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the book is called Nephilim by Lynn Marzulli. A fictional account of how Satan could use aliens (or rather, humans belief in aliens) to further his end time strategy. A good read if you're looking for a good fictional book. If you look at all the scriptures he uses, and think about how Satan can twist things to suit his purposes, it's actually kind of scary how believable this whole theory is...butcha hafta read it yerself.

(I'm reading book two, The Unholy Deception, right now).

Agatha Christie: The Man in the Brown Suit

Agatha was brilliant. Case in point: "of course there is really nothing a woman enjoys so much as doing all the things she doesn't like for the sake of someone she does like. And the more self-willed she is, the more she likes it...that's why there are so many unhappy marriages. It's all the fault of the men. Either they give way to their women - and then the women despise them - or else they are utterly selfish, insist on their own way and never say "thank you". Successful husbands make their wives do just what they want, and then make a frightful fuss of them for doing it".

I think there's a lot of sense in that.

The book though, was one of her spy-mystery novels. Part of the Colonel Race Chronology, though he really only had a minor role. Nothing like a good AC novel to pass an afternoon.

Wow. A full seven days to read one book. In my defense I have to say that the weather has been lovely and I certainly haven't wanted to spend one more minute inside than necessary!

If you like PD James' Adam Dalgliesh Mysteries, you'll like this one.

Book Reviews

Ludlum, Robert The Prometheus Deception:
The ultimate spy. After fifteen years as a brillian master spy, Nick Bryson has disappeared into anonymity as a professor at an exclusive college in western Pennsylvania - until he's suddenly lured back into the game.
The ultimate threat. Recruited by the CIA, he's been comissioned to track the moves of the Directorate. Once, the ultra-secret intelligence agency was Bryson's training ground. Now it's a multinational terrorist conspiracy bent on global domination.
The ultimate deception. But to eliminate the core of corruption means plubing into his own past, investigating the motives of a beautiful stranger who may be his greatest downfall, and infiltrating a secret nexus of power called Prometheus that holds the terrifying clues to his past - and the even more terrifying possibilities of his future...

Andrea's verdict: think Robert Ludlum meets Alias. This is one of Ludlum's earlier works, so in my opinion the writing wasn't that great. The story had enough twists and turns that I had to finish it and find out what was going on. A fluffy, action piece for a rainy day.

Crichton, Michael A Case of Need:
Was it murder? Was it a horribly botched surgery - accidental malpractice? Was someone in the great Boston medical center violating the Hippocratic oath? No one knows exactly...Only one doctor is willing to push his way through the mysterious maze of hidden medical data and shocking secrets to learn the truth.

Andrea's verdict: This book was written in '69, in the days before ER, House, and the countless other TV shows that have made the average person medical experts. It's full of explanations of basic medical terms. The jacket is a bit misleading. This story is about doctors who decide to perform abortions despite the fact that it's illegal. The daughter of a prominent family dies after a botched abortion and a witch hunt ensues. One doctor decides to try to untangle the mystery surrounding her death and find out what really happened the night she died. Again, an interesting read...but that's about it.

Horn, Thomas and Nita The Ahriman Gate:
Alternative researcher Zecharia Sitchin spent more than twenty years interpreting thousands of Sumerian cuniform texts. The result was the wildly popular Earth Chronicle series, in which Sitchin linked various ancient myths and calendars - such as Stonehenge and Tiahuanacu in Peru - to the Sumerians.
Sitchin claimed the Sumerian texts were a record of visitation of earth by Nibiruans, a.k.a. the Anunnaki and Nephilim of Old Testament fame. He further claimed the alien visitors accelerated human evolution by enhancing hominid DNA, creating Homo sapiens.
In the new supernatural thriller The Ahriman Gate, Tom and Nita Horn (National Spokesperson for Cloud 10 Pictures Movie 'Deceived') tell the incredible fictional story of a young Marine and his sister who discover information connecting the U.S. Government with UFOs, the Face on Mars, and Sitchin's Anunnaki.

Andrea's verdict: if you like Frank Perretti's books, you'll love this one! I did.

Thoene, Brock and Bodie The Zion Legacy Series:
I've already read the first Four books in this series, so I just read books five and six (Stones of Jerusalem and Jerusalem's Hope) The series starts off continuing the stories of several families in Old Jerusalem just as the city falls (in the 1940s). The first three books "thrill readers with their action-packed, dramatic portrayal of the heroic, yet perilous battle for Jerusalem in 1948. In an exciting twist to the series..." the last three books "take the story back in time to tell an ancient tale of love, faith and redemption."

Andrea's verdict: I'm a big fan of the Thoene's war series (Zion Covenant, Zion Chronicles, Shiloh Legacy and the Zion Legacy Series) so it's no surprise I loved these two books. Though when I first bought books 1-4 a few years ago, I was really mad that at book four the Thoene's suddenly switched gears from talking about the situation in 1948 to talking about completely different characters from the time of Jesus. Coming back to the story now though, I really loved this storyline and I'm looking forward to finding the A.D. Chronicles to continue this one...

Dekker, Ted Three:
Kevin Parson is driving his car late one summer day when, suddenly, his cell phone rings. A man who identifies himself as Slater speaks in a breathy voice, "You have exactly three minutes to confess your sin to the world. Refuse and the car you're driving will blow sky high."
Kevin panics. Whho would make such a call? What sin? Kevin ditches the car. Precisely three minutes later, a massive explosiong sets his world on a collision course with madness.

Andrea's verdict: Some friends of mine who also read Dekker warned me that they didn't really enjoy this book, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Spoiler alert: the plotline is kind of a cross between Phone Booth with Collin Farrell and Fight Club. Being an avid fan of psychological thrillers, I loved it. And three is my favorite number, so that clinched it for me!

Dekker, Ted Black; Red; and White
Black is an incredible story of evil and rescue, betrail and love, pursuit and death, and a terrorist's threat unlike anything the human race has ever known. A virulent evil has been unleashed upon the people of the earth, an unstoppable force bent on the destruction of all that is good. Only Thomas Hunter can stop it, and he has been killed. Twice.

The books red and white continue the story.

Andrea's verdict: If any of you have read Stephen Lawhead's books, this trilogy kind of reminded me of them. Almost sci-fi with the parallel universes, and an exciting, fast paced plot. Ultimately though, I think the story is about God's romantic love for his people, and the ultimate sacrifice he made for his love.

Jane: I own all the Ted Dekker books, and you're welcome to borrow those. I have the first four books in the Zion Legacy series. The rest I borrow from the library (I LOVE that you can "order books" online and then pick them up when they're in. They do all the work of finding them, pulling them off the shelves, and holding them for you to pick up! It's like amazon only free!) My favorites have to be the Ted Dekkers, the Thoenes, and the Ahriman Gate.

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