Кръвта на агнеца

by Thomas F. Monteleone, Томас Монтелеоне, Юлия Чернева (Translator)

Питър Каренца - красив, чаровен свещеник, открива на трийсетия си рожден ден, че притежава чудотворна дарба - може с лекота да лекува и ...убива.
Преминава невредим през огън, с лекота се справя с престъпници и изправя на крака безнадеждно болни. Призован във Ватикана от тайна групировка, Питър узнава, че силата, с която е надарен, не е просто дар от Бога, а реализация на научен експеримент, вдъхновен от видения и пророчества...

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Drama, Suspense

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Nad Gandia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es una novela entretenida, eso no lo voy a negar. De todas formas, los personajes me han parecido bastante estereotipados y partiendo de una buena premisa termina por desinflarse irremediablemente.
Consulté la lista de novelas premiadas en los premios Stoker y esta novela figura entre ellas. Voy a seguir leyendo las novelas premiadas a ver que tal va.

[Kevin Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO GOOD. Took me too long to read this, been sitting on my shelf for awhile. And I've got the sequel, too, so it will NOT be long before I hit that one...

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonably entertaining horror novel in a similar vein to The Omen and suchlike. It’s daft but fun. If the ending had been more satisfying I’d’ve probably rated it higher.

P.S. It’s been some years since I read the Bible but I don’t remember Jesus being able to shoot lightning from his fingers… Perhaps he could but never felt the need…

[Badseedgirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blood of the Lamb by Thomas Monteleone was the 1992 winner of the Horror Writer's Association Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement. The first thing to note is that this story continues in The Reckoning which I have not yet read. It is quite clear from the ending of Blood of The Lamb that the story would be continuing in another volume.

“The End Times.” That is what this story is about. And not just end times, but Christian biblical end times. A person does not have to be educated in biblical studies or have a strong foundation in Christian study to enjoy this book, but it would help. Most people, even non-Christians have a basic understanding of the Christian end of the world mythos.

Mr. Monteleone has a background in Catholic Jesuit studies, and this is reflected very heavily in the novel. The Jesuit order, or the Society of Jesus is known as a sect that embraces science. It is not inconceivable that they would use this pursuit of knowledge to try and bring about the second coming of Jesus.

Obviously, there is a strong religious element to this book, but do not mistake it for The Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. (Please note that I HAVE NOT linked this book series or these authors. I refuse to give them even a little free publicity for the abomination of the genre of literature that is this series!) There is a lot of questioning of religions and Christianity in Blood of the Lamb with out the sanctimonious claptrap found in Left Behind.

But beyond the surface supernatural apocalyptic aspects, this book makes commentary on organized religion, the cult of personality, The press and the 24-hour news cycle, and the idea of power corrupting. Peter was a good person before he started manifesting his power. Although I think it is important to note that the first manifestation we are introduced to is when he kills a man trying to mug him. So even this first bit of power was used to destroy not create. I can’t help but think this leans into the idea of original sin of man. Although it could always be that only an event of extreme stress would have caused his power to manifest, thus defending oneself from being murdered would be justified and not really an act of evil in spite of it being violent.

I have always been interested in religious study and attended a religious college, where we were required to take a religious study course each semester as well as the integration of religious spirituality in each course we took. So combining two topics I enjoy, religious study and horror, makes for an easy book to enjoy. I like the questioning nature of the story. I like that characters do terrible things in the pursuit of the truth and right as they see it. I like it when bad people make good decisions. There is just so much grey in this novel in both action and motivation. I believe The Reckoning will be in my future.

And as a plus, I get to mark another Bram Stoker winner off my list!

And remember, Lazarus was the first zombie!

[Ignacio Senao f · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lo que pudo ser con semejante idea... Un sacerdote que es la reencarnación de Jesús y tiene superpoderes. Tras un espectacular comienzo en el que descubre super poderes se vuelve en una novela monota que se basa en discutir con altos religiosos de cómo ha llegado a eso.

[Luke Castleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Father Carenza, a charismatic Catholic priest living in New York, is suddenly thrown into the limelight after latent miracle working capabilities manifest during a mugging in a dark alley; the Vatican is quick to pounce, and the good father's true origin and history reveal a dark conspiracy to bring about the end of days. Aided by the beautiful, brilliant reporter Marion Windsor, he flees to the Midwest, and the faithful flock to his side. What should become of someone with pure motives when presented with divine power? What should become of the world?

I hesitate to condense the plot too much, but essentially, this is Catholic Jurassic Park minus dinosaurs; the fear and fascination with cloning really swept the globe in the 90's, and it shows. The science itself makes very few, if any, appearances, and all the details are conveniently swept under the rug; the reader is dropped into the story well after the characters are past the "Can We?" phase, and well into the "Should We Have?" The scientific portion nicely wrapped up, the book mainly concerns itself with the theological ramifications of what transpires; explanations fall flat here as well, as nobody brings anything remotely biblical to the table. Not to be someone that demands that a story be perfectly logically sound, but a little plausibility goes a long way, and there is little to be found.

This was a difficult read, and not for any reasons you might suspect; the prose is not noteworthy, the characters become cardboard cutouts after just a few chapters, and the realization of the initial premise lacks any interesting development beyond a base hope that something, anything interesting will occur. No, this book was hard to get through due to broken promises: the premise, when you get right down to it, is an absolute barnburner, and the reader goes in without any thought that Monteleone will muck this up. Unfortunately, he does. What follow the initial promising beginning are tedium disguised as thrill, infatuation disguised as romance, and bizarre character shifts without any foreshadowing or repercussion.

The writer is competent, and with more scenes set in the Vatican, less shoe-horned romantic tension, and more honest character reactions, this could have been something rave-worthy, especially since Monteleone seems quite sincere and knowledgeable about church politics and history; however, as it stands, there simply is not enough of merit here to recommend The Blood of the Lamb.

3/5 purely for the premise alone, but 2.5/5 for everything else

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing premise. Fascinating characters. Twisting plot. But what I loved most about THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB was the way Thomas F. Monteleone kept me questioning. The moment I felt comfortable in my assumptions about characters, religion, or even where the story was going, he'd shake them up and raise another set of possibilities. If you prefer uncomfortable shades of gray to simple black and white (As I do!), this is the book for you!

[Димитър Цолов · Rating 3 out of 5]

За тази книга разбрах съвсем случайно, когато преди няколко седмици, покрай излизането на Рибарят седнах да проверя колко от романите победители и номинирани за наградата за хорър литература Брам Стокър са издадени на български. Кръвта на агнеца, призьор от 1991, е откриваем на съвсем достъпни цени в антикварните онлайн платформи, а също така може да се свали свободно и от Моята библиотека. Но това като че ли е единственото хубаво нещо, което мога да кажа за произведението на Томас Ф. Монтелеоне. Безспорно мащабен замисъл и фабула, завъртяна около Второто пришествие, удавени в твърде плоско и схематично повествование. Герои, излезли като от калъп, с толкова праволинейно и предвидимо поведение, че редките случаи, в които им се налагаше да вземат някакво по-съдбовно решение, стояха като пришити сюжетни кръпки...

[Edward Champion · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas Monteleone is not a very good prose writer. He has a knack for momentum, but then anyone who can spin a decent yarn can hone that skill. What he does have is a bold imagination, which is what sustains the first half of this novel so well. I mean, who wouldn't want to get on board for a tale about a priest who may be the second coming of Christ and a church that wants to clone him? Throw in Marion Windsor, an ambitious journalist (who regrettably becomes one-dimensional due to Monteleone's lack of understanding about women). And I thought I was in for a page-turning pisstake on organized religion and media. But, no, Monteleone capitulates the thoughtful possibilities within his premise in the second half, opting for the page-turning formula that presumably has kept his career afloat for so many years. I was truly rooting for this book -- even willing to overlook Monteleone's poor sentences -- because I loved the premise. But in the end, Monteleone really doesn't have what it takes to write anything but an engaging potboiler.

[MontiLee Stormer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. And I like Thomas Monteleone, but this booj left me a little empty. i think it was the idea that the Church would be so short-sighted (repeatedly) as to not head the warnings of the mother of their new Christ, . It would be like ignoring thr prophecies of Mother Theresa, had she only conveyed them to the Holy Father.

Watching Peter change from a man of God to a man of Power wasn't so much unsettling as it was extreme. We have a man who all of his life has done wonderful things in the name of his ministry and suddenly he becomes dark and bitter and dangerous. It seemed very quick with him suddenly embodying emotions and feelings his character hadn't experienced before. Perhaps I'm not keen on human nature, but I would have thought a person who's done npthing but good would question why he was suddenly suck a dick.

I liked the pacing of this book and Monteleone had his finger on how the public would initially react to the idea of a return of Christ, as well as how tele-evangelists would feel should they discover their empires suddenly dissolving. I just didn't buy the actions of the inner circle, and expewcially of Peter, himself.

I've considered picking up the subsequent sequels, but i haven't brought myself to do it yet.

[Kostandin Pajcini · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Religious techno thriller made for Y2K"

Monteleone does a better job that most to provide a very grounded concept for the setting: The Shroud of Turin provides a sample of genetic material for the cloning of Jesus by a very unethical cabal of high-ranking Vatican cardinals and prelates. The story jumps around and is relatively quick paced. The writing is mostly straightforward but there are some nuanced scenes where real talent shines through. I do not think that any of the characters, including Peter (the clone) or even Marion, are well developed; though to be fair, given the mysterious nature of the plot, to truly delve into the psyche of any character would spoil the climax. I enjoyed reading the novel but I had some serious issues with the gaps in plot development and the complete lack of acknowledgement of the religious implications of what was being attempted. The author totally bypasses the role of faith and the divine and just harps on the human genetics and pseudo-scientific implications of cloning Jesus. Also, if I was a protestant evangelist, I would be seriously ticked off by the author’s heavy-handed bias.

I am not sure how many others have previously written contemporary sci-fi based on the concept of cloning famous individuals, but with respect to Jesus, the only other writer I know who wrote on this subject is James Beauseigneur in 2013, who in retrospect seems to “borrow” many elements from Blood of the Lamb. Where Monteleone excels is in neglecting to delve too deep on the science, which admittedly is on very shaky ground as it pertains to cloning a viable human in the mid-1960s from a century-old blood sample. Instead, the author emphasizes the mystery behind this tantalizing “what if” scenario. Can an unethical and sacrilegious act based on the general basis of “good intentions” bring about the Second Coming? Better yet, is the human DNA of Christ (the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin is “nicely” worked around in a hand-waving explanation) enough to fully transubstantiate the Savior in body and soul? It seems silly when asked in this manner, but because the early portion of the story is told through the eyes of Peter you cannot be sure of where it is going. And that’s a good thing in this case. There are miracles and action scenes aplenty as well as a journey of proselytizing across the Midwest. There is also a grand and disturbing finale that nicely sets up the stage for a sequel. Overall this was an entertaining if somewhat flippant take on the subject of how bad science and even worse religion can truly go awry, though I did wonder why the cardinal and priests responsible for making Peter had not carefully read the Book of Revelation prior to attempting to clone Jesus.

After finishing the book, I looked at the publication date and most of what I had just read made a lot of sense. In 1992, with the coming of the millennium anything was possible and there was plenty of debate over the religious (mostly Christian) implications of what it would mean once the clock struck midnight on Dec 31 1999. There were many films in the late 90s like The Devil's Advocate and End of Days that really tried to capture a bit of the supposed (or actual) religious hysteria associated with the new millennium. Growing up during this time, I always found the concept of assigning a “new millennium” classification based on what we know is not the most accurate calendar to be silly, but enough people believed it and the Y2K computer scare was sufficient to add some credence to these ideas. So, if nothing else, Blood of the Lamb was very topical for its time.

[Jaime · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thomas Leone is a Jesuit-educated man who does not hide his disdain for the Catholic faith. His novel about cloning Jesus Christ is quite offensive. I first read it in 1993 and again in 2001. Monteleone's use of genetic cloning was a bow to Ira Levin's thriller, "Boys From Brazil." Monteleone shamelessly employs a mocking attitude about the Catholic Church and a sinister shadowy internal Vatican conspiracy found in novels like Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code." This thriller has a horror element to it that ties into the last few years of the 20th century. Like many who were educated by the radical Jesuits of recent times, Monteleone has Jesuits playing major roles in his dark conspiracy novel tied to genetic cloning in the 1960s. His main character, Father Peter Carenza is a 30ish-year old Brooklyn parish priest who awakes one day to find he possesses unearthly powers, Fr. Carenza. After he is assigned to the Vatican, he discovers his background and experiences an emotional breakdown. While this novel is well-written, its plot is heretical and not positive nor respectful of the Catholic faith or Jesus Christ. There are strains of Ira Levin's "Rosemary's Baby" evident coupled with a man-engineered attempt to affect biblical prophecy and the return of Jesus Christ. Honestly, Monteleone's story is a slam against the Catholic faith. He fills his novel with unsavory, amoral and immoral characters who lack faith. The introduction of a love interest has echoes of Martin Scorcese's slanderous film, "The Last Temptation of Christ." Fr. Caremza is presented as a troubled man with 'special' talents that make him the subject of pursuit. He is definitely an anti-hero whose existence is seen and a threat which must be controlled or extinguished. His identity is unclear because he never should have been. While "The Blood of the Lamb (1992) –did win the Bram Stoker Award of 1992, I cannot recommend it for faith and moral reasons.

[John Bruni · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's kind of funny. I wrote a book called And Jesus Came Back. The Blood of the Lamb influenced me, and I didn't even read it until now. I read a legion of books that clearly wouldn't have happened without this book. As a result, I was a few steps ahead on a lot of the plot twists . . . except for the last one at the end of the book. That shocked and disturbed me, which is very difficult to do. I'm glad that I'm reading the sequel, The Reckoning next. There's only one thing. My favorite character dies near the end. It's gonna be a shame not having this character around for the rest of the story.

[Cammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tsk, tsk Father Peter is the Anti-christ 😱, oh my goodness the Catholic Chruch is responsible for the world's eternal damnation 😨 Why would the Triumvirate of the Holy Shroud sect do such an experiment without knowing for certain whose blood is on the Shroud of Turin. Ahh such a faithful lot in a hurry to bring about the apocalypse...er, an era of paradise. I found the whole story reviting, funny but not frightening. I had read it as a teen and was scared for a month, it reminded me too much of the Omen sans the shroud etc but still the psychological ordeal was too much for my overactive imagination back. I slept with the lights on, of course, after my parents went to bed.

[Nathan Lang · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was surprised this was a Bram Stoker Award winner. I thought it was boring and slow and there was no real suspense once the main location moved to the U.S.

Also, without giving away any spoilers, I didn't buy the intersection of science and theology at all. The linkages between physical and spirit were never explored.

I guess there's a sequel? Maybe that one gets into it. I'll never know, I won't be picking it up.

[Marsha Valance · Rating 3 out of 5]

In an apocalyptic cliffhanger, Jesuit Father Peter Carenza learns that his extraordinary and apparently miraculous powers to both heal and kill are the result of a Vatican-orchestrated scientific project to create the next Messiah. He becomes the center of religious turmoil as he begins his own journey across America in a bitter battle with organized religion. Bram Stoker Award, 1992.

[Edward Spangler]

I read this book several years ago. It was a non-stop, hair raising read for me. The author pulled me in. I couldn't put it down. If you are a fan of horror and action, pick this one up. You won't be sorry.

[Linda Obregón · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, love the mix of religion, history and mistery.

[Víctor Andrade · Rating 2 out of 5]

¿Hasta donde puede llegar la religión? Hay una línea muy delgada entre una bendición y una maldición, el poder corrompe, pero el poder divino puede arrastrarte a la locura

[Loren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Outrageous premise. Ridiculous plot. In a weird way, outstanding. Would not recommend.

[Donald Trump · Rating 2 out of 5]

Low Energy!
** 2 Stars.

[José Manuel · Rating 2 out of 5]

El libro es una precuela de "El Dia del Juicio" y si bien busca mostrar la transformación de Peter Carenza, la forma en que lo hace suele ser muy lenta y a la vez muy confusa, tiene saltos temporales muy raros y a veces la inclusión de personajes en la historia suele ser muy confusa.

Es una buena forma de conocer que pasaría si, sin embargo el misticismo alrededor de la iglesia no se logra de una manera atrapante.

[Nick · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book won the Horror Writer's of America "best novel" award for 1992. I'm not sure why. Perhaps the themes were new and exciting then, and the approach of the Millenium gave rise to theological fears which this book developed in an original manner. Today, this book reminds one of The Da Vinci Code in its use of nefarious Catholic organizations, wild chases by our innocent (or not so innocent) heroes due to supernatural or science-fiction inspired reasons, and the general ambience of mystic phrophecies beginning to come true. In a current novel-reading challenge "Blood of the Lamb" counted as my mystery/thriller selection -- though it's much more on the thriller side, and actually could be considered horror or science fiction. There are some grusome torture scenes, the felt-life of which I suppose makes this well-written, even if quite uncomfortable. And the "sci-fi" involving the Shroud of Turin is fairly well explained. But all in all, as a read, it was just "okay."

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a concept. Cloning the blood from the Shroud of Turin. For those who don't know,this is supposedly the shroud used to cover Jesus Christ after he was crucified.
This is a very engrossing and disturbing story with a great ending.

[Caryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Spoilers**
I agree - meh...as soon as I read that he was cloned from blood on the Shroud of Turin, I lost interest. It was a good, fast-paced suspense/mystery up until then...I guess I just didn't buy it...and the fact that the church would have thought it was a good idea...again, meh.

[Lynn Orser · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is difficult to categorize this book. I originally thought of horror but that did not seem correct. This is a very interesting book and if you know your religion it is fascinating to consider where the author is going and the outcome of the story. Enjoy.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know that I at least somewhat liked this book, but it took me so long to read it that I am left wondering just how much I really liked after all.

[Richard Mulholland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great premise, well written. Shit non-ending.

[Alejandro · Rating 1 out of 5]

basura literaria

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storyline. I like a more definite ending.