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Vatican Knights #2
Shepherd One
While traveling across the United States during the Papal Symposium, the papal plane, Shepherd One, is commandeered by a terrorist cell calling itself the Muslim Revolutionary Front. On board: a nuclear payload with half the yield that destroyed Hiroshima. Their demand to the U.S. government: assassinate the five leading principals of Mossad. While the American leadership is forced to follow through with a proposition that would cripple the intelligence network between the allies, Pope Pius XIII is not without his own weapon. On board Shepherd One is his personal valet, a man who is the leader of a clandestine op group of elite commandos known as the Vatican Knights. His mission: retake the plane and remove all hostile opposition. Using his very particular set of skills, Kimball Hayden must neutralize the situation before thousands of lives are lost, including that of Pope Pius XIII.
303 pages, ebook
First published November 20, 2012
126 people are currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Rick Jones
93 books194 followersRick Jones was born and raised in the Boston area and moved to Las Vegas in the early eighties where he graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a degree in English. Currently, he is employed with the state of Nevada in law enforcement, and enjoys traveling, especially to Rome and Vatican City where many of the settings for his novels take place.
Rick Jones is also an avid writer and the creator of the Vatican Knight series (VATICAN KNIGHTS, SHEPHERD ONE and The ISCARIOT AGENDA), and the psychological thriller, THE MAN WHO CAST TWO SHADOWS.
He lives in Las Vegas with his two mini schnauzers, Wrangler and Hobo.
Rick Jones is also an avid writer and the creator of the Vatican Knight series (VATICAN KNIGHTS, SHEPHERD ONE and The ISCARIOT AGENDA), and the psychological thriller, THE MAN WHO CAST TWO SHADOWS.
He lives in Las Vegas with his two mini schnauzers, Wrangler and Hobo.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 1, 2017
Ok read. A bit too much padding. Computer related stuff unreal.
It was not a bad read. There was too much padding like too many pages describing him drinking 6 shots of undisclosed alcohol in a dodgy joint. The worst thing is that on various occasions the hero finds a laptop and boots it without need of a password. Also, the plane was falling apart and bodies sucked out at 30000 feet. No mention of any oxigen mask needed. Some of the computer coding details were not making sense either. So this lack of attention to detail was a disappointment. Other than that still enjoyed reading it.
It was not a bad read. There was too much padding like too many pages describing him drinking 6 shots of undisclosed alcohol in a dodgy joint. The worst thing is that on various occasions the hero finds a laptop and boots it without need of a password. Also, the plane was falling apart and bodies sucked out at 30000 feet. No mention of any oxigen mask needed. Some of the computer coding details were not making sense either. So this lack of attention to detail was a disappointment. Other than that still enjoyed reading it.
August 6, 2022
A little bit lazy with the knife fight scenes in this book and the first. Almost word for word. The fight scene in the airplane: Rapid decompression and no masks falling from the ceiling? Up at 33,000 ft one would have about 10 seconds of UTC max-Useful Time of Consciousness. The amount of time your before cognitive/physical functions start to shut down. Speech, coordination, vision, decision making, etc. Beginning signs of hypoxia ending in unconsciousness. Multiple times the aircraft is described as a 787, but then described as having 4 engines. Totally unnecessary as more than likely (depending on weight), the 787 would be able to maintain more than 10,000ft even on 1 engine.
June 16, 2020
Action scenes
I enjoyed the book, although not as much as the first. The fight scene in the cargo bay was almost exactly the same as the fight scene in the first book ... right down to the description of the moves and wounds sustained. I hope that doesn't mean that the author is getting lazy.
I enjoyed the book, although not as much as the first. The fight scene in the cargo bay was almost exactly the same as the fight scene in the first book ... right down to the description of the moves and wounds sustained. I hope that doesn't mean that the author is getting lazy.
March 13, 2022
Die Reihe ist in meinen Augen wirklich super, das Buch setzt nach seinem Vorgänger an und zeigt gut wie die Geschichte um die Ritter weitergeht.
Leider hat eine der Hauptpersonen die wir im vorigen Buch kennengelernt haben, nämlich Shari Cohen keinerlei Bedeutung für diesen Teil.
Am Ende finde ich es richtig gut, auch die Handlung ist wieder einmal sehr sehr gut!
Leider hat eine der Hauptpersonen die wir im vorigen Buch kennengelernt haben, nämlich Shari Cohen keinerlei Bedeutung für diesen Teil.
Am Ende finde ich es richtig gut, auch die Handlung ist wieder einmal sehr sehr gut!
March 21, 2020
Although good the story was a bit smaller in scale and the action takes places over several hours. There is not as many characters involved in the story as the first book but still kept me interested and I will be reading #3.
September 28, 2022
This book is like the movie Speed except the Pope is Sandra Bullock. Interesting enough the Vatican Knghts are not the main focus of this book instead is the protagonist. The author could have made some other choices but chose not to play it safe which really made the plot work for me.
February 9, 2018
Easy reading, but has too much fill.
March 31, 2018
Good, fast paced read
Good fast pace read. Good action and believable plot. Jones' writing style is exellent, and well done. Will read the rest of the series.
Good fast pace read. Good action and believable plot. Jones' writing style is exellent, and well done. Will read the rest of the series.
Read
April 22, 2018another cracking book from this author this is the third from rick jones in my library and i have enjoyed every one
September 26, 2020
Peace be on to you
It was awesome story but it was to short that it felt like a firecracker going off and vanishing just has fast
It was awesome story but it was to short that it felt like a firecracker going off and vanishing just has fast
November 15, 2020
Great plot
Great story, slightly disfigured by a disturbing number of odd word choices which should have been caught during editing. But a great read nevertheless.
Great story, slightly disfigured by a disturbing number of odd word choices which should have been caught during editing. But a great read nevertheless.
July 31, 2021
Huh flying excitement
Intriguing and disturbing story of potential devastation in a grand scale. Makes you wonder what could possibly happen out there.
Intriguing and disturbing story of potential devastation in a grand scale. Makes you wonder what could possibly happen out there.
September 6, 2021
The second in the series. The pope, a plane hijacking, Muslim terrorists, and the usual mix. Not serious stuff, but wonderfully entertaining.
January 26, 2022
a great story
A spellbinder that keeps one reading to fin out “what happens next? “. Hard to lay this story down for any length of time.
A spellbinder that keeps one reading to fin out “what happens next? “. Hard to lay this story down for any length of time.
July 10, 2014
Book two of the Vatican Knights series was just as intense and exciting as the first book. Jones certainly has a gift for writing political/religious thrillers. Additionally, he is a pretty good writer making it even more enjoyable.
This book takes place almost totally on Shepherd One, the Pope's plane. Kimball Hayden needs to save the Pope by himself while taking out terrorists. The book moves very quickly, and once again the length seems like no big deal. While I started this book on 6/29 I read most of it in the last 48 hours.
I definitely recommend this series thus far. It has been so good that I went right to the Nook store and purchased book three which I intend to start as soon as I finish this review.
This book takes place almost totally on Shepherd One, the Pope's plane. Kimball Hayden needs to save the Pope by himself while taking out terrorists. The book moves very quickly, and once again the length seems like no big deal. While I started this book on 6/29 I read most of it in the last 48 hours.
I definitely recommend this series thus far. It has been so good that I went right to the Nook store and purchased book three which I intend to start as soon as I finish this review.
July 30, 2013
In Shepherd One, Kimball Hayden is once again called up to save Pope Pius XIII. The Pope is in the U.S. when Shepherd One, the Papal Plane, is taken hostage by a terrorist group known as the Muslim Revolutionary Front. They demand the killing of of five major Mossad Agents. The U.S. government is in a difficult situation..... they can't shoot down the Papal Plane and murder the Pope.... but they also don't want to assassinate Mossad agents as Israel is an allie in Middle East. To complicate matters, there are two nuclear weapons on board Shepherd One.
Great read.
Great read.
November 7, 2014
After reading the first book, I immediately picked up this one.
I liked the pace of the story itself, though I liked the character dynamics
in the first story better.
For me this is one of those titles / series that I love to read as an in-between
book. Overall story is nice, details are good / sufficient. Though there is nothing
exceptional about this book, it's still good for an entertaining read.
I liked the pace of the story itself, though I liked the character dynamics
in the first story better.
For me this is one of those titles / series that I love to read as an in-between
book. Overall story is nice, details are good / sufficient. Though there is nothing
exceptional about this book, it's still good for an entertaining read.
September 20, 2015
Not as great as the 1st book...
I was disappointed that many of the character descriptions were directly lifted from the first book. I was also extremely disappointed by the number of typos in this book. With that being said, I do really like Father Kimball's character and like the relationship he has with the Pope. I would like to see more development of the Vatican Knights & Father Kimball.
I was disappointed that many of the character descriptions were directly lifted from the first book. I was also extremely disappointed by the number of typos in this book. With that being said, I do really like Father Kimball's character and like the relationship he has with the Pope. I would like to see more development of the Vatican Knights & Father Kimball.
August 25, 2015
A good story overall. I am not sure if Rick Jone is considered a "Christian" genre writer or not, but I enjoy the lack of profanity in his books. There were some technical parts of the Boeing 787 and aviation in the book that could have been researched better though it was easy to read past them and move on.
July 19, 2015
Rick Jones
Master storyteller. Without a doubt a series worth the money. The thrill of the ride and the energy by which Jones tells the story is absolutely brilliant. On to book three!......
Master storyteller. Without a doubt a series worth the money. The thrill of the ride and the energy by which Jones tells the story is absolutely brilliant. On to book three!......
November 2, 2015
Fast moving action. The Pope riding on Shepherd One is at risk when terrorist bring a nuclear payload on board. Kimball Hayden, leader of the Vatican Knights must find a way to save the day. Good fast read. Second in the series "Vatican Knights".
June 20, 2016
Reads like a cross between Passenger 57 and 24. I really like the Vatican Knights and was thrilled when Leviticus and the rest of the Knights were brought in on a parallel mission to aid Kimball. Well played and well written.
January 1, 2017
An excellent book well worth your time
This book has great action and believable character development. I really enjoyed the book from beginning to end and look forward to reading more in this series.
This book has great action and believable character development. I really enjoyed the book from beginning to end and look forward to reading more in this series.
May 15, 2014
The second in the series was as good as the first. Really enjoy the character flaws that the main character faces.
October 21, 2016
Another wild read
Another wild read with twists and turns and no idea what is going to happen! Heading for number 3 and I can't wait!!
Another wild read with twists and turns and no idea what is going to happen! Heading for number 3 and I can't wait!!
November 12, 2016
A very good and entertaining novel. I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend it to everyone.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews