Review: No Light Without Shadow by Luke Gracias

Synopsis: On 06/06/06, the world’s population crossed 6.66 billion. Any further increase could only occur at the cost of other species and future generations.

This triggered the Devil’s Game. A Treasure Hunt for the twelve missing pages of the Devil’s Bible, which hold the Devil’s Prayer. A game designed for Jess Russo, the daughter of the Devil, to unleash Armageddon. Each page Jess finds encourages people to be selfish. To hoard for themselves and theirs, wiping out every chance future generations and all other species have of survival. Only her elder sister Siobhan can stop her, by finding the pages of the Devil’s Prayer hidden across the globe before Jess does.

When the bells of Amalfi Cathedral toll twelve repeatedly one night, Inspector Luca Reginalli races to find four ancient frescoes and a note in a jade sarcophagus. The cryptic note offering the Twelfth Page of the Devil’s Prayer in exchange for Siobhan goes viral. The treasure hunter Siobhan becomes the hunted.

From the Templars of Tomar to the Doomsday Chest in London, from the Tomb of Amir Temur to the Shadowless Pagoda of Wuhan, Siobhan and Reginalli follow the trail of carnage left by each page of the Devil’s Prayer.

Can they save the world from its own destruction?

Firstly please read The Devil's Prayer first and foremost as this is the sequel and makes numerous references to the first.

This is essentially the story of the survival - the survival of mankind, of the environment, of faith, of life on earth in all its form. And it preempted by a game - a battle of wits - between good and evil, light and dark, the emissaries of God and the Devil in the form of two sisters (Siobhan and Jess) and the respective mysterious religious factions that support them in their quest.

Codex Gigas

Their quest: find the twelve missing pages of the Devil's Bible - the Codex Gigas - that make up the Devils Prayer which will either save or destroy mankind, depending on who is holding the majority of the pages. The sisters' quest will take them from their hometown in Australia throughout Europe and Asia ... the path to the pages of the Devil's Prayer was littered by a trail of dead bodies ... such was the determination of each faction to take possession.

There is an abundance of research that went into the narrative, which I always appreciate when historical and religious overtones merge and meld with modern fiction. It will provoke thought and discussion and argument but ultimately the message is quite clear - the earth is the only thing we all have in common.

Who Was Shakespeare? Could the Author Have Been a Woman?

From The Atlantic: 

The authorship controversy has yet to surface a compelling alternative to the man buried in Stratford. Perhaps that’s because, until recently, no one was looking in the right place. The case for Emilia Bassano.

Theories that others wrote the corpus of work attributed to William Shakespeare (who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 and died in 1616) emerged in the mid-19th century. Assorted comments by his contemporaries have been interpreted by some as suggesting that the London actor claimed credit for writing that wasn’t his. But more than two centuries passed before alternative contenders began to be promoted—Francis Bacon; Christopher Marlowe; and Edward de Vere, the 17th earl of Oxford, prominent among them.* They continue to have champions, whose fervor can sometimes border on fanaticism. In response, orthodox Shakespeare scholars have settled into dogmatism of their own. Even to dabble in authorship questions is considered a sign of bad faith, a blinkered failure to countenance genius in a glover’s son. 

The time had come, I felt, to tug at the blinkers of both camps and reconsider the authorship debate: Had anyone ever proposed that the creator of those extraordinary women might be a woman? Each of the male possibilities requires an elaborate theory to explain his use of another’s name. None of the candidates has succeeded in dethroning the man from Stratford. Yet a simple reason would explain a playwright’s need for a pseudonym in Elizabethan England: being female.

Just think of how obsessed the work is with mistaken identities, concealed women, forged and anonymous documents—with the error of trusting in outward appearances. What if searchers for the real Shakespeare simply haven’t set their sights on the right pool of candidates?

read more here @ The Atlantic

Book Bargains - December 2017

Whilst I didn't get any books for Christmas (couldn't rely on delivery during December), I did manage to pick up a couple whilst out and about Christmas shopping:


From Alex Connor (conspiracy thrillers set in the art world):

• The Caravaggio Conspiracy
• The Bosch Deception

These books combine all her passions; art history, painting and thriller writing. All have a fascinating historical back story, combined with a hard hitting contemporary thriller – giving an insider’s glimpse into the art world. Taking some of the most famous names in art – Rembrandt, Hogarth, Goya, Titian etc. – Alex exposes little known facts about their lives and secrets, bringing the Old Masters from the past into the complex and, at times, dangerous world of art dealing in the 21st Century.

From Dr Kathryn Harkup:

• A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie used poison to kill her characters more often than any other crime fiction writer. The poison was a central part of the novel, and her choice of deadly substances was far from random; the chemical and physiological characteristics of each poison provide vital clues to the discovery of the murderer. Christie demonstrated her extensive chemical knowledge (much of it gleaned by working in a pharmacy during both world wars) in many of her novels, but this is rarely appreciated by the reader.

From Alix Christie:

• Guttenberg's Apprentice

"Gutenberg's Apprentice" tells his story: of a young man's hate and grudging love for a man both brilliant and stormy, their struggle to prevail against resistance and betrayal and the power of the Church. It is the story, too, of the last great communications revolution. All the wonder and doubt the digital world provokes today were felt half a millennium ago, in the workshop that produced the world's first printed book.

From Paul Spicer:

• The Temptress

In the spirit of Frances Osborne's The Bolter, this fascinating life of femme fatale and gorgeous Chicago heiress, Alice de Janzé, offers a solution to the decadesold murder of Lord Erroll—the story at the center of James Fox's acclaimed book and movie White Mischief (my review  of The Temptress here @ Goodreads and of The Bolter here also @ Goodreads)

From Robert Lyndon:

• Hawk Quest

The Normans have captured England. The Turks have captured a Norman knight. And in order to free him, a soldier named Vallon must capture four rare hawks. (I have read this and left it unfinished - so when it crossed my path again, I have decided to give this another go)

Book Bargains - April 2016

Some interesting finds from April 2016:

• John Marsden: Volumes 2 & 3 in his series beginning with "Tomorrow When the War Began"
• Jeremy Potter's "A Trail of Blood" - a "princes in the tower" mystery
• Peter Hyams' "Capricorn One" - love a great conspiracy theory
• Laurie Devine's "Crescent" - tale of four girls living in Palestine between 1958 - 1982
• Diane Haeger's "The Ruby Ring" - story of the artist Raphael and his muse
• Catherine Junks' "Inquisitor" - tale of murder, lust & betrayal in 1300s