Book Review: The Reckoning

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Reckoning     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Thomas F. Monteleone
Class/Genre:   Science Fiction   Millenium
Forge, Dec 1999, $27.95, 416 pp.

With the new millennium just starting, Father Peter Carenza, the first American Pope, is shaking up the Church with his modern decrees that include his getting married. Unbeknownst to much of the world that hail the modernization program of the new Pope, Peter is the result of a scientific experiment. Using DNA extracted from the Shroud of Turin and planting it inside a virgin nun, Vatican scientists produced Peter, praying for the Second coming.

Pope Peter II seeks Armageddon by finding and destroying the Seven Seals. As most of the world backs the charismatic Peter, very few line up against him, but those sparse souls include those who know him best such as his mother. Is he the true Second Coming as most of the world thinks or is he as his own mother believes the Anti-Christ fulfilling Nostradamus’ prediction that the “last pope” would come from the New World?

THE RECKONING centers on an interesting blending of science and religion. The story line is filled with action that never lets up until the novel is finished. Though exciting, all that activity overwhelms the allegorical spiritual side of the tale. Think Karloff’s Frankenstein the movie vs. Wollstonecraft’s Frankenstein the novel. Fans who enjoy non-stop action will relish this tale. However, this novel will disappoint those readers seeking a deeper meaning to the universe.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner