The Fallen

The Testament Series #2

by Eric Van Lustbader

A new, pulse-pounding thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of the Jason Bourne series and The Testament.

The End of Days has been predicted for the last two thousand years. Now, without warning, it is upon us. In a hidden cave in the mountains of Lebanon, a man makes a fateful discovery. He will bring what has been forbidden for thousands of years out of the darkness and into the light: the Testament of Lucifer.

In Istanbul, Bravo Shaw, head of the Gnostic Observatine sect, is warned by Fra Leoni of the war between Good and Evil, waged to a standstill since time immemorial. Now an unfathomable danger has arisen: Lucifer’s advance guard, the Fallen. Humankind is in danger of being enslaved by the forces of evil.

Bravo, Fra Leoni, and Bravo’s blind, brilliant sister, Emma, are the first and last line of defense against the chaos unleashed by the Testament of Lucifer. All roads lead to the Book of Deathly Things: the Testament of Lucifer. But if Bravo and Emma become privy to its dreadful secrets they very might well forfeit far more than just their lives.

In the sequel to his internationally bestselling The Testament, Lustbader delivers a new trilogy that explores religion, politics, and civilization, that plumbs the depths of morality, that, finally, asks us to consider what it really means to be human.

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural, Historical Fiction, Action

352 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2017

About the author

Eric Van Lustbader was born and raised in Greenwich Village. He is the author of more than twenty-five best-selling novels, including The Ninja, in which he introduced Nicholas Linnear, one of modern fiction's most beloved and enduring heroes. The Ninja was sold to 20th CenturyFox, to be made into a major motion picture. His novels have been translated into over twenty languages.

Mr. Lustbader is a graduate of Columbia College, with a degree in Sociology. Before turning to writing full time, he enjoyed highly successful careers in the New York City public school system, where he holds licenses in both elementary and early childhood education, and in the music business, where he worked for Elektra Records and CBS Records, among other companies.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/ericva...

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

i enjoyed #1 un Bravo Shaw, the Testament enough to read it twice. while parts of this one lived up to that enjoyment overall the followup title didn't resonate with me.

[John Bastin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm 58% into this book and I just can't finish it. The story is getting more bizarre the farther I go, and as people get captured and taken over I can't keep track of who is on whose side and even what part of the world a person is in, today. They're being taken over in Istanbul and two chapters later they're in Lebanon with no travel time or explanation involved.

This book may be meaningful to some people but I guess I'm just not part of the target group.

[Ron Gilmette]

I'm going to take a break from this book. Eric needs to get back to the pace he had with The Ninja, Black Heart, and The Miko.

[Michael Rumney · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mess of a book where it was hard to work out what was going on, various motivations of characters and their relationship to one another.
I couldn't even sum up the plot in a couple of lines it was that bad. The writing was repetitive and the thing that finally tipped me over the edge was and I'm paraphrasing was, 'He's not my real father but my birth father.'
What on earth is a birth father?
1 star firmly attached.

[Cssekar Uspl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

Good thing I I don't like it when it I just don't can't see how the people are I know it

[Richard Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

What will the end of mankind be - what indeed? This book imagines "the devil" reclaiming God's creatures for himself with elaborate scared texts and religious structures in place for that very task.
However, there is always "good" to interrupt the best laid plans for mice and devils. A very good character driven story with suspense above all.

[Ron · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. Got thru 1/2 of it - I finish 99.9% of the books I start, but it couldn't keep my interest.

[Jim · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s rare that I fail to finish a book, but gave up on this about ¾ of the way through. Was tempted earlier. Finally was unable to suspend disbelief any further.

[John Purvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Fallen” eBook was published in 2017 and was written by Eric Van Lustbader (https://www.ericvanlustbader.com). Mr. Lustbader has published more than 45 novels. This is the second in his “The Testament” series.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in Europe with the primary character being Braverman “Bravo” Shaw, head of the Gnostic Observatine sect.

A series of events take place that seem to herald the End of Days. A man finds the long hidden Testament of Lucifer in a remote Lebanese cave. Shaw, along with his blind sister, Emma, and Fra Leoni begin the chase to retrieve the Testament and stop the End of Days.

I enjoyed the nearly 11 hours I spent reading this 352 page Paranormal Thriller. I have been a long time fan of Van Lustbader, but this novel seemed to fall short for me. It felt a little “raw’, in the need of “polishing”. While the second in a series, this novel stood well on its own. The cover art is OK, but doesn’t really give a feel for the story. I give this novel a 3.8 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

[Monsieurh · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first this would not be on my reading list of espionage thrillers. But Mr.
Van Lustbader has created a story of an incredible secret global race between two secret societies and an extremely powerful villainous third group. The public and the Vatican do not seem to publicly acknowledge the existence of any of these three dangers.
Braverman Shaw is the central hero of this thriller. He is the recognized head of the Gnostic Observatine sect, and he is warned by Fra Leoni of the inevitable holy war between Good and Evil. The race is also on for the discovery of the Book of Deathly Things: the Testament of Lucifer. All of this is because of the imminent combat to be known as the End of Days.
Mr. Van Lustbader has crafted a fine sequel that delivers thrills and actions while investigating and exposing the roles of politics, religion and civilization. He has orchestrated his chapters into five and eight pages to maintain the tension of the story.
His Afterword explains how much of the background arises from his own personal research and interviews. A great read and now onto Bravo Shaw#3 THE FOUR DOMNIONS.

[Sandie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Fallen are the angels who were expelled from Heaven with Lucifer. When Lucifer and the Fallen come to power, humankind will be destroyed. Mankind has dreaded and done whatever is possible to avoid this for over two thousand years. Has the time come for Lucifer to succeed?
Bravo Shaw is the head of the Gnostic Observatine sect whose purpose is to defeat Lucifer and his legions. He is warned by his closest friend who is an immortal monk, Fra Leoni, that the battle has been joined with the discovery of a manuscript buried deep in a remote cave. Bravo has enemies everywhere who want to defeat his quest to find and destroy the manuscript. His sister and a mysterious woman work with him to follow the clues. Will they be in time?

This is the second novel in the Testament trilogy. The action is fast and furious. There are plenty of betrayals, mysteries, blood, sex and heartstopping battles. Readers who loved The Da Vinci Code will find this novel interesting and in the same genre. It is not a book for the fainthearted. This book is recommended for readers of mysterious religious tales.

[Fernando · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading the first book I was intrigued by the historical references. I like good historical fiction books, even though the Bravo Shaw series isn't exactly one, however, there are good historical anchors.
I found the second book of the series more fluid in the narrative, less distracting with unnecessary details and long digressions. There are more cliffhangers at the end of the chapters that keep you wanting to know more. All in all, I believe it's a good thriller and it connects nicely with the first book of the series, in this case, we don't have much of contraposition between the order of the Observantines and the Knights of St. Clement but more a fight of Good vs. Evil.
I can say that I'm hooked, and I think this was the intent of the author all along. I feel like wanting to binge read the whole 4 books like I would with a good Netflix series. I'll start reading the 3rd of the series soon.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I started this book I didn't have much block time to read it, that is to say I could spare 10 minutes here, 5 minutes there, etc. So this went on for the first 60 pages or so and I felt that it wasn't very good over all. I was wrong. After getting more time to read in sequence I found myself very much getting into the story. I strongly recommend reading the first book prior to this one. The topic of the devil and his followers is both interesting and frightening. Whether or not you are religious and believe or not. A good story, decent curves to it and of course it isn't over, which is also good. Very much worth the read time. I look forward to the next in the series.

[Barry Money · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am going to finish the last 20 pages of this book out of sheer stubbornness and morbid curiosity. I have been chasing the dragon with Van Lustbader ever since I first read the Ninja 30 odd years ago.
This book however has to be the worst thing I have ever read.
It deserves a 1 star at best.

The characters are shallow. The storyline confusing.

Every time I doggedly read a page, I cannot help but say aloud "This is a terrible book" - but still I persevere.

The good news is this book inspired me to write a book review - for the first time ever. So, I am grateful for that experience.

I'm sorry Mr. V L. I really want to love you but I can't at the moment.

[Neil Challis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Da Vinci Code meets James Bond,the eternal struggle of Good and Evil.Written by the 'Jason Bournes' author it is not as fast paced as these but goes into great detail about ancient texts and King Solomon's mines. Blurb said lightning paced thriller, well NO if anything very slow and confused.Satan ,naughty nuns ,immortals but the story appears confused at times and skips a lot,and too many characters most of whom you did not know who they were as not fleshed out.Will not be reading 'Four Dominions' Very average

[Karen Forsyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fallen By Eric Van Lustbader is a gripping tale of suspense that keeps the reader riveted to the pages as the tale of good verses evil unwinds.
This book is a page turner that keeps the reader wondering what the outcome will be.
Full action, suspense and demons, magic, action, it is another satisfying book from Eric Van Lustbader that is definitely worth reading.
I won this book through Goodreads. Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Robert Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually never finished this book. I quit at page 197. It became too much for me when demons went from human to human like a communicable disease. I believe in evil, Satan and demons, but this was beyond my beliefs by far. I can take demons and ghosts in fantasy novels but this was not written as a fantasy. Enough rant, just take it that I would suggest you quit reading long before I did or better yet don't read it at all.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story about the end of days. In a hidden cave in Lebanon a discovery is made which may lead to the end of the world - Lucifer. Bravo Shaw becomes involved in the war between good and evil and prevails. A lot of interesting twists and turns. Lustbader goes into too much detail at times about, what I believe are, not important details, and other areas are glossed over. Interesting read - but at times dragged.

[Sir Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

There in the holy land
Refugees on the run from war
Like bible nativity
Then the pope is evil
The Vatican on the temple of zues
Unholy satanic pagain things
Arabs jewish christian contrast
Then satan appears as a snake
The lost gospel of Lucifer
The church of satan
It's all good here come have a bear
Brake the top off it shove it in your ear
Then the cobra snake bites u
Only god can heal satan's bite
Lost in the holy land.

[Sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

The premise of this book is right down one of my alleys but I just can't stay with it. I'm neither Catholic nor Muslim but respect and appreciate both. However, his obvious dislike of the Catholic Church is a major distraction here. I hope he sees a counselor to deal with what is driving this...I stopped at Chapter 8 and have no interest in going further.

[Sandy Frediani · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first time with this author and, although this was readable, it'll likely be my last. Bluntly, I'm not impressed. I found it difficult to care about the characters and the story line was . . . there. There are infodumps scattered throughout which really break up the flow, as slow as it is. The word that kept coming to mind while reading was - pedestrian.
Okay.

[See · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another outstanding book by Eric Van Lustbader.

This book holds your interest from beginning to end. And will also whet you to read the next book in this series. Definitely worth the time it takes to read it.

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was a decent story, but I never really felt emotionally into it. It was like the entire plot was nearly muted to me. I started to feel the rise of action, but then was surprised when that was actually the climax and not just the start of the action building.

[Joost Hendriks · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took my a very long time to finish this book. Generally I get caught by the story and would like to know how it ends. The story did not do that for me while I typically enjoy books that include religious and historical sites, explanations, etc.

[John Mosman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have reading Eric an Lustbader for years and enjoy his books. They are mostly reading candy and can veer off to fantasy land...they are fun, tense, who know kind of stuff. Is there a Book of Lucifer?

[Bill Donhiser · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally have enjoyed Eric Van Lustbader's writing when he has worked in collaboration with other author's. (Ludlum's Bourne etc.) This book was just barely ok, not my genre or subject matter

[James M Pappas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read.

Keep in mind that this is the 2nd book in this series. It reads real fast once you know the characters.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

Great read, full of surprising twists.
Hard to put down once started so start early and ready to no sleep until finished.

[Barbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly enjoyable.

[James Hein · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book with action and the supernatural rolled up into one. Looking forward to book 3