I quite enjoy J.F. Penn’s ARKANE series. I thought I’d share my reviews of the first three ones in the series.

ARKANE 1

A power kept secret for 2000 years. A woman who stands to lose everything.

India. When a nun is burned alive on the sacred ghats of Varanasi, and the stone she carried is stolen, an international hunt is triggered for the relics of the early church.

Forged in the fire and blood of martyrs, the Pentecost stones have been handed down through generations of Keepers who kept their power and locations secret.

Until now.

The Keepers are being murdered, the stones stolen by those who would use them for evil in a world transformed by religious fundamentalism.

Oxford University psychologist Morgan Sierra is forced into the search when her sister and niece are held hostage. She is helped by Jake Timber from the mysterious ARKANE, a British government agency specializing in paranormal and religious experience. Morgan must risk her own life to save her family, but will she ultimately be betrayed?

From ancient Christian sites in Spain, Italy, and Israel to the far reaches of Iran and Tunisia, Morgan and Jake must track down the stones through the myths of the early church in a race against time before a new Pentecost is summoned, this time powered by the fires of evil.

The first in the ARKANE series, Stone of Fire is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller that explores the edges of faith against a backdrop of early Christian history, archaeology and psychology.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

The opening chapter immediately grabbed me and pulled me into the nun Aruna Maria’s plight, setting up the troubles to come.

Morgan is a complex character and I immediately bonded with her – perhaps because we’re both suspicious about coincidences and on guard for danger lurking around every corner. She’s a kick-ass heroine (she used to be in the Israeli military and she’s an Oxford psychologist).

The way the different locations were described made me feel like I’m there – it’s the small details that enrich the world the author created. I like how much research went into finding the essence of each locale.

You never know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are – and even if you guess, there’s something to humanise the supposed bad guy and cast suspicion on the supposed good guy. Just another reason for Morgan not to trust anyone.

There’s a bit too much head-hopping for my taste, but it does move the plot forward.

I liked Jake. His backstory had the ring of truth to it that a lot of stories dealing with South Africans in other countries didn’t. “He had made his peace with death a long time ago, when he had identified the bodies of his butchered family in Walkerville, near Johannesburg. South Africa was a mess of politics and religion wasn’t the only thing that could spark attempted genocide… His mother’s British passport enabled him to join the British military…” Usually a character like Jake would be a South African mercenary who was forced into the SA military at a young age – the authors not taking the time to note that things like that haven’t been the way for almost three decades. Kudos to this author for actually doing research and not writing based on assumptions.

“…ARKANE worked above the law of the land they operated in, hidden by the shadows between what could be proved and that which no one would admit to. In a modern world where ancient faith was now beginning to play an increasingly political role, they were often behind the scenes at the crux of international flash-points. ARKANE were also called in whenever there was a situation that could be called supernatural. The people who worked in the small teams across the globe understood that there are other entities loose in this world, not human, not alien. There is an evil that humans conjure and use against each other even as it stalks their souls. There are words of power that can be used as weapons and a host of unseen things that were better off being denied.”

Brilliant, right? I enjoyed the thriller aspect of this novel, but it is this part – the myths, legends, unseen things – that truly drew me into the story. I like the mix of modern technology and ancient artefacts that come together to create chaos and solve problems. There’s loads to learn about the early Church, feuding sects and secret societies.

I don’t usually read thrillers, but I thought to expand my reading realm by reading this book by Joanna Penn (I love her non-fiction books and website) and I wasn’t disappointed. It is as action-packed and full of thrills as any of my favourite TV series in the same genre. Now I can use the best graphic chip in existence to bring the stories to life: imagination.

This is a book that entertains as well as educates. It has a few exciting twists and turns. It’s also a clean-read. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series – and a new book is coming out next month too!

Shelves: mental health, mythology, thriller, fantasy

ARKANE 2

The prophecy in Revelation declares that a quarter of the world must die.

Now a shadowy organization has the ability to fulfill these words. Can one woman stop the abomination before it’s too late?

ISRAEL. A victim of Jerusalem Syndrome jumps to his death from the top of the Western Wall, his body smashed on the ancient stones. Another disembowels himself under the scrawled figure of the Pale Horse of the Apocalypse with the chilling words, “God told me to do it.”

Dr Morgan Sierra travels to Israel to investigate the deaths and becomes embroiled in an international conspiracy that will use cutting-edge technology to carry an ancient curse to mankind, and threaten those she loves.

Morgan joins agent Jake Timber at ARKANE, a secret government agency investigating the supernatural. Together they must hunt down the Devil’s Bible, pursued all the way by the evil forces of Thanatos.

From the catacombs of Paris to the skeletal ossuaries of Sicily and the Czech Republic, Morgan and Jake must find the Devil’s Bible and stop the curse being released into the world before one in four are destroyed in the coming holocaust. Because in just seven days, the final curse will be spoken and the prophecy will be fulfilled. 

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

Messing with people’s minds, making them do things they wouldn’t normally do – some kind of superpower, right? Turns out it is more sinister than that.

People dying, buildings exploding and Morgan pulled into it all because of her past…

“To speak something into the world with intent is somehow to create it, to make it real.” This is the essence of the story and fuels so much of the conflict.

I love the use of ancient books and modern technology to create chaos in this story.

Personally, I could’ve done without the scenes from the antagonists’ point of view.

Great world-building. The art, the different destinations, the history… I enjoyed the tour of the Paris Catacombs the most.

And the bad guy… Well, he’s a brilliant lunatic.

My favourite piece of tech in this series is Spooky’s virtual library.

A must-read for fans of religious thrillers.

Shelves: mental health, mythology, thriller

ARKANE 3

A desperate race to find the Ark of the Covenant – and save the world from a devastating Holy War.

Cairo, Egypt. When the curator of the Museum of Antiquities is slaughtered in a horrific ritual by a group wearing the masks of Ancient Egyptian deities, local authorities ask for help from ARKANE, the agency tasked with investigating religious and paranormal events. Then, in Washington DC, a decapitated Arab body is discovered. The head is placed on the replica Ark of the Covenant along with a chilling message that warns of a terrifying escalation of violence in the Middle East.

ARKANE agent, British-Israeli psychologist Dr Morgan Sierra, must race against time to uncover the real Ark – aware that her nemesis, the vicious mercenary Natasha, is also in the hunt and out for bloody revenge. Morgan travels across Egypt and Jordan, retracing the steps of the Biblical Exodus and following a trail of clues that takes her into the mists of history – and mortal danger…

The third novel in the bestselling ARKANE series, ARK OF BLOOD is a pulse-pounding thriller filled with puzzles, adventure and excitement, asking serious questions about the nature of religion…and the beliefs that lie at the very heart of humankind.

Check it out on Goodreads.

My Review

Exquisite world building – one feels like one is where Morgan and the others are at any given time.

Loads of violence, fire and explosions – just like I like it!

Natasha is completely off her rocker and it makes her an unpredictable villain. Could have done without her ritualistic rape and murder of an unknown man while high on drugs…

A thrilling adventure with religious and historic facts woven throughout.

I can’t believe the stuff Morgan is able to survive – she’s amazing.

Shelves: books that should have a trigger warning, mythology, mental health, thriller

Have you read this series? Do you read thrillers?

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