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El pacto del fuego
Barcelona. 20 cm. 530 p. Encuadernación en tapa blanda de editorial ilustrada. Traducció de Carme Camps. Bestseller oro. Traducción de: The covenant of the flame. Camps, Carme. 1950- .. Este libro es de segunda mano y tiene o puede tener marcas y señales de su anterior propietario. ISBN: 84-253-2397-5
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First published January 1, 1991
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About the author
David Morrell
217 books1,673 followersDavid Morrell is a Canadian novelist from Kitchener, Ontario, who has been living in the United States for a number of years. He is best known for his debut 1972 novel First Blood, which would later become a successful film franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. More recently, he has been writing the Captain America comic books limited-series The Chosen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews
July 14, 2021
First published in 1991, Morrell serves up another trademark thriller here. The premise was super-- an age old religious struggle between 'heretics' of the Catholic church (an ancient religion that superseded Christianity and from which Christianity basically 'stole' large parts of dogma) and remnants of the Spanish Inquisition being fought out in the modern world. Further, tCofF has a strong environmental message that (unfortunately) still seems fresh. Unfortunately, some rather glaring plot holes, contrived situations and over the top characters at times made me want to toss this across the room. Seems to be par for the course with Morrell-- aspects of a novel that would easily be a 4 or 5 star, coupled with others that barely merit a 1 or 2. Hence, the three star compromise rating here.
Our main protagonist, Tess, is trust-fund rich and works at an environmental magazine she founded to bring awareness to the general public about the impending environmental crises besetting the planet-- global warming, acid rain, smog, the extinction of countless species, etc. Sounds like a familiar list, no? Sigh.
Anyway, one day she meets a guy who works in her building on the lift to her floor and suddenly, Tess, our strong female heroine, is in love with the guy (eye roll worthy for sure). After a lunch together, they plan on a jog on Saturday but he never shows up. At first miffed a being stood up, Tess quickly becomes concerned and tries to trace the guy. With some help from a policeman in missing persons, they actually find and identify the guy's body in the NYC morgue. Tess decides right then to get to the bottom of this mystery-- who would want to off the guy? Why did they burn him horribly? Further, what is the deal with the mysterious alter and bas relief they found in his bedroom?
I will not detail the plot due to spoilers-- this is a thriller after all, and most of the fun here is the unfolding of a rather complicated plot. I will say, however, that the 'heretics' are very busy making examples of polluters globally and while Tess may not agree with the methods, she does sympathize with the objectives. The more she digs, however, the more some people are trying to kill her and the cop.
Overall, a fun popcorn read; I read most of this on an airplane and that seems to be the intended audience. Thrillers tend not to hold up well over time and this is no exception, despite the strong environmental message. With fewer plot holes and some more believable characters, this could easily have been four stars. The damsel in distress trope gets old quick, however.
Our main protagonist, Tess, is trust-fund rich and works at an environmental magazine she founded to bring awareness to the general public about the impending environmental crises besetting the planet-- global warming, acid rain, smog, the extinction of countless species, etc. Sounds like a familiar list, no? Sigh.
Anyway, one day she meets a guy who works in her building on the lift to her floor and suddenly, Tess, our strong female heroine, is in love with the guy (eye roll worthy for sure). After a lunch together, they plan on a jog on Saturday but he never shows up. At first miffed a being stood up, Tess quickly becomes concerned and tries to trace the guy. With some help from a policeman in missing persons, they actually find and identify the guy's body in the NYC morgue. Tess decides right then to get to the bottom of this mystery-- who would want to off the guy? Why did they burn him horribly? Further, what is the deal with the mysterious alter and bas relief they found in his bedroom?
I will not detail the plot due to spoilers-- this is a thriller after all, and most of the fun here is the unfolding of a rather complicated plot. I will say, however, that the 'heretics' are very busy making examples of polluters globally and while Tess may not agree with the methods, she does sympathize with the objectives. The more she digs, however, the more some people are trying to kill her and the cop.
Overall, a fun popcorn read; I read most of this on an airplane and that seems to be the intended audience. Thrillers tend not to hold up well over time and this is no exception, despite the strong environmental message. With fewer plot holes and some more believable characters, this could easily have been four stars. The damsel in distress trope gets old quick, however.
April 10, 2013
This is my first book encounter with David Morrell's work and I immediately fall in love with it. I love the action mystery setting. I love the scene wherein there are worshippers of the ancient Mithras with a bas relief made of ivory. The battle of the vermins and the good guys. As Amazon's editorial review have been quoted "A feisty heroine, a stalwart hero, two enemy groups of ancient origin, appropriate deaths for nature's despoilers, world-wide canvas and pointed reminders of earth's fragility should add up to commercial success. But in Morrell's ( The Fifth Profession ) latest thriller the ingredients don't produce a satisfying dish. Environmental writer Tess Drake is chasing both a story on fatal attacks on polluters around the world and a strange man named Joseph. Aided by NYPD Lt. Craig, Tess discovers that Joseph has been burned to death; in his apartment she and Craig find strange artifacts that point to Albigensian heretics, worshippers of ancient god Mithras. After suggesting that the followers of Mithras and agents of the (still vital) Inquisition remain in lethal combat, Morrell sets the Mithras baddies against Tess. She and Craig fall in love and are entrapped by the boyish U.S. vice-president, a chief bad guy. By the bloody climax in a Spanish cave readers will be thoroughly tired of the book's padding and cardboard characters. 100,000 first printing; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates; author tour.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. "
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. "
January 23, 2021
Almost 200 pages in...not a page further! A collection of unlikeable characters and really obtuse plot. Couldn't waste anymore time on it. On to something interesting. 1/2 Star
March 12, 2019
um... er...
p324: grasping the trigger, tess ordered, "hide in that closet..."
p413: "señor gerrard! buenas tardes! mucho gusto! como esta usted?"
p324: grasping the trigger, tess ordered, "hide in that closet..."
p413: "señor gerrard! buenas tardes! mucho gusto! como esta usted?"
April 4, 2013
A page-turning thriller
The author brings a blend of dirty politics, blackmail, corporate greed, sex, strange encounters and occurrences, eco extremists, killings, religious convictions, and retribution. There is something for everyone, lots of twists and turns and revelations. The characters are believable, vulnerable, sleazy, and downright creepy and you cannot tell the good people from the bad ones. I enjoyed reading this book.
March 14, 2021
Morrell has an awesome way of blending history (some obscure, some fantastic) with action and suspense.
I loved this book, which included seemingly unrelated scenes that soon weaved together into a tantalising tapestry that fit like pieces of a jigsaw.
The ending on the predictable side still works well with enough surprise factor to entertain.
I loved this book, which included seemingly unrelated scenes that soon weaved together into a tantalising tapestry that fit like pieces of a jigsaw.
The ending on the predictable side still works well with enough surprise factor to entertain.
April 19, 2020
Very good read but unfortunately I lost it some years ago
July 25, 2013
A really good thriller. I read a few of Morrell's books when I was a teenager - he wrote the books that Rambo is based on. He's actually a writer of really good thrillers. Read this one and you'll see that Dan Brown's plots are not that original Surprise, surprise.
July 28, 2010
A very fine book. I loved the depth of the characters and the love Morrell put into writing this book. In places it seemed a touch long but it was definitely a meaty book full of good stuff.
May 2, 2012
Really action-filled. The tangled clues are for you to disassemble until you catch yourself already hooked in the story. All the elements blended so well.Very good plot!
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December 26, 2015I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11382041
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11382041
October 13, 2013
Suspense, good characters, interesting story, wonderful writing
February 22, 2016
This is possibly the worst book I have ever read. I didn't make it all the way to the end, but I kept reading because I was convinced it had to get better ot it never could have gotten published...
March 13, 2017
This book was difficult and painful to get through.
May 6, 2020
3.4/5
The Covenant of the Flame rests somewhere in the middle of things as far as my opinions go with his thriller bibliography (so far). It's better than The Fifth Profession but not as enjoyable as Burnt Sienna or as good as his First Blood. It follows a somewhat similar formula to The Fifth Profession, both being chase novels with lots of mystery and action that somehow alludes to real historical events and current politics of the time Morrell was writing them in--and Morrell repeats a few flaws that were in abundance in Profession, but to a much less agonizing degree.
Perhaps it's just personal preference, but it kind of annoys me when every character in a novel of this length has nothing else to talk about except the topic of the book--in Profession's case, it was the troubled political history of Japan and their equally troubled trade history with the States, as well as neuroscience and a wide range of theories about memory and the brain in a mixed-bag attempt at being philosophical; in Covenant of the Flame's case, it's mankind's very real threat to the environment as well as religious tradition practiced by theological fanatics. In both cases, it comes off as Morrell simply using his characters to preach his own philosophies and ideas about these subjects, and while an exploration of what these books are about is welcome and sometimes fascinating, it gets repetitive. Fast. Especially when those particular things are apparently the only things on his characters' minds in five hundred whole pages. I like small talk. I like character exploration in other areas. Here, as was the case in Profession (though Profession had many other problems, some worse), one of Covenant's biggest flaws is in its hollow, one-track-minded characters.
At least here, Morrell's writing is better, and his finale isn't an overblown, overwhelmingly convoluted mess, but a disturbing and refreshingly straightforward ride. It's also far more interesting, and doesn't lose its way getting bogged down by repetitive details about history and religion and morality and philosophy. His action scenes are better, too, and the shadowy enemy that our protagonist Tess faces are weird and sometimes even a little creepy. The conspiracy within this work was probably my favourite aspect.
Morrell is a great writer when he wants to be. I just feel like sometimes depending on how the story goes, he starts to lose interest, or faith. First Blood was very clearly a passion project, and his Rambo sequel novelizations preserve his original version of his character very effectively. Burnt Sienna was also one of the most fast-paced and enjoyable thrillers I've read this year. I would put Covenant below most of those, but there was definitely improvement here from some of his other earlier work.
Now if customs would finally mail over the remaining books in the Mortalis trilogy, I can start reading those.
The Covenant of the Flame rests somewhere in the middle of things as far as my opinions go with his thriller bibliography (so far). It's better than The Fifth Profession but not as enjoyable as Burnt Sienna or as good as his First Blood. It follows a somewhat similar formula to The Fifth Profession, both being chase novels with lots of mystery and action that somehow alludes to real historical events and current politics of the time Morrell was writing them in--and Morrell repeats a few flaws that were in abundance in Profession, but to a much less agonizing degree.
Perhaps it's just personal preference, but it kind of annoys me when every character in a novel of this length has nothing else to talk about except the topic of the book--in Profession's case, it was the troubled political history of Japan and their equally troubled trade history with the States, as well as neuroscience and a wide range of theories about memory and the brain in a mixed-bag attempt at being philosophical; in Covenant of the Flame's case, it's mankind's very real threat to the environment as well as religious tradition practiced by theological fanatics. In both cases, it comes off as Morrell simply using his characters to preach his own philosophies and ideas about these subjects, and while an exploration of what these books are about is welcome and sometimes fascinating, it gets repetitive. Fast. Especially when those particular things are apparently the only things on his characters' minds in five hundred whole pages. I like small talk. I like character exploration in other areas. Here, as was the case in Profession (though Profession had many other problems, some worse), one of Covenant's biggest flaws is in its hollow, one-track-minded characters.
At least here, Morrell's writing is better, and his finale isn't an overblown, overwhelmingly convoluted mess, but a disturbing and refreshingly straightforward ride. It's also far more interesting, and doesn't lose its way getting bogged down by repetitive details about history and religion and morality and philosophy. His action scenes are better, too, and the shadowy enemy that our protagonist Tess faces are weird and sometimes even a little creepy. The conspiracy within this work was probably my favourite aspect.
Morrell is a great writer when he wants to be. I just feel like sometimes depending on how the story goes, he starts to lose interest, or faith. First Blood was very clearly a passion project, and his Rambo sequel novelizations preserve his original version of his character very effectively. Burnt Sienna was also one of the most fast-paced and enjoyable thrillers I've read this year. I would put Covenant below most of those, but there was definitely improvement here from some of his other earlier work.
Now if customs would finally mail over the remaining books in the Mortalis trilogy, I can start reading those.
December 1, 2024
Tess Drake lives in Manhattan and is an investigative journalist for Earth Mother Magazine. She focuses on climate change and the planet's degradation due to pollution and toxic waste. Her life takes a turn when she meets a mysterious, handsome man with gray eyes, and she finds herself caught in the middle of a deadly conflict between two religious cults.
One group consists of followers of Mithraism, an ancient Roman sun cult, while the other comprises Christians who believe all heresies must be eradicated. The gray-eyed Mithras travel the globe, delivering a fiery death to anyone who harms the earth or slaughters innocent wildlife, all while evading the religious zealots who constantly pursue them. Both groups are ruthless killers of any who witness their war with each other, all in the name of God.
Tess and her police friend, Craig, become targets for both groups simply because they know too much. Together, they realize that there is nowhere to escape. Although I found the history of Mithraism intriguing, the rest of the plot felt so far-fetched that I struggled to engage with it.
One group consists of followers of Mithraism, an ancient Roman sun cult, while the other comprises Christians who believe all heresies must be eradicated. The gray-eyed Mithras travel the globe, delivering a fiery death to anyone who harms the earth or slaughters innocent wildlife, all while evading the religious zealots who constantly pursue them. Both groups are ruthless killers of any who witness their war with each other, all in the name of God.
Tess and her police friend, Craig, become targets for both groups simply because they know too much. Together, they realize that there is nowhere to escape. Although I found the history of Mithraism intriguing, the rest of the plot felt so far-fetched that I struggled to engage with it.
October 21, 2024
Full leveling, this is a rounding up. It's better than a 3, and it's David Morrell, but I didn't find it as involving as expected. I found too many reminders of environmental overstatement, too many exclamation points, cranky leadership of various orgs a little too cooperative with their employees
There was still much to like:
- At this stage of history I would not discount a lot of conspiracy theories. Mr. Morrell just pre-empted the zeitgeist by a few decades.
- Secret orgs battling one another? Yes, that's reasonable too.
- Orgs that are so consumed with themselves that they lose the plot? Check.
- Incredible resources and positions of power? We've got that.
- Unexplained deaths hidden by corrupt and coopted orgs? Worldwide.
It's exciting, and the incredible sequence of events is mostly plausible.
There was still much to like:
- At this stage of history I would not discount a lot of conspiracy theories. Mr. Morrell just pre-empted the zeitgeist by a few decades.
- Secret orgs battling one another? Yes, that's reasonable too.
- Orgs that are so consumed with themselves that they lose the plot? Check.
- Incredible resources and positions of power? We've got that.
- Unexplained deaths hidden by corrupt and coopted orgs? Worldwide.
It's exciting, and the incredible sequence of events is mostly plausible.
August 20, 2023
I am technically not finished, but I'm finished. I've read other books by David Nortel and liked them. He writes well and there is a lot of action and usually the characters are likeable and the plot of the story moves things along nicely. I'm having trouble with the premise of this book. I can't believe the things that are happening in this story and its been like that since page 5. I am now halfway through and there are a lot( a LOT) of things happening that don't make sense. I have no idea how he's going to make it make sense, but if nothing makes sense and gets more implausible with each page, I don't want to stick around to find out. May be a good book for some but I'm not sticking around to finish.
July 1, 2024
Rather ridiculous, really. The Albigensians were not adherents of Mithraism. Everyone's reaction to the Mithraic bas-relief were over the top. I could go on... The only positive thing I can say is about all the creative ways that the environmentalists found to punish the people ruining the environment--those gave me a good chuckle. Even the 'thriller' ending was rather blasé--the building suspense was done fairly well, but the climactic battle was a bit of a letdown.
This book essentially follows all the thriller tropes rather formulaically--Morrell has apparently figured out the genre by this point in his career. But it's all done in a rather slapdash fashion along with a dose of bad history.
This book essentially follows all the thriller tropes rather formulaically--Morrell has apparently figured out the genre by this point in his career. But it's all done in a rather slapdash fashion along with a dose of bad history.
March 8, 2019
Not a bad novel in the least, but not the best Morrell I’ve read. It came off a little heavy on the religious aspect, which I’m still not sure if it’s fact based or fiction...Also not sure if a lot of it was realistic, in that how people fall in love, and also how they survive different situations, but hey, it’s fiction right? Like I said, not the best, but not bad by any means.
June 22, 2019
The disappearance of a gray-eyed stranger and his horrific murder has Tess Drake, an environmental reporter, and Bill Craig, a NYC police officer, following a trail of blood to ancient caverns in Europe.a fight of good against evil, saving the earth or destroying it.
February 14, 2021
Amazing
I found this novel so interesting and stimulating. Educational & thought provoking. Good and evil old as time itself. I would really have enjoyed to hear you lecture. It must have been fascinating.
I found this novel so interesting and stimulating. Educational & thought provoking. Good and evil old as time itself. I would really have enjoyed to hear you lecture. It must have been fascinating.
April 22, 2024
An environmental reporter befriends a young man who shares her concerns for the environment, but seems to live a celibate and monastic life. When she learns he was burned to death, she and the NYPD Detective Lt find he was a follower of an ancient religion, one that was targeted by the inquisition centuries ago, a battle that might still be going on.
This is such a great and creative story, tying pollution and climate change, politics, and religion into a wild action suspense thriller. Is the plot plausible, that these people exist and this battle has been going on undetected in our midst? Of course not. But it's not technically implausible, and that makes it easy to suspend disbelief and enjoy it.
This is such a great and creative story, tying pollution and climate change, politics, and religion into a wild action suspense thriller. Is the plot plausible, that these people exist and this battle has been going on undetected in our midst? Of course not. But it's not technically implausible, and that makes it easy to suspend disbelief and enjoy it.
August 17, 2017
A bit dated, but decent thriller.
November 1, 2017
Ne znam kako sam dao dve zvezdice. Smece kakvo nisam ocekivao. Zaista ovako nesto kupiti u knjizari ocekujuci dobru pricu je katastrofalna greska! Zaobici u sto sirem luku
November 29, 2018
Can't remember for surely if I read it.
January 9, 2019
A great thriller with plenty of action to keep you wanting more. This is the first book that I have read for quite a while and it has really thrown me back into the love of reading. A must read.
June 18, 2020
Warring factions of religion fanatics from the Middle Ages spill into the 21 century. A reporter and a New York cop fight thru the conflict to a satisfactory conclusion
July 20, 2020
A Good Thriller.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 66 reviews