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The Mythmakers Trilogy #3
Bone Keepers
It is Rome, 1943. The war in Europe is at a tipping point, but the direction in which it will tip is terrifyingly unclear. For either side, one dramatic initiative could change everything. It is under these conditions that the Nazis discover a secret that has been maintained for nearly two millennia – that the bones of Christ have been guarded in a cave in Italy by a small, secret group. If the bones can be uncovered, Hitler will be able to use them to topple Christianity and turn the war irreversibly in his favor. The clues to the location of the bones or the people protecting them are scarce. MI-6 agent Ian Fleming and scholar J.R.R. Tolkien – working in tandem once again at the behest of the British government – must spearhead a hastily assembled team, including an alluring prostitute, to piece them together before the Nazis can turn humanity on its head. The conclusion of the stunning trilogy that began with the national bestseller NO DAWN FOR MEN and continued with GOD'S FORMULA, THE BONE KEEPERS is literary entertainment of the first order.
276 pages, Paperback
Published April 5, 2016
15 people want to read
About the author
James LePore
22 books52 followersI write what I like to read: novels and short stories with compelling, fast moving plots, in exotic venues, populated by flawed characters who, finding themselves caught up in situations of extraordinary stress and danger, are forced to face their own demons in order to prevail. The world is full of extremes: terrorism and the courage to fight it, love and hate, lust and tenderness, corruption and redemption, honor and revenge. You will find them all in my work.
I also like to take pictures and to write very short fiction and an occasional poem. All three are combined in my book of flash fiction: Blood, Light and Time: Project 52/2015.
I also like to take pictures and to write very short fiction and an occasional poem. All three are combined in my book of flash fiction: Blood, Light and Time: Project 52/2015.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 5, 2016
The Bone Keepers is book three in a historical conspiracy thriller trilogy. There are no cliffhangers, so one can read each book and get a very satisfying story with each one, independent of the others. Like many books in this genre, sometimes called the "Dan Brown" genre, the Catholic church plays a central role, as do long held secrets.
The story moves through time to recount the backstory to the main story that unfolds in and around Rome, Italy, in the year 1943. The reader visits Judea in AD 13 and 60, Italy in the 1930s and then the 1950s, Galilee in the year 33, and Oxford, England, in 1943. England is where the searchers of the secrets, two British spies, are recruited for their assignment. In this trilogy, the spies are fictionalized versions of real people: spies and later authors Ian Fleming and Tolkien.
The books in the Mythmakers Trilogy are:
No Dawn for Men
God's Formula
The Bone Keepers
Who was a bone keeper? The reader learns that a bone keeper in the ancient world was someone who arranged a burial, then later collected the deceased's bones and put them in an ossuary, a bone box, inscribed with the person's name and family name. The ossuary was then usually stored by the family. I'm not giving anything away that isn't in the book's spoiler description, when I can say that the bone keepers of the title, are hereditary keepers of the bones of the Christ.
Yes, Christ rose from the dead, and doubting Thomas felt the proof that resurrected Jesus included his bones. And the women by the tomb of Christ, that was borrowed from Joseph of Aramathea, attested to the fact that the resurrected Christ left nothing behind in the tomb. That means that the religious grounding of the book could be considered blasphemy by some, or just a bit weak by others. Most readers of these books, however, read them with a wink and a nod, forgiving those things in the name of entertainment.
The authors have done their research on the real people who are the inspiration for their fictionalized spies, Tolkien and Fleming. They use the truth to bring entertaining verisimilitude to the fiction. They also use the men's fiction to add familiar elements to The Bone Keepers relating to the two men.
There are sexual scenes in the book, which is for adult readers. The female character reads at times realistically, but also at times she stretched my credulity as a female reader. The writing is fluid, and the editing is well done.
There is much invention and entertaining suspense in the book, which will surely please lovers of this genre. The use of Tolkien and Fleming as characters in the book(s) is something that fans of those men's fiction might enjoy.
The authors provide a satisfying ending to this spy, buddy adventure, romance and religious story, all wrapped up in the historical conspiracy genre. I received a review-copy of the book. This is my honest review. For the full and illustrated review, please visit Italophile Book Reviews. http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...
The story moves through time to recount the backstory to the main story that unfolds in and around Rome, Italy, in the year 1943. The reader visits Judea in AD 13 and 60, Italy in the 1930s and then the 1950s, Galilee in the year 33, and Oxford, England, in 1943. England is where the searchers of the secrets, two British spies, are recruited for their assignment. In this trilogy, the spies are fictionalized versions of real people: spies and later authors Ian Fleming and Tolkien.
The books in the Mythmakers Trilogy are:
No Dawn for Men
God's Formula
The Bone Keepers
Who was a bone keeper? The reader learns that a bone keeper in the ancient world was someone who arranged a burial, then later collected the deceased's bones and put them in an ossuary, a bone box, inscribed with the person's name and family name. The ossuary was then usually stored by the family. I'm not giving anything away that isn't in the book's spoiler description, when I can say that the bone keepers of the title, are hereditary keepers of the bones of the Christ.
Yes, Christ rose from the dead, and doubting Thomas felt the proof that resurrected Jesus included his bones. And the women by the tomb of Christ, that was borrowed from Joseph of Aramathea, attested to the fact that the resurrected Christ left nothing behind in the tomb. That means that the religious grounding of the book could be considered blasphemy by some, or just a bit weak by others. Most readers of these books, however, read them with a wink and a nod, forgiving those things in the name of entertainment.
The authors have done their research on the real people who are the inspiration for their fictionalized spies, Tolkien and Fleming. They use the truth to bring entertaining verisimilitude to the fiction. They also use the men's fiction to add familiar elements to The Bone Keepers relating to the two men.
There are sexual scenes in the book, which is for adult readers. The female character reads at times realistically, but also at times she stretched my credulity as a female reader. The writing is fluid, and the editing is well done.
There is much invention and entertaining suspense in the book, which will surely please lovers of this genre. The use of Tolkien and Fleming as characters in the book(s) is something that fans of those men's fiction might enjoy.
The authors provide a satisfying ending to this spy, buddy adventure, romance and religious story, all wrapped up in the historical conspiracy genre. I received a review-copy of the book. This is my honest review. For the full and illustrated review, please visit Italophile Book Reviews. http://italophilebookreviews.blogspot...
July 13, 2016
This book takes you on a fast paced spy adventure where everyone is frantically searching for a “secret” that could possibly change the outcome of World War II. The story begins highlighting two different centuries while creating a foundation of characters and plot lines for the story, and then delves into the beginnings of the German invasion of Italy to save Mussolini during World War II in the later sections of the book.
The Catholic Church has a “secret” that it must keep the British and Germans from finding. This “secret” is sought by all three factions for various reasons – the Germans want to use it to discredit the Church and its teachings, the British want it in order to control the Church, and the Church wants to retain control of it and rebury the secret deep within the walls of the Vatican. The British government sent two spies – Ian Fleming and John R. Tolkien – to track down the secret and keep it safe. They embark on a quickly devolving trip where they must deal with money hungry communists, German generals and troops, and firing squads as they hunt for their prize.
I enjoyed the story that the authors wove and found myself eagerly looking forward to the next chapter. They created suspense and built the pitch of the story to encourage you to keep reading to find out what would happen next. It was a great read!
Note: Yes the names of the two British spies are the ones that you think they are! I wasn’t sure that it was intentional until about half way through the story when the two characters discuss Tolkien’s writings about elves and dwarves.
The Catholic Church has a “secret” that it must keep the British and Germans from finding. This “secret” is sought by all three factions for various reasons – the Germans want to use it to discredit the Church and its teachings, the British want it in order to control the Church, and the Church wants to retain control of it and rebury the secret deep within the walls of the Vatican. The British government sent two spies – Ian Fleming and John R. Tolkien – to track down the secret and keep it safe. They embark on a quickly devolving trip where they must deal with money hungry communists, German generals and troops, and firing squads as they hunt for their prize.
I enjoyed the story that the authors wove and found myself eagerly looking forward to the next chapter. They created suspense and built the pitch of the story to encourage you to keep reading to find out what would happen next. It was a great read!
Note: Yes the names of the two British spies are the ones that you think they are! I wasn’t sure that it was intentional until about half way through the story when the two characters discuss Tolkien’s writings about elves and dwarves.
May 27, 2016
The Catholic Church has many secrets, and this one has been kept for hundreds of years. Will it stay protected with the family who has been charged with its safety since the time of Christ? Or will it be sold to the Nazis by any one of several enterprising individuals? Follow John Tolkein and Ian Fleming before they were household names, and perhaps discover some of their inspirations behind their famous characters, as their WW2 espionage exploits take them on their fated journey.
Although this is the third in the Mythmakers trilogy it was actually the first one I read, and it works well as a stand alone book. It is styled as a historical thriller, weaving fictional characters into real events, and probably fictionalized real characters, which was my impressions of Tolkein and Fleming. The author wove (not particularly subtle) allusions to Tolkein and Fleming’s famous characters and plots throughout the story, which I admit made me roll my eyes a couple of times. While I would not discount espionage as a possibility for either man, I thought it was stretching it, particularly for Tolkein, who was recruited as a possible codebreaker during the war, rather than as a spy. Still it is an engaging and fun read, and for anyone who enjoys historical thrillers this series is a good pickup.
Although this is the third in the Mythmakers trilogy it was actually the first one I read, and it works well as a stand alone book. It is styled as a historical thriller, weaving fictional characters into real events, and probably fictionalized real characters, which was my impressions of Tolkein and Fleming. The author wove (not particularly subtle) allusions to Tolkein and Fleming’s famous characters and plots throughout the story, which I admit made me roll my eyes a couple of times. While I would not discount espionage as a possibility for either man, I thought it was stretching it, particularly for Tolkein, who was recruited as a possible codebreaker during the war, rather than as a spy. Still it is an engaging and fun read, and for anyone who enjoys historical thrillers this series is a good pickup.
July 8, 2016
James LePore and Carlos Davis bring their "The Mythmakers Trilogy" to a close with a bang in The Bone Keepers. We are following the final adventure of Ian Fleming and J.R.R. Tolkien as they are working once more for the British government to put together a group to recover the bones of Christ in Italy before the Nazis are able to uncover them and use them to end all opposition from the Allies.
Truly a grand follow up to No Dawn For Men and Gods Formula, this is a novel that you'll wish doesn't have to come to an end as it will be the last chapter in a wild ride of an alternate world set during World War 2. The best part is that once you hit the final chapter there is a twist that no one is going to see coming and not just change everything but have all of the building blocks they've laid throughout the books finish building for a grand and satisfying finale.
If you love alternate histories with unique premises then you'll love checking out the full Mythmakers trilogy and honestly, The Bone Keepers really ends things on a high note. I was fully surprised with how well I loved seeing the series come together as through the majority of the last book I did not see that ending coming.
Truly a grand follow up to No Dawn For Men and Gods Formula, this is a novel that you'll wish doesn't have to come to an end as it will be the last chapter in a wild ride of an alternate world set during World War 2. The best part is that once you hit the final chapter there is a twist that no one is going to see coming and not just change everything but have all of the building blocks they've laid throughout the books finish building for a grand and satisfying finale.
If you love alternate histories with unique premises then you'll love checking out the full Mythmakers trilogy and honestly, The Bone Keepers really ends things on a high note. I was fully surprised with how well I loved seeing the series come together as through the majority of the last book I did not see that ending coming.
April 26, 2016
J.R.R. Tolkien and Ian Fleming find themselves in the midst of danger once again with this installment of The Mythmakers Trilogy. The dynamic duo is on the hunt for the relics of Christ, determined to find them before Hitler can use the evidence to discredit Christianity, destroy the Church’s standing, and push Nazi Germany’s agenda onto the rest of the world.
As always, a vivid cast of characters appears throughout their quest, heightening the tension and raising the stakes of these “suicide missions” even higher. Existential crises, philosophical dilemmas, political ramifications, and religious doubts plague Tolkien, Fleming, and the others as they try to avert disaster, leading to a fitting conclusion for this extraordinary tale!
As always, a vivid cast of characters appears throughout their quest, heightening the tension and raising the stakes of these “suicide missions” even higher. Existential crises, philosophical dilemmas, political ramifications, and religious doubts plague Tolkien, Fleming, and the others as they try to avert disaster, leading to a fitting conclusion for this extraordinary tale!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews