Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10548 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 380 pages

Chicago Sun Times Jun 2007
A smart, intelligent thriller with something for everyone. This
new religious conspiracy genre created by Dan Brown has had many
knock-offs. None, however, have the depth and scope of Weber's novel. He
peels away the glossy finish you find in most spy thrillers, prying deeply
into his two major female character's motivations, flaws, and past.
The visceral action of Ludlum combined with the realism of John Le'Clare.

Synopsis
An ancient secret society. The Vatican. The lost tomb of Jesus--the King of Kings And an ancient scroll that unlocks the secret of the Goddess . CODIS-the FBI's Combined DNA Index System-has found a match. A link between the past and present. Between a royal bloodline and the world's foremost terrorist. On the anniversary of their downfall at the hands of the papacy, the Knights Templar vow revenge. The ultimate spies and the ultimate threat: Reunited lovers brought together by fate, Italian-born OSI agent Nick Rossi and beautiful Mossad agent, Josie Schulman, battle an al-Qaeda orchestrated wave of terrorist attacks directed against Rome, the Vatican, and the newly elected Pope. But the investigation means plunging into Rossi's own past and into the arms of Bast, the alluring stranger, who may be his downfall. The ultimate secret: Beneath the Dome of the Rock, in Solomon's Temple, an ancient scroll is found. It unlocks the Holy See's brutally suppressed truth concerning the divine feminine, Mary Magdalene's true identify and role-and the location of history's most important tomb. The ultimate deception: As world leaders converge on Rome for the Pope's funeral, Rossi and Josie race against time and follow a cryptic trail of symbols hidden within German Renaissance paintings: the keys to a mystery that points to a secret Masonic nexus of power, the secrets of the Widow's Son. What would you do for love? What would you do for honor and country? Two strong-willed women find themselves at opposing sides of a struggle for power. Josie a Mossad agent, who is battle weary and disillusioned, and the other-Bast a notorious al-Qaeda operative. But they share three things in common: they seek revenge for the murder of family members, and they both seek love and meaning in their lonesome existence. The third thing they share is the affection of the same man. The man is Nick Rossi intelligence operative stationed in Rome. Rossi seeks the advice of his uncle Professor Giovanni, a man versed in history and the schemes of secret societies. Together they must solve a riddle, clues left by a Masonic Nexus that has infiltrated the Vatican. Rossi knows that his uncle's and even the Pope's life depends upon his actions. And time is running out. Behind the veil of enigma lies the Eschatology Institute, a New Age pop culture Church, complete with Hollywood celebrity spokespersons, secret oaths, and dark agendas. Its leader is on a mad power trip and will kill anyone who stands in his way. And his sights are set on the Vatican.

From the Publisher
The Vatican, movie star cult icons, secret cabals, spies and even a love
triangle all blend into a surprisingly tasty stew. More seasoned writers
might have cut back on the complex recipe of spy thriller and religious
history, offering less meat and more fluff.
But this writer gives you your monies worth, hoping you'll come back for
seconds.

Customer Reviews

Interesting, yet difficult
Whilst this book does leave you with the feeling of just wanting to read one more chapter before putting it down, I found it and incredibly difficult book. There are so many characters to keep track of through-out, the chapters jump around all over the place and add those two things to the code under pinned in the book and this is not something you can just half heartedly read. You need to pay attention.

Good book but you need to give it 100% concentration.

poor quality Dan Brown
Not by James Rollins but Weber and what a load of rubbish. It attempts to be clever and fails miserably on several fronts even adding it's own special code letters which are in bold and then underlined in case you missed it to begin with. It might defeat a 4 year old.
Ther reader is assualted with pseudo intellectual discussion throughout which frankly does not wash and as such , the constant almost slavish references every two pages to the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians gets very boring. Where it does link to fact ,with the notable exception of Military know how, it is flawed on scientific fact in chapter 90 and ultimately fails to impress on any level.
The best is saved to last as the ending is so unbelievably contrived as to completely dismiss any credibility it might have gained along the way. I lost the plot and ultimately I felt that Mr Weber lost it too.

Makes you think!! What's fact vs fiction?
Dan Ronco author of Unholy Domain

An amazing story, including the Knights Templar, the Italian Secret Service, the Vatican, the Holy Grail, the Holy Bloodline, cryptography, Mossad agents, the FBI's DNA database, all weaved together in a fast-paced, believable storyline. Weber's research into religious history and artifacts provides the detail that makes the story believable. His characters, and there are a lot of them, are well-developed, especially the two female protagonists. Solomon's Key is the best to date of the religious conspiracy genre.