The Judas Codex

by Mark Everett Stone

Blaine Deschamps has succeeded Julian as head of the all-powerful family known as the Sicarii, the fearsome descendants of Judas, the apostle who betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver. These silver coins became a powerful artifact known as The Silver, giving the Sicarii an edge in the battle against the forces of Good. Jude Oliver, born Olivier Deschamps, renounced his family and stole the Silver. In an epic battle, he killed his father, Julian, putting a major crimp in the Sicarii’s plans.
Although Jude gave his life to protect mankind, his friend, the Catholic priest Father Mike Engle, survived, and is now in possession of the Codex Infernales, the Deschamps’ unholy book. The Sicarii will go to any lengths to kill Father Engle and retrieve the Codex, but the task proves far more difficult than they imagined. Mike is watched over by another arch-enemy of the Sicarii who has eluded their assassins for millennia: Cain, son of Adam, doomed to wander the Earth until he is killed, or the end of time, whatever comes first. Now Cain and Mike must fight the Sicarii, find a mysterious oracle, avoid ambushes, and ally with an old enemy of the Sicarii who has been fighting them for centuries. What could go wrong?
Book 2 in the Judas Line Chronicles, which began with The Judas Line.

280 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

About the author

Born in Helsinki, Finland, Mark Everett Stone arrived in the U.S. at a young age and promptly dove into the world of the fantastic. Starting at age seven with the Iliad and the Odyssey, he went on to consume every scrap of Norse Mythology he could get his grubby little paws on. At age thirteen he graduated to Tolkien and Heinlein, building up a book collection that soon rivaled the local public library’s. In college Mark majored in Journalism and minored in English. Mark is feverishly working on his next book while his amazingly patient wife, Brandie, keeps him and their two sons, Aeden and Gabriel, in check.

Reviews

[Christopher Schmitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m understandably jumping in mid-trilogy with the Judas Codex, which is a kind of gritty urban fantasy that makes me think of a few different authors’ stories.

Most notably, the background mythology reminds me of Dan Brown’s Priory of Sion in his Robert Langdon books. Perhaps more than The Davinci Code, the Judas Codex reminds me of Eric Wilson’s Field of Blood (the Jerusalem Undead Trilogy.)

The Sicarii are the fearsome descendants of Judas and they seek the Codex Infernales, the unholy book formerly owned by the Sicarii. Catholic priest Father Mike Engle has the book and the Sicarii want it above all else—but the priest has a protector, the biblical Cain. There is certainly a strong story in the book, some of the writing could use to be tighter in certain areas, but it is solid overall and the slowly unfolding backstory draws the reader deeper with every page.

The book has an interesting blend of adventure and biblical backstory drawn from the author’s faith. If you like action/adventure with mystery akin to Brown or Tim LaHaye’s Babylon Rising series then the Judas Line Chronicles could be a good series to pick up over at Amazon. I got the book from the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review over at Inside the Inkwell.

[Amy Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great sequel

This one is just as good as the first, or maybe a little better. The story has a great impact of action and adventure, and maintains it's charm as the first one did. Jude is the same, yet he has also grown as a character, giving a lot of depth to this story. An amazing group of characters that are both good and evil, adding to more intensity as the first one did. This is definitely, edge of your seat, page turner. Look forward to more from Stone.