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The Pius Trilogy #3
A Pius Stand
A Pius Legacy asked the question: What happens when someone kidnaps the Pope? When you're Sean A.P. Ryan, security consultant, the answer is easy: get him back. And that rescue pissed off…everyone…and the entire United Nations declared war on the hundred-acre Vatican city.
When the Pope is threatened by the international community, with no help in sight, what's a Pontiff to do? Run and hide? With offers coming from all over the world, it seems like the best course of action. With fifteen-thousand men from armies all over the world coming to end the Catholic Church, it's a threat not even the Pope's bodyguards could handle.
But it's not just about Vatican City. With the Church all over the world in peril, things are not as clear cut for Pope Pius XIII as one might think. With the forces of darkness closing in, Pius, Sean, and the people they love must make a decision that will affect the lives of billions, and threaten all they hold dear. Do they leave the Vatican to their enemies, or stay, and face certain death?
Once more, this epic conclusion to The Pius Trilogy continues to mix real history with wholehearted adventure. With everything on the line, and no good outcome, the Pope and his champions must decide to either cut and run, or to make a final stand.
When the Pope is threatened by the international community, with no help in sight, what's a Pontiff to do? Run and hide? With offers coming from all over the world, it seems like the best course of action. With fifteen-thousand men from armies all over the world coming to end the Catholic Church, it's a threat not even the Pope's bodyguards could handle.
But it's not just about Vatican City. With the Church all over the world in peril, things are not as clear cut for Pope Pius XIII as one might think. With the forces of darkness closing in, Pius, Sean, and the people they love must make a decision that will affect the lives of billions, and threaten all they hold dear. Do they leave the Vatican to their enemies, or stay, and face certain death?
Once more, this epic conclusion to The Pius Trilogy continues to mix real history with wholehearted adventure. With everything on the line, and no good outcome, the Pope and his champions must decide to either cut and run, or to make a final stand.
250 pages, Paperback
First published December 14, 2014
About the author
Declan Finn
110 books746 followersDeclan Finn is the NYC based author of books ranging from thrillers to urban fantasy to SciFi, including the 2016 Dragon Award Nominated Novel for Best horror, Honor at Stake, 2017 for Live and Let Bite, and 2018 for Codename: Unsub in best Apocalypse. He is known for "his strong fight scenes and is romance novels are sexy without being dirty, providing enough sexual tension to curl toes."
He hosts the Catholic Geek Radio show, and can be found wherever someone is starting trouble. He also writes thrillers, video game reviews, and works for several blogs.
He is one of a legion of writers over at The Catholic Geeks blog (a legion, for we are many). Other books he has written includes the comedy-thriller It Was Only on Stun! where he blows up a sci-fi convention (no, not this one). He co-authored the science fiction espionage novel Codename: Winterborn. However, he is most proud of The Pius Trilogy – which includes “A Pius Man,” “A Pius Legacy,” “A Pius Stand,” and an anthology, “Pius Tales.”
He hosts the Catholic Geek Radio show, and can be found wherever someone is starting trouble. He also writes thrillers, video game reviews, and works for several blogs.
He is one of a legion of writers over at The Catholic Geeks blog (a legion, for we are many). Other books he has written includes the comedy-thriller It Was Only on Stun! where he blows up a sci-fi convention (no, not this one). He co-authored the science fiction espionage novel Codename: Winterborn. However, he is most proud of The Pius Trilogy – which includes “A Pius Man,” “A Pius Legacy,” “A Pius Stand,” and an anthology, “Pius Tales.”
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 7, 2015
These days, every story seems to be a trilogy, and all too often, by the time we get to the end, the author is obviously just trying to get it all over with and move on. In contrast, this is one of those trilogies that is dense and substantial enough that it could have easily become a series in other hands. It also gets more enjoyable as it goes along- another rarity in multi-book publications.
A Pius Stand brings together all the plot threads and relationships we have encountered in the previous two books and builds them up towards the spectacular climax. The characters, by now firmly pinned down in our heads, still manage to surprise. The action stops only long enough to build up tension and make us care even more about the outcome, then proceeds with the adrenaline rush of an off- the-rails roller coaster. The political/religious undertones are still definitely present. However, the need for long exposition has already been satisfied in prior volumes, so we get just enough of it here to provide the necessary additional context. The ending is well-rounded between providing closure to individual character arcs and tying up the loose ends on a global scale, thus making it unusually satisfying for a work of this complexity. Highly recommended to political thriller fans looking for a deeper than usual reading experience.
A Pius Stand brings together all the plot threads and relationships we have encountered in the previous two books and builds them up towards the spectacular climax. The characters, by now firmly pinned down in our heads, still manage to surprise. The action stops only long enough to build up tension and make us care even more about the outcome, then proceeds with the adrenaline rush of an off- the-rails roller coaster. The political/religious undertones are still definitely present. However, the need for long exposition has already been satisfied in prior volumes, so we get just enough of it here to provide the necessary additional context. The ending is well-rounded between providing closure to individual character arcs and tying up the loose ends on a global scale, thus making it unusually satisfying for a work of this complexity. Highly recommended to political thriller fans looking for a deeper than usual reading experience.
May 5, 2018
If you enjoy the defense of innocence, love the Catholic Church, despise communism, socialism, totalitarianism, evil in all disguises....this is a book and series for you. The forces of evil (UN, Islamofasists, communists, militant atheists) would love to destroy the church and reap all that bounty....a small but tenacious remnant remain in the church to defend it. Great action book with a lesson attached. The author in his acknowledgment at the end states that he wishes the things he has written about to stop taking place....I beg to differ....I sincerely wish we had a Pius XIII....in fact I pray for that as the Church is being poisoned from within...the external enemies are obvious, the internal ones less so.
May 13, 2020
Wow!
As fast paced as a Robert Ludlum thriller. Non-stop action from page one. Strong, forceful characters. Heroes you want to believe in. And in today's climate, frighteningly plausible plot.
As fast paced as a Robert Ludlum thriller. Non-stop action from page one. Strong, forceful characters. Heroes you want to believe in. And in today's climate, frighteningly plausible plot.
August 21, 2015
In Declan Finn's novel A Pius Stand: A Global Thriller, the pope is an African and the United Nations is an enemy of the Catholic Church. The UN "had declared it an outlaw entity guilty of war crimes—against women, Islam, gays…and had declared all their properties forfeit."
Church buildings are vandalized, not only Catholic but of "all varieties of Christians." US President Barry is disdainful and dismissive of Catholics and the Christian right. The Soviets form their own religious order, in line with their beliefs and values. A jihadist website presents a "wonderful plan to wipe out the Catholics in Europe."
All this anti-Christian sentiment gels into a major military attack on the Vatican. The "armies of darkness" close in, aiming to steal art treasures and destroy the Church.
Its defenders prepare for the onslaught. They're fewer in number and not perfect. But as one of them says, "God doesn't need a saint to pull off miracles—God can use whoever he likes."
They believe they'll win in the long run, even if they die. In the words of one: "I believe we can win because I believe in God, and with God, man is invincible…. I prefer that if I must die, then I die in the name of God."
Do the Church's defenders die? You'll have to read the book to find out. It contains too many characters and too much violence for my taste. However, I found A Pius Stand: A Global Thriller entertaining and thought-provoking. It's part of a trilogy by Declan Finn. The other two are A Pius Man: A Holy Thriller and A Pius Legacy: A Political Thriller.
Church buildings are vandalized, not only Catholic but of "all varieties of Christians." US President Barry is disdainful and dismissive of Catholics and the Christian right. The Soviets form their own religious order, in line with their beliefs and values. A jihadist website presents a "wonderful plan to wipe out the Catholics in Europe."
All this anti-Christian sentiment gels into a major military attack on the Vatican. The "armies of darkness" close in, aiming to steal art treasures and destroy the Church.
Its defenders prepare for the onslaught. They're fewer in number and not perfect. But as one of them says, "God doesn't need a saint to pull off miracles—God can use whoever he likes."
They believe they'll win in the long run, even if they die. In the words of one: "I believe we can win because I believe in God, and with God, man is invincible…. I prefer that if I must die, then I die in the name of God."
Do the Church's defenders die? You'll have to read the book to find out. It contains too many characters and too much violence for my taste. However, I found A Pius Stand: A Global Thriller entertaining and thought-provoking. It's part of a trilogy by Declan Finn. The other two are A Pius Man: A Holy Thriller and A Pius Legacy: A Political Thriller.
October 12, 2021
What a finish! Sean is INSANE but boy, is he effective! It is also wonderful to know that even someone who has some difficulty with "Turn the other cheek" still can belong to the Church.
December 23, 2014
I loved this one. It's a final battle. And it gets real.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews