No Shadow Without Light

Thank you to Luke Gracias and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. And wow what a book it was. I was so looking forward to this book, it was definitely worth the wait. It had me on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t put it down but didn’t want it to end. I think the two books would make a great movie. Absolutely brilliant and so worth 5 stars and more.

Thank you to Luke Gracias and netgalley for the opportunity to read this book. I have looked forward to this sequel to The Devil's Prayer for so long and was not disappointed. The story was fast paced and kept me turning pages late into the night. But the message contained in this book was something I didn't expect and has affected me greatly and in, what I hope, is a very positive way. There are no other books I can compare "The Devil's Prayer" and "No Shadow Without Light" to. They are both very worthy of a movie in my opinion. They are two of the best and most unforgettable books I have read.

This book is the long-awaited sequel to The Devil's Prayer by author Luke Gracias, which started originally as a low-budget film script in 2014 and evolved into an exciting debut novel in 2016. Gracias has a master's degree in Environmental Engineering and worked as an Environmental Specialist for over 25 years. In 2007, he started a film production company which had some success in Bollywood. One can see the film influence in his writing which brings all the cinematic excitement of other tales of 'adventure quests' such as The Davinci Code and the Indiana Jones movies.

In these two stories, there is an epic battle going on to save humanity, with God (the Light) and the selfless on one side and the Devil (God's shadow) and the selfish on the other. The stories are a mix of adventure, history, thriller and horror with some pretty graphic violence. I would recommend reading The Devil's Prayer first, as this second novel builds on the first.

The plot: According to a pact made between God and the Devil, once the human population surpassed 6,666,666, which came to pass in 2006, the side of good must find seven of the missing pages of the Devil's bible by 02/02/2020, with one page to be released each year. If they fail in this quest, humanity is doomed. The Devil's Bible is a true relic of medieval times, huge in size, containing 322 sheets, from which 12 sheets have been removed--supposedly containing the Devil's Prayer. The quest has fallen to Siobhan, a young woman whose mother left her home in Australia to become a nun after making a deal with the devil. There are many conspiring to stop Siobhan, including her sister Jess, who we've learned is the Devil's daughter.

The plot is gripping and exciting with lots of twists and turns. The human selfishness depicted has to do with how we are abusing and destroying the earth at the expense of all other living creatures and any future life for our children and grandchildren. Gracias includes many startling and disturbing facts about climate change in his author's notes. This is just one of several books published this year that are raising the alarm. What can our generation do to stop this destruction? Maybe start by supporting politicians who are trying to make important changes.

The author has included many beautiful photos of the sites depicted in the story which really enhance the reader's enjoyment of the various settings. The author says his sister Francis came up with the idea to include photos so kudos to her. I also admire the cover art very much.

I received an arc of this new book from the author in exchange for my honest review. It was available to download from both NetGalley and Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Many thanks for the opportunity.

This was a very slow read, not because it was boring, but because I had to “digest” it. It is basically the story if Siobhan, the Nun’s oldest daughter. Her sister, Jess, is the Devil’s daughter. But it is also the search for the twelve pages of The Devil’s Prayer. It is filled with adventure, but also filled with history, descriptions that take you into the story and also takes place over six years. Definitely fascinating reading with a heck of a plot. Thanks to Net Galley and the Publisher for an ARC for an honest review.

Worth waiting for! This book completes the story that began in The Devil’s Prayer in 2016, and I would advise readers to start there.
This has taken me an age to read, not because it is boring or dull, but because it is such a journey of discoveries! Each chapter has a photograph, a brilliant idea, but, each time I had to break off from my reading and read about it on the internet, thus spending many more hours than anticipated when I started this read. But, it was worth it, some really astonishing and downright scary facts revealed themselves, I can fully comprehend why faith was so much stronger in Mediaeval times, and the fear of Hell and damnation brought people to heel.
At times, this felt like a macabre touristy guide to the unexplained sounds, sights and haunting of places concerned with the Roman Catholic faith. Throw into this mix The Knights Templar, Red Monks, Genghis Khan, and a chase that starts in Australia, then reaches Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Singapore, Italy and Sweden, amongst other places, it is a very fast paced and exhausting novel to keep pace with.
The story concerns Siobhan and Jess, one being on the side of the Devil, the other is trying to save the world. The missing pages are designed to spread hope and misery by the opposing forces, and the hunt is on to collect them all, for either good or evil, the person with the most pages will decide the fate of the world. That is how the first book started, this second book shows more ‘ green and ecological morality’ action. As Mankind increases, the green world will disappear, nature will be destroyed in order to make way for humans. It’s a siren call to wake up to the damage we are doing to this planet, to save the animals and woodlands, that are increasingly being removed in order to make room for mankind, who seems incapable of understanding of the harm we are doing by our greed and reckless plundering of the Earths resources.
This is such a bang on trend book, especially as we are only a few days away from COP26, taking place in Glasgow, to discuss these very issues.
There is the ugly reality of life on Earth, and that contrasts with our search for the Stars, this book is truly a prayer of despair and hope.
I loved this book, I was very intrigued with the idea of how Covid-19 might have come about, there has been a lot of research and soul searching in this book. It all seems to make perfect sense, but will we listen to the message it contains? That remains to be seen.
My thanks go to Netgalley and publishers Authorsup front, for such an exciting and thoughtful read.
A well deserved five star read, that was a overall pleasure to read!!

No Shadow Without Light by Luke Gracias

979-8499076194

376 Pages
Publisher: Authors Upfront
Release Date: October 5, 2021

Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers, Religion & Spirituality

In the first book in the series, The Devil’s Prayer, Denise Russo was almost caught copying a page from the Devil’s Bible. She is chased but soon is found hanging from the bell tower in from of thousands of Easter Week spectators.

This book picks up where the first book ends. Her oldest daughter, Sioban, wants to finish what her mother started – find the twelve pages of the Devil’s Prayer. God and the Devil made an agreement that what whichever side had more of the pages will affect the human population. Inspector Luca Reginalli from the Amalfi Coast becomes involved when the Vatican task him with finding the “Nun’s oldest daughter.” With only that much information, it seems likely to fail. He uses resources and finds the Russo family. He meets Jess, the daughter of the Devil, and Grandmother Edith but no Sioban.

The description of Noah being humankind and the Ark being the earth is a reasonable theory. Noah was charged to bring two of each species onto the Ark. The assumption that if he brought four elephants on board, there would not be any room for gazelles is a parallel for what humans are doing to the earth, we are using resources that should be available for other species.

This was an excellent book and made me truly think of the current circumstances of the earth. The story was fast paced, it was written in the third person point of view, and the characters were developed. This was a wonderful sequel to The Devil’s Prayer. If you like action-packed, globe-trotting books with a fight of good versus evil, you will definitely like this one.

Special thanks to Authors Upfront and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Going into this book, I didn't think I was going to like it. It seemed it was about a Devil's Bible with evil revolving around numbers like 666, but the more I read, the more intrigued I became because author Luke Gracias is also an Environmentalist Specialist and has all these degrees in Environmental Engineering and then when I heard there was such a thing as The Devil's Bible, I couldn't put it down. The genre scared me a little that it was a book on Christianity and my first thought was count me out, but I'm so glad I read on. So many interesting facts!

Books like this scare me, and I like to be scared.!!!

No Shadow Without Light is the brilliant follow up to The Devil's Prayer. Picking immediately after the first book, Siobhan races against time to find the remaining pages of Devil's Prayer before her sister, the Devil's daughter gets there first.
The amount of detail in this book is unbelievable, adding medieval history and incorporating the Covid pandemic as well as climate change into the story. The story spans over six years, multiple continents and throws in enough twists and turns to keep you hooked.
Both this and the first book are brilliant reads.

Wow, no wonder this sequel took 5 years to complete there is so much research in it and Luke Gracias has done a fantastic job at using history and today’s environmental concerns to tie up the devils prayer. It was all very cleverly done & quite convincing and maybe it should be a book we all read to highlight the damage we are doing to our planet.

No Shadow Without Light is the sequel to the Devil's Prayer. If you haven't read the first book, this book is self-contained but will make more sense if you read that first.

It picks up where book one ended, Siobhan is still running from her sister, Jess, who is the Devil's daughter and the red monks. Things have become more complicated. On the 06/06/06 the world's population passed 6.66 billion. Any further increase will wipe out other species and harm the world for future generations. This triggered the Devil's game. A treasure hunt for the 12 pages of the Devils Prayer. Siobhan needs to find the pages before Jess does. Each page Jess finds encourages people to be selfish and dooms the world. Each page Siobhan finds brings hope to the world. There is one problem, a note offering the 12th page of the Devils Prayer in exchange for Siobhan. She has to hunt for the pages whilst being hunted.

This book is like a paranormal Dan Brown. It is a mix of medieval history, the knight's templar and current events with the COVID-19 pandemic and the current global warming situation thrown in. The book is full of adventure, with painstaking historical research to back it up and beautiful photos of the places visited during the book. It also has a serious message about the situation the world faces today.

It is a thrilling read and will keep you thinking long after you have finished it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

I liked this book, although at times I was a little list. I did not know this book was a sequel. I recommend reading The Devil's Prayer first because this book is hard to follow at points without having read the first book in the series.

The survival of mankind is the main theme if the book it is basically a story of good vs evil . Between God and the Devil in the form of two sisters.

I found it captivating and when I went back and read the first book and reread this one again found it much more enjoyable. Not normally a book I would pick up to read, but it was a really good read.

I thought this was a very interesting book. It was sad but it hit home in a lot of places. It also talks about the current situation that is happening right now

The long-awaited sequel to The Devil’s Prayer.

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.

The rise of the population has reached critical mass. This in turn has triggered the Devil’s Game. A hunt around the world for twelve missing pages of the Devil’s Bible which holds the Devil’s Prayer.

It is a game with very real consequences. Jess Russo, daughter of Denise and sister to Siobhan, is also the daughter of the devil. After her mother’s murder, the hunt began for the pages she had stolen. Every time Jess releases a page chaos ensues. This is a real game of good versus evil.

Siobhan is in a race with her sister to find the pages and release them before mankind disappears. And while she and a lot of very interesting characters are on the hunt, someone is hunting her.

This one had everything. Templars, Doomsday Chest, and tombs of Amir Temur and all the way to Wuhan.

I had to read this slowly. There was a lot to digest and think about. To be honest I’m still thinking about it. The end was a total surprise.

A very timely read and I would highly recommend it!


NetGalley/October 4th,2021 by Authors Upfront

The story will bring you information on history up to present as a woman seeks to pages of the Devil Prayer. As the action take places in places in both present and land, and eventual finds the up to day with members of the crusades. The story includes history and today as cults seek to have the Devils Prayers of numbered pages. The book has suspense, violence, death, and relations. As the problem of overpopulation in the world show as Devil is concerned and God is ignorance. Both the God and the devil are working, along with their relationships. The book requires thinking at several levels. Because of its length, this is hard to read, but actually find you finish, you will want to read again to try to understand.

Behind every Shadow there is light
Behind the Devil you will see God.
Behind the Earth's destruction you may find yourself responsible.
'No Shadow without Light', although a work of fiction is largely based on historical facts and is relevant to the
Earths future survival and our own.
Dear reader, be amazed as to how the author Luke Gracias puts you onto this Rollercoaster ride with the main character Siobhan, feeling her despair, her grief and pain, her mental and physical violations but rejoicing in her successes.
Luke blends an unrealistic combination of Christianity, the antichrist, historical/geographical references, the Earths future and the covid-19 pandemic into a frantic page turner.
My advice is to savour the contents, pause, turn back pages and research the references.
The book will challenge your beliefs and faith as never before make you stronger, wiser and give you a sense of responsibility. Questions will arise - are rituals or prayers important? What do I need to do now? How should I contribute to the future? Are my current life practices and religious practices relevant? What will bring me peace, happiness and salvation?
Being able to identify the Devil and his works is the first step towards salvation.
Beware of The Shadow for he is t
The Devil.
Blessings
Jervis Fernandes

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow-what brilliant writing. A slow-paced book with a great deal of historical detail. A recommended intelligent read.

378 pages

5 stars

This book is a philosophical journey through history. It is a “thinking” book, as I call them. Not only does the reader learn a great deal of fascinating history, it gets one to thinking about things outside oneself. The fate of humankind, the environment and how long do we really have? Mr. Gracias made some very good points about population and natural resources. I often say that I have more compassion for the animals of the world than I do for most people. (I have a tough past history.) Thinking about the loss of wildlife just devastates me.

There are several key players who act in this novel. Some good, some bad. Australians Siobhan and her sister Jess and Italian Inspector Luca Reginalli are the key players. Father Zachary also plays a big part, and so many others.

Siobhan is the daughter of a nun who very recently committed suicide. Jess is the Devil’s daughter. Always close and very good friends, the young women find themselves in a deadly duel. Each is desperately searching for the twelve pages of the Devil’s Bible. The future of humankind hangs in the balance. Jess wants people to turn to acquisitiveness and selfishness To hoard the world’s goods just for the sake of having stuff. While Siobhan wants to wake people up to the coming catastrophe. They must stop being so selfish. She must acquire more pages before Jess does.

Siobhan meets up with Inspector Reginalli. He agrees to help her as much as she can. Father Zachary is also helping her. They begin to search the world over and travel to different ancient places in their search. Along the way, the reader is treated to brief history lessons. I love when books include this kind of historical background.

They get into some terrible fixes with the evil people trying to stop them from finding pages. They are in grave danger.

But, they can’t stop…

This book has some absolutely amazing pictures of very old and historical places. It is well written and plotted. Mr. Gracias really did his research before he set pen to paper, so to speak. I got frustrated that I couldn’t just sit and read the whole book. Real life kept intruding. I would have liked to hear more about Inspector Reginalli’s background though. I had a firm handle on Siobhan’s personality, but not so much on Luca’s.

I want to thank Luke Gracias and NetGalley for forwarding to me a copy of this remarkable book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own.

This was a wonderful read. It is a sequal to the Devils Prayer but I read that a long time ago and this just reminded me of bits. Basically it can be read completely as a stand alone book and still give the whole essence. I have to say that it has taken me a while to read it as it is a book full of historical information that I just loved and so spent a lot of time doing diving into research the parts being written about.
As well as being classified as historical it can also be classified as geographical, psychological , ecological, religious and a thriller to boot. I foound the future predictions very thought provoking throughout and loved the constant comparisons of good/bad, God/Devil , white/black and light /dark they were all so well written and readable. The story is basically about hunting the 12 pages of the Devils Prayer and who will ge them first. The battle between the two sisters Siobhan and Jess who are the opposing sides of the religious divide.
I loved all the photos and have a long list of places that I would like to see now.
The authors note at the end was simply the icing on the cake and really bought the whole book into ascary reality. Will the wotld survive? Will we kill all the animals? Will the population explosion bring the end of the world? It brings in the Covid pandemic and climate change which are both so relevant today.
Luke Gracias has written two great books that I believe will make an amazing film series as it has so many twists and turns and fascinating characters. I look forward to hearing that it is being produced as I will want to watch.

Having enjoyed the previous book in this series, The Devil's Prayer, I was anxious to dig into this sequel, as our heroine Siobhan has inherited a terrible mission and legacy from her mother, must outrun the mysterious "red monks" from her mother's cursed monastery, and finish a race against the Devil himself to uncover the 12 lost pages of the "devil's prayer", or risk worldwide catastrophe. I loved the inventive plot, and the moral choices were intriguing and gave some dimension to the characters. It is also the classic adventure tale of a seemingly normal life going very wrong and being thrust into a world that you are not equipped or prepared for. Most ambiguous of all is her relationship with her sister Jess, who she loves more than anyone else, but is also bound by fate to be her mortal enemy. I found the portrayal of God in the novel very superficial and disingenuous, and it seemed an odd tie-in to what is presumed to be the cause of the world's demise, but I enjoyed the story and characters quite a bit.

This was the type of book that I don't generally gravitate towards and I am wrong to do so. This was a great book!
I didn't have any problem understanding the story since this is the second book and I didn't read the first book. But I will now!! I can tell the author did his research by how well every aspect of the book is detailed out. It is definitely a book that makes you think about things. I loved how the author had a photograph for each chapter. It really gave you the ability to make yourself a part of the book.

This is the second book written by Luke Gracias featuring these characters. I would recommend reading the first book "The Devil's Prayer" prior to this book.

Siobhan Russo and her sister Jess have always been close. Since their mother disappeared, they have given each other unconditional support. Now the sisters will be opponents. Jess is the daughter of the Devil. Siobhan
has the task of saving mankind. On 06/06/06 the world population exceeded 6.66 billion. (Notice all the sixes?) This increase in population has triggered an event called Devil's game. To save mankind, Siobhan must find the hidden pages of the Devil's Prayer before her sister does or Armageddon will happen.

Obviously, neither Siobhan nor her sister can find these pages without help. They each have various associates helping them as they search worldwide. Often crossing paths, these groups have different motives and tactics as they attempt to be the ones finding the pages. What do these pages contain? Who will find them all?

Lucas Gracias takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of Europe and Australia, highlighting the beauty of each country visited. The pictures of each location are a great addition and validate his fabulous descriptive abilities. This story is multifaceted. Each recovered page serves as a cautionary tale. Mankind cannot continue to be oblivious to the impact that overpopulation causes. Resources are limited. If we choose to bury our heads in the sand, we face extinction.

Using this story is a great way to remind people of the future mankind could be facing. However, reminding people does not solve the problem What steps can we take today to make a difference? How do we spread the message? Lucas Gracias gives us much to think about.

This was a fascinating story , trying to find the 12 pages of the Devils Prayer which predicts the end of the world. Lots of action and great characters. Very clever using the current Pandemic as part of the story of disasters. Very scary conclusion, can Humanity be brave enough to save planet Earth.?

Having read the prequel to No Shadow Without Light, I was left frustrated because I felt the story got lost somewhere. I wasn't sure I wanted to read on. I'm regaled I did. Luke Gracias has developed the plot cleverly taking the reader on a worldwide trip, building tension by merging historical fact and a fiction that delves into not just religious but the environmental issues affecting ourworld. Well worth the read for all of these factors

Luke Gracias does another incredible job of merging fact with fiction in his follow up to the incredible “The Devil’s Prayer”.

We are treated to some incredible settings and intriguing history as good and evil battle it out for the salvation of mankind. My only gripe, unfortunately, is that it all feels a little rushed. It seems like Luke has enough material to write an entire series (yes I know it is already a series, but I mean a much longer series) and has had to make do with cramming this amazing sequel into a single volume. Once you accept (or rather embrace) this style of writing there is a lot more enjoyment that can be realised.

And as for eye-opening, wow, consider this a success. I almost wish the Devil or God could make a rash decision on behalf of mankind and at least set us back to a position where the earth (and its entirety) will survive. Alas, the power is in our hands, hands that are currently fumbling the ball (picture the earth being the ball) and are on the brink of dropping it.

“No Shadow Without Light” is a great book, I just wish more time could be spent on certain aspects of it in order for it to make more sense.

Siobhan Russo takes a journey of danger, and hope as she faces deception and evil. Her goal is to unite twelve pages from The Devil’s Prayer in order to prevent a world overrun with greed, death and great destruction.

With her own sister as her greatest adversary, Siobhan is thrown into a world she has never known. She is the innocent facing the devil and his disciples, including her beloved sister. Filled with intrigue, nothing seeming as it is, fear and betrayal, Siobhan perseveres. Failure means the end of humanity and Mother Earth.

The devil’s plan is the destruction of earth produced by man’s own greed. The race to obtain the pages of the devil’s prayer goes beyond gathering pages of parchment written as a challenge. The effect the entire earth. Can she recover the hidden page? Can she save earth and mankind?

A fascinating tale intertwined with the problems we are facing today in a world where greed and survival walk hand in hand. This book is not just a story, it is a challenge to humanity.

I read this book really wuickly in one sitting. It was well written with a gripping plotline and good characterisation. I couldn't put it down and will definitely look for more from the author.

No Shadow Without Light by Luke Gracias
Rating 5/5
At last the follow up to the excellent The Devil’s Prayer by the multi talented Luke Gracias. Siobhan is still trying to find the solution to saving mankind before her sister Jess Russo, the Devil’s daughter. She follows up the clues assisted by a number of good people and hindered by many who would stop her and even kill her without a second thought. Sometimes there is a very fine line between good and evil. Many lives are lost.
No Shadow Without Light covers a number of years and cleverly melds present day history with the past. A well thought out plot with with lots of details, it takes the reader all over the world and includes excellent descriptions of ancient buildings etc with fantastic photographs. It is apparent that a lot of work and thought has gone into both novels and clearly very precious to Luke Gracias.
As the letters are discovered, so are their ever increasingly worrying contents and what they portend. I will be thinking of this book for a very, very long time. I particularly won’t forget the Golden Lancehead Viper, very thought provoking. Wake up humanity!!
A must read novel.
My many thanks to Luke Gracias, his team, Authors Upfront and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read No Shadow Without Light. In return I have written an honest and unbiased review..

My first book, that I have read by this author, absolutely brilliant! Highly recommended, and I will definitely read others written by this author!

This is a fantastic book. Full of woe and hope appropriate to today's times and events. Not an easy read in one sense but it keeps you hooked. I found this book fascinating and I am very glad I read it even though it is not my usual genre. The author has woven an intricate story around historical facts and today's threats to our world. Whatever you normally read, I would recommend you read this too.

Loved the first instalment, and the follow up of the story is quite interesting. I would recommend to read the first one before this to get the whole twisting diabolical plot.
It really makes you reflect on life itself and how one can get entangled and manipulated without knowing.

This second book was a long time coming but was worth the wait. It has been a while since I read the first book, so I loved that it started out with a recap from the first book which brought everything back to mind.

I loved Siobhan's character in this book. I loved the way it bounces across the world and I loved the pictures.

This story was heavy in religion and historical facts however this does not take away from the story.

The concept of The Devil's Game was quite interesting. I enjoyed how pages of this ge are "released" throught out the story.

This story was very interesting for me. It really hones in on how we are using up the resources in the world and how this needs to become a focus for us to ensure future generations. Of course, COVID is tied into the story and I felt the author did it in a interesting way.

Overall I would definately recommend this series

I read it all in one sitting. I was on the edge of my couch, reading about just how stupid people can be and how easy it is to bring about the end of civilization.

It sucks you in. I didn't necessarily like it as much as I did book one. I wasn't as invested in the characters this time. What I was invested in was the story. It's well written and the research shows. This is the type of book that stays with you long after you finish. Would appeal to Dan Brown fans.

This book lives up to all my expectations - it's fast paced, takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, and also smacks you with the hard realities, that we as a generation need to take stock of, and curtail - else we will leave the next generation with an unliveable planet. The book will get you to do three things: Retrospect, Reframe or Rally for the changes, author Luke strongly promotes through a captivating tale. A well-researched historical fiction thriller it keeps you on the edge at every page turn. A must-read. The only problem I had was that I read this as a stand alone. Now to dig out a copy of The Devil's Prayer. Thanks to the author for a chance to read this book.

A worthy conclusion to the thrilling saga as Siobhan Russo continues her treasure hunt for the 12 missing pages of the Devil's Bible to prevent Armageddon. This is action-packed and full of historical references as Siobhan tries to complete her mission facing danger at every turn.

How fun it is to read an entire story back-to-back from beginning to end without having to wait ages to find out the end!

I received an ARC of the first book several years ago and it languished on my TBR shelf until this sequel was about to be published. A gentle reminder made me look to see if I had read the earlier one or if I still had it as I do not like to read books out of order or miss the beginning of a set or series. After I devoured <i> The Devil's Prayer </i>, I immediately begin this follow-up.

There is a moral here -- that humans are selfish and that their greed to accumulate and hoard precious resources will end up costing the survival of future generations. As stewards of the Earth, only with selfless behavior and curbing this behavior can all species continue to live. The story may be fictional, but the details and descriptions of the places and events that have already occurred are pertinent and relevant to current situations as well. The author also includes photographs of some of the sites that Siobhan visits in her quest and the history of them is fascinating. The topics of religion from a historical perspective and the themes of darkness and light, good and evil, carry a warning. I always enjoy a book that makes me think and this one certainly did. I would love to have some great discussion with like-minded readers and definitely look forward to a film adaptation of these two novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Authors Upfront for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

This is a good sequel to the first book, and well written. The amount of research is impressive. Where I find these books slightly annoying, therefore losing one star, is that sometimes the writing is fairly stilted. Translated into film, this would not show. There is a fair amount of environmental preaching involved, although this reader cannot disagree with the statements made, it did sometimes feel like more of a documentary than a novel.

I read and reviewed the first part of this story, The Devil’s Prayer, five years ago, and I thank NetGalley (Authors Upfront) and the author for providing me an ARC copy of this book, which I freely chose to review.
I remembered having enjoyed the original novel and some details of it, but after such a long gap, I have to admit that I wasn’t sure how well I’d manage to follow the story. Thankfully, the beginning of the book provides readers with a brief reminder of the main plot points, not in a preface, but incorporated into the story. The first novel was written in a particularly interesting way, as the protagonist, who is also one of the main characters in this story, Siobhan, found her mother’s diary, and she (and the readers) learned the background to the events thanks to that account.
This novel is more traditional in its format, although the Devil’s Prayer and its twelve pages also play a big part in the events, and we get to read it (or at least some of it) as the story progresses. The novel is divided into four books, and the story is mostly told in chronological order (the beginning of the novel is split up between two settings, one in Australia and one in Italy, and there are some comings and goings between the two places and the dates), with some jumps forward in time. We follow the characters from 2014 to 2020, and, as the description suggests, we travel with them all over the world: Australia, Italy, China, Portugal, London, the Czech Republic, Uzbekistan... Like the previous novel, this is a mix of genres: there are plenty of adventures; historical background and events are also explored; there is much in common with spy novels (but with a religious/paranormal theme rather than a political one) and with the format of a treasure hunt, where each new clue guides the path of the main characters. There are also elements of horror, a good versus evil fight going on, and a strong environmental message, pointing at humanity’s responsibility for the future of all life on Earth.
Limited resources, selfishness versus selflessness, the importance and nature of religion and religious belief, family relationships, social media, greed, corruption, betrayal... are among the themes that appear in its pages, although that is not an exhaustive list. And we meet all kinds of secondary characters and historical figures: from policemen to bishops and monks, from Knight Templars to librarians, and various popes, Genghis Kahn, and even the Devil put in an appearance.
The story is told in the third person: for most of it we follow Siobhan and share her experiences, as we did in the first book, although sometimes we peer over the shoulder of the baddies and what they are doing, and at times there is a narrator that provides a lot of factual information on the events and the historical background of the places we are visiting. Because of that, there is a lot of telling in the story, although I found most of it quite fascinating, and by the end of the novel, I wanted to visit the places featured there (or most of them, at least. Oh, and there are pictures, as well, so you can see what the settings of some of the adventures are like).
I missed a bit more build-up of the main characters. Siobhan goes through some terrible ordeals, losing loved ones, being betrayed, being incarcerated (I won’t go into much detail to avoid spoilers), but there are only hints of what and how she feels, and the same applies to Reginalli, an Italian inspector who has interesting hidden depths as well. In general, there is more attention paid to the plot and the background than to the psychology of the characters or the complexity of their emotions. I must admit that I don’t usually read books like this, and perhaps this is part-and-parcel of the genre, where readers are looking for action and story, and put themselves in the protagonists’ shoes, rather than want to have their emotions spelled out.
Despite some minor inconsistencies and some to-be-expected required suspension of disbelief, the story is engaging, and no matter how many questions you might ask yourself about the fine details of the plot (in this day and age, with the worldwide access to technology, one always has to wonder), you have to keep reading to see how it all will turn up, especially if you have already read the first novel. As one of the reviewers said, I also feel that this book would make a great movie (and I am aware that the author has written screenplays before and worked in the film industry), although it would be a challenge to fit it all into a single film, and perhaps a TV series would work better. I would be eager to watch it, for sure.
The writing is engaging and particularly effective when it comes to descriptions of places and customs, and to passionately defending what are, quite evidently, convictions strongly held by the author, who has spent his life working as an environmental specialist and knows what he is talking about. The pages of the Devil’s Prayer we get to read are fascinating, scary, and will make all who read them pause and think.
The ending is left fairly open but hopeful as well (although perhaps some readers would like to see a bit more development of one of the aspects of it), as is the author’s note (which is well-worth reading and reflecting upon), and I felt it was appropriate and in keeping with the rest of the story.
As for warnings, like in the other novel, there are plenty of violence, cruelty, and deaths, and although much happens behind the scenes, I know it will bother some readers. Some people might also not share the point of view of the author about environmental issues or religion. I found the tone of the writing to be respectful and neutral, but I know that is always a matter of opinion.
I recommend this book to people who enjoy mixed-genre novels, particularly those who take place in a variety of settings, readers of adventure or spy books, those who have enjoyed books like The Da Vinci Code, and people who are concerned about environmental issues and like to read about those but are looking for some fiction and adventure as well. And, if you want to travel all over the world without leaving your home, and learn some fascinating historical facts at the same time, I definitely recommend you to check both books.