The Reckoning

by Dan Thomas

Reeling from the sudden death of the pope during an international celebration, the Archbishops of the Roman Catholic Church unanimously elect Peter Carenza, a charismatic young priest from the United States, to be the next Pontiff. Carenza has revitalized the Church in America, attracting new worshipers in droves to his scandal-free, countrywide congregation. Carenza remakes the Church in his new image, allowing priests to marry, giving power to women, and preaching of the power of God in man — which Carenza himself seems to wield. He can heal the sick, summon lightning from a clear sky, even raise the dead. Is Peter Carenza the long prayed-for Second Coming? Or do his powers come from a darker Master?

Genres: Horror, Fantasy

Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the main character spent the first book slowly going from protagonist to antagonist, this sequel has him in full blown cackling villain mode, which is a little difficult to accept for a reader who had really wanted him not to succumb to darkness.

This aside, this is a fast-paced horror that entertained throughout… a shame I found the ending a bit unsatisfying.

[Aaron Cochrill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not read the The Lamb, so there were a few points where I had to really read into the story to get the back story. But for the most part, I was able to read this without having to read that book first. The story is really interesting, and there is enough plausibility to the back story to make it believable. The rest of the story for those who have an interest in religion and spirituality between faiths is an interesting merge that makes you wonder about the possibility and future contributing cause of the Armegeddon before the Rapture. A few spots where the story got a little dry for me, but for the most part I really enjoyed this story.

[Teresa Biggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book. It is billed as a stand a lone but if I did not read the cover of the book jacket I 'm not sure I would have figured out what was going on.

Backstory... 2 Vatican cardinals and a nun and a geneticist plot together to take DNA from the shroud of Turin to bring about the second coming of Christ. He is encouraged to become a priest. He falls in love with Marion and on his 33 birthday he gets power and he can start to perform miracles. The pope is killed and Peter becomes the new POPE. He wants to bring about great change in the Catholics church... birth control, abortion, sex before marriage, homesexuality and making the Vatican a world leader.
This book opens with Pope Peter about to make an announcement... allowing all clergy to marry and starting with him to Marion. Marion does not seem to be too keen on the idea... evidently she is not sure Peter is all good anymore and wants what is good for the world. ( see book 1 ) The two cardinals are realizing that they made a huge error. Certain factions of the church are cheering for the reform and others are horrified. Meanwhile other characters around the world are seeing a " lady dressed as a nun" in their dreams asking them to do supernatural things. These 7 people are the 7 righteous humans that will keep the world going on by doing God's bidding.
Peter figures out about the 7 and wants to kill them therefore ending the world...???? what happens to Peter then if the world blows up? that is never explained .

There are some really interesting characters. The story moves slowly and then quickly and there are many details and then there are not enough details to explain what is exactly going on.

I did not like the ending.. I thought it was a bit abrupt.

[John Bruni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is truly a wonderful book of absolute power corrupting absolutely. In The Blood of the Lamb, we meet Peter Carenza, a New York priest loved by everyone who knew him. He turns 30 and suddenly he develops Christ-like powers. No surprise, considering that the Vatican cloned him from blood on the Shroud of Turin. What they didn't count on was that by The Reckoning, Peter was not the Second Coming. No, the hero has become the villain. Peter is the Antichrist, and the fate of the world is at stake. The one thing I really enjoyed was that my favorite character, who died at the end of TBOTL, suddenly has his brother one of the main supporting characters in this one. Gaetano is just like his brother, just not as experienced, and I found myself rooting for him all the way. The one thing I found puzzling is the backmatter of this book. It claims that at the end of TBOTL, the dying Pope gives Peter his blessing, and as such, Peter is named the new Pope. I had to go back to TBOTL to see if that was true, as I was fairly certain the Pope knew Peter as evil and would never do something like that. Sure enough, I was right. Did the person who wrote the backmatter even read the previous book? I don't think so. Anyway, this is a great book. Forget Dan Brown. The Catholic thrillers you really are looking for are this book and TBOTL.

[jessi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another book with potential but just couldn’t reach it with limited plot and missing information.

[Annette Wiesner-Ellix · Rating 5 out of 5]

This kept me enthralled right to the end.

[Lenora Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been several years since I read Blood of the Lamb, and didn't realize there was a sequel to it until recently. I think The Reckoning can be read as a stand alone, but it will probably make more sense if you read Blood of the Lamb first.

Peter Carenza is a young priest, who through a series of events and "miracles" becomes Pope at an early age when the Pope suddenly dies in Peter's arms. Peter can do good, but also has the power to do evil, which he has done.

What I don't remember reading in this book, is the story of how Peter came to be. A small cadre of Cardinals extracted DNA from the Shroud of Turin, found a young, innocent, and virginal nun and convinced her she must carry the baby, which was then given to an orphanage. The Cardinals followed Peter as he grew, influencing him to become a priest, who on his 33d birthday began to perform miracles.

When Peter becomes Pope, he immediately begins a process to bring the Church into the current times. He decides to reinstate the marriage of priests, and plans to set the example by marrying the love of his life—who does not necessarily love him back.

The Cardinals who created him wanted to help God with the long-awaited Second Coming. Did they succeed? This book is more complex than I remember the first one, and the characters are more developed. Many interesting people are introduced who propel the story along until we reach the satisfactory end of the book. It's also an interesting insight into how the Church may or may not actually be run.

[Nancy Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Reckoning was a gripping mystery set in London and involving Scotland Yard. A series of execution style murders, too similar in nature to not be connected, baffles the Yard. A retired detective becomes involved when his name is found on an unfinished letter penned by one of the murder victims. The story line and pathway that leads to the connecting web of the murder victims was original and interesting. I felt, however, that some of the background of the actual murderer seemed a bit hard to believe or something that would have been discovered earlier than it was and almost seemed a bit rushed. However, even with those misgivings, I still truly enjoyed the book and will be looking for future fiction from this author. This was a great read with some unexpected twists right up to the end that I feel has the makings of a good movie. The Reckoning did NOT disappoint.

I received this book through Goodreads free of charge for an honest review.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good story of good vs. evil was my overall opinion of this book. The author did slip on some key points seeming to reveal them either too early or too late in the story. Also the beginning of the book was like reading several seperate, albeit good, stories jumbled together. These were tied together later on in the book. And this was my other knock on this book, the pace of the story seemed slow in the beginning. Once the ball got rolling around page 250 or so things started cooking with petrol. Overall I would say three and a half stars would make me feel better if I could put them up on this book. Overall I would like to read more from this author.

[Rayah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was kind of a mess. It couldn't decide whether to be political intrigue, supernatural thriller, or some sort of religious message. Characters were introduced and killed off with impunity, so we never got to care about them, and the ones we should have cared about got short shrift as well.

[Steffi · Rating 2 out of 5]

the beginning and some of the middle part was interesting but then it got totally stupid and weird