Surprising Disappointment

I've read all of James Rollins' books. I buy and read/listen as soon as each new one comes out. I was surprised when I was disappointed in this one. The story seemed to be a series of hackneyed elements from other series and books I've read over recent years. The characters' dialogue was juvenile in many instances. I expected someone to come out with "golly gosh" at any time. Overall it didn't read/listen like a true James Rollins book with the action rolling me along to the point that I could not put the book down. Please where is Sigma Force??

The redeeming quality was the narrator. He brought life to the mostly cardboard characters with his voice.

16 people found this helpful

Bring Sigma Back!

Would you try another book from James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell and/or Christian Baskous?

I didn't like it at all. I've always been a big fan of James Rollins, will not read any more collaborations.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Michael Palmer's latest.

Which character – as performed by Christian Baskous – was your favorite?

None in this book, which is not typical.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was angry that it was not the intelligent, action adventure I've come to expect from James Rollins, this was just another vampire book and not a particularly good one.

Any additional comments?

I hope James Rollins goes back to Sigma Force with intelligent, capable, multi-talented real people in interesting quests.

10 people found this helpful

narration

Any additional comments?

I have listened to the first 15 minutes of this book and i do not think that i will be able to listen to the rest. Why didn't the author's have Peter Jay Fernandez do the reading. when you have a good reader why change?????

29 people found this helpful

Um, What Was This Book About Again?

Yeah, as a fan of Rollins' Sigma Force stories, as well as most of the stand alones, I was expecting a rip-roaring tale from "Blood Gospel." I don't know, either this was the driest vampire tale I've ever read or it was the driest vampire tale Baskous ever read, but this one tried to put me to sleep. Though, out of my respect and enjoyment of past Rollins tales I did make it through all 12+ hours!

Was it the reader, or was it the writing? It's hard to say. Perhaps a bit of both. The story has the classic 50's sci-fi movie set up with the ballsy, brash Hero, the intellectual and repressed Heroine and a Quest, but it's missing the fun! The interplay between the Hero and the Heroine is limited to exposition as dialog and action sequences. We learn about their growing mutual attraction through inner dialog. And then there are the vampire priests - zzzz

Guilty vampires are interesting if their guilt drives them to action (Blood Oath). Pious guilty vampires, turns out, are a lot less interesting.

Baskous' narration, with its white-noise pitch and cadence, didn't help. He wasn't feelin' it, or maybe there just wasn't much to feel.

8 people found this helpful

An Awesome Adventure!

I never read James Rollins or Rebecca Cantrell before but heard so many rave review that I had to give it a go. I LOVED this book. A mystery wrapped in history, religion, and the supernatural. Right up my alley! My only complaint is that this is book 1 and now I have a lot of waiting to do.

4 people found this helpful

James Rollins goes full on twi-tard.

Previous novels released from James Rollins were riveting, thrilling page turners. Unfortunately, his latest work is not. To put it bluntly this work feels to have heavily borrowed from the twilight series. Also the narrator is a bit dry and unsuited for this reading.

Vampires, really? Once I discovered this "plot twist" the book lost all appeal to me. I attempted to return it, however there seems to be some issues with audible returning this work...of...well something.

If this character trait was revealed within the book summary I would have saved some $$$ and moved on...Hopefully someone else will see this and have this additional information and move on to something a little more worthwhile.

18 people found this helpful

Priests and Vampires and Archeologists, Oh My!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I loved this audio book. James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell worked together to create a hybrid of their individual genres and I think it works. I like the twists on accepted wisdom with regard to the Church. It is certainly possible that devout Christians might be somewhat offended by the storyline and they should consider reading something else. As an amateur scholar in First Century Christian History, I really enjoyed the extrapolations from real history into a really wild, romantic "what if?" story. Let us remember that vampires in the story allow the writers to time travel with characters in real time which is a very effective literary device. The story can span many centuries and provide first person perspective on remote events in history without the worry of how the flux capacitor works. Christian Baskous, who did the audio version, did truly excellent work with the reading. He created each of the myriad characters as utterly distinct from one another, from a mysteriously menacing 16th century priest to the doe-eyed and intellectually voracious blonde archeologist with a nice rack. I was amazed at how atmospheric his reading was. This story has plenty of atmosphere, let me tell you. It swings through history and geography, science and the supernatural, and Mr. Baskous's reading is beautifully evocative of each time and place and character. Wonderful.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I loved Professor Erin Granger. She is a true scientist with the real understanding of human emotion. Perfect as the primary perspective through which this story unfolds.

Which character – as performed by Christian Baskous – was your favorite?

Rhun Korza. Romantic, tortured, fabulously male and richly realized in Mr. Baskous's wonderful voice. Jordan Stone was a close second. He is heroic and manly in a straightforward, very American way. Both men so different. Mr. Baskous is a really talented artist.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Blood Gospel: Sacred Revelation

Any additional comments?

I can't wait for Book 2.

7 people found this helpful

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!!

2 people found this helpful

Incredible

I'm a long-time fan of James Rollins and have been waiting for this book since he first mentioned it. The book is incredible. There is an intimacy about the book that brings the characters to life as we find out their background stories. It made me care for what at first might seem to be at least one unsympathetic character.

When I first heard that there might be the "v" word type of characters in the book I has hesitant to read it - but I have read everything by Rollins so couldn't let this one go by. I was not disappointed. Well, my only disappointment is that I have to wait a year for the second part of the trilogy.

My one problem (minor) is with the narrator. He does some incredible accents - but some of them are so heavy that I have a hard time understanding what the character is saying. I think when I relisten to the book (prior to the second part coming out) I may have a copy of the book to refer to so I know what is being said. But this is certainly not a reason not to listen to it.

I can't say enough good things about this book. Maybe I will just go ahead and re-listen to it. It was that good.

5 people found this helpful

I should have known better!

Would you try another book from James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell and/or Christian Baskous?

I read the reviews about the reader before I purchased this, but I didn't believe them! I should have. He was horrible. He read so slow that I often found my mind had just wandered off and I couldn't even remember where I was in the story. Unfortunately, I can't even comment on the book because after listening to both Part 1 and Part 2, I decided to just quit.

Has The Blood Gospel turned you off from other books in this genre?

Most likely. However, not with this reader, and I'll pay attention to previous reviews before I purchase. Unfortunately, the topic fascinated me, so I guess I'll never know.

What didn’t you like about Christian Baskous’s performance?

Too slow.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Major disappointment because I was really looking forward to this particular book.

Any additional comments?

No, looking forward to my next book and won't finish this one.

6 people found this helpful