Series: Sancti Trilogy
(#3)
Publisher: William
Morrow
Publication Date: June 11, 2013
Publication Date: June 11, 2013
Review: In
2011, I was introduced to the religious conspiracy thriller, Sanctus, by Simon
Toyne. While Sanctus shared some similarities with the Robert Langdon series by
Dan Brown, I was impressed with the way Toyne was able to take the phenomenon
that was surrounding religious thrillers and make something uniquely his own.
In The Tower, the third and final novel in Toyne's Sancti Trilogy, we
meet Joe Shepherd. While still a student at the FBI Academy in Quantico,
Shepherd is temporarily given the qualifications of a full FBI agent, in order
to allow him to assist with an investigation. Recently, a cyber-attack was
mounted against the command center for NASA's Hubble Telescope, leaving the
orbiting machine unusable. Even worse than the attack itself is what
investigators discover at the center. The American scientist who oversaw the
Hubble project is nowhere to be found. Left behind is a countdown clock and the
message on his computer, "Mankind Must Look No Further."
Shepherd investigates with his teacher turned partner, Benjamin
Franklin, and uses his unique knowledge of the scientific community (he was
once a student working as a NASA intern) to uncover clues to the mysterious
events. But as he begins to find answers, more questions arise. There seems to
be a religious connection to events that occurred months earlier, at the
Citadel, a monastery that lies within the Turkish city of Ruin. All signs point
to these strange events, leading Shepherd to race against the clock to discover
secrets that could potentially lead to the end of the world.
Readers of the previous novels will recall the American reporter, Liv
Adamsen and the ex-special forces operative, Gabriel Mann, who were the main
focus of those stories. They appear in this novel, as well, and we begin to see
the connections of their story to the events taking place in America. As the
novel progresses, we see Gabriel struggle to fight against the strange blight,
a plague like disease that originated in the Citadel and slowly spreads through
Ruin, and find Liz, trapped in the deserts of southern Asia. All three
characters face their own troubles, as they soon intersect into a thrilling
end.
Throughout this trilogy, Simon Toyne has managed to successfully
maintain a commitment to relatable characters, thoughtful plotting, and
page-turning pacing. This combination has made his novels thrillingly
entertaining to read. The opening of this novel takes a bit of time to get
rolling, especially as it introduces the new character, Joe Shepherd.
Fortunately, Shepherd continues the Toyne tradition of being believably flawed
while still being interesting. As his story begins to take shape, the momentum
of the inevitable ending begins to mount, and the story becomes completely
engaging. While Toyne does a nice job of subtly providing some backstory, to
fill in readers who missed the first two installments, there are parts of this
story that simply will not work for readers who are coming into this novel
without reading the others. Despite this, there are enough new characters and
plot points to grab a new reader's attention. Overall, this series may not be
perfect, but it is a remarkably effective form of entertainment by an author
who has quickly become one of my favorites.
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