James Rollins books. This is my first and I was not disappointed at all. The story moved a long quickly and the characters were engaging. There was a couple of plot points I could see coming but some times if the trip getting there is good enough it doesn't matter.

I will certainly read any more books that come along in this series.

I also really liked the narrator. I thought he did a very good job and I liked his voice.

Great Story

Would you consider the audio edition of The Blood Gospel to be better than the print version?

Yes

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Very much

What about Christian Baskous’s performance did you like?

The accents very funny sometimes

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

Very engaging and thought provoking book; makes you ask, What if?

I want to suck your blood

The story was well paced and wriiten. But WHY did the narrator do his best Bela Lugosi voice for the vampires. It was clichéd and made me wince while listening. I don't know if I will listen to another if the narrator is the same.

NIce change for a Rollins book.

I really like the book. It was a very nice change from reading the Sigma books.
I really enjoyed the archaeological parts of the book, as well the puzzle solving. Think Sigma, only replace the team with vampires. These vampires are not like the ones in Twilight, or Vampire Diaries.

I personally thought the narrator did an excellent job. His accents were spot on. The audio editor might have done a better job by increasing the volume, as sometimes the narrators voice became very soft while reading the story.

I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.......

Blood Gospel

Get ready for a fast paced thrill ride with more turns and twists than forgotten London alleys and every bit as dark. A little overkill, so to speak, with the demonic creatures, but the sterling character development and surprise nuances make it an absolutely diabolically delicious read. Have fun.

Just not my genre.

Not into werewolves especially. I like James Rollins very much but this wasn’t what I was hoping for.