The Tower - (Sanctus Trilogy) by Simon Toyne (Paperback)

About the Book

FBI Agent J. J. Shepherd must find the missing director of a NASA Control Center as strange events erupt around the globe, while Liv Adamson, pregnant and close to term, desperately searches for the final secrets of the prophecy.

Book Synopsis

In The Tower, the thrilling conclusion to Simon Toyne's bestselling Sanctus trilogy, an ominous countdown has begun that some believe could be the first sign of an imminent global catastrophe.

Toyne's latest thriller opens at the NASA Control Center in Maryland where the center's director has gone missing and all that can be found is a bizarre message on his computer screen. FBI Agent J. J. Shepherd believes some of this might be related to an explosion at the Citadel, a secretive monastery in Ruin, Turkey; the viral outbreak that followed there; and the chilling disappearance of a woman named Liv Adamsen.

As strange events and natural disasters occur around the world, Liv searches for the final secrets of the prophecy, while inside the walls of the Ruin, her lover, Gabriel Mann, infected by the virus, battles to survive. Is this the end of days?

In the tradition of Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code and Steve Berry's The Columbus Affair, The Tower will keep you riveted until the very last twist.

From the Back Cover

When a cyber-attack at NASA's flight center in Maryland disables the Hubble space telescope and the Nobel prize-winning scientist in charge disappears, the only clues left are a cryptic countdown clock and a chilling message displayed on the missing man's computer: Mankind Must Look No Further.

FBI Agent Joe Shepherd discovers a note in the scientist's handwriting that reads "end of days" as well as further evidence linking the attack to strange events eight months earlier: an explosion at the Citadel, an ancient monastery in Turkey; a viral outbreak that occurred in its wake; and the disappearance of a journalist named Liv Adamsen and ex-special forces operative Gabriel Mann.

Shepherd's investigation leads him to the secrets at the very edge of the universe and also into his own past as the countdown clock continues. But what is the "end of days" and what does it really mean for mankind--will it be Revelation or Devastation?

Review Quotes

"Toyne's descriptive skill makes for a story that is cinematically vivid. . . . the relentless pace makes the action addicting." - Publishers Weekly
"Toyne cranks up the drama with the second entry in a conspiracy thriller series. . . . Well-written, fast-paced and delivered with an admirable economy of words, this book offers an edge-of-the-seat story filled with action and adventure, as well as a puzzle that the main characters must somehow put together before the world simply disappears. . . . [A] taut thriller." - Kirkus Reviews on The Key
"If you like your secrets deeply hidden and your action breakneck, then Toyne's sophomore thriller is just the ticket. . . . As in his debut, Toyne delivers a gripping, intricate story of religious and political intrigue that's sweeping yet somehow intimate and very personal. Wow." - Booklist (starred review) on The Key
"A cliffhanger . . . that aspires to towering heights . . . Toyne has a realistic bent and the derring-do and scriptural intrigue never get too unwieldy or too unworldly. His characters, too, are well-rounded and credible . . . A bonus: Toyne's battery of good guys include strong women characters, with no condescension; too many books of this kind treat women as afterthoughts, if not mere love interests. And there's some nice elaboration of the plot, keeping the reader guessing whether the heretics are good guys or bad . . . A promising debut . . . . the right ingredients are all here." - Kirkus Reviews
"A far better written, smarter book than The Da Vinci Code . . . Sanctus has enough delicious plots and counterplots to fill a cathedral. . . . What elevates Sanctus above the pack is that Toyne is a compelling writer who covers this ground with confidence and flair. . . . Toyne handles all of the disparate narratives with aplomb . . . it's a fun roller-coaster ride. . . . Sanctus is highly enjoyable." - The Globe and Mail
"A fast moving, thoroughly enjoyable, adventure--plenty of action, plenty of intrigue and a wonderfully imaginative reinterpretation of a slice of religious history. The sort of novel to devour in one sitting." - Kate Mosse, New York Times bestselling author of Labyrinth
"A huge, bold thriller, Sanctus is a bloody, twistedly perverse story about a battle against a secretive group of heretical, conspiring monks . . . . the most engaging writing I've read in months." - San Jose Mercury News
"A wickedly clever call to adventure from beyond the grave. A bloody confrontation against a heretical Church in a fallen, alternate universe. A tale as theologically twisted and perverse as the snake in the Garden of Eden. Lies, lies and more lies. In other words, damn good fiction." - Thomas Greanias, author of The 34th Degree
"Hard to think of it as a debut, better to think of it as the beginning of a massive new adventure, and a so-long to Dan Brown. . . ." - The Daily Mirror (UK)
"[A] cool, confident debut. A talented new writer who instinctively grasps the broad rules of superior action thrillers and adapts them with pace, grace, humor and a keen eye for cinematic effect." - Daily Telegraph (London)