The Phoenix Apostles (A Seneca Hunt Mystery #1) by Lynn Sholes

The Phoenix Apostles (A Seneca Hunt Mystery #1) Reviews

• 
  An EyeYii

  Updates from second opinion: "The Phoenix Apostles" (Seneca 1) are 12 mass murderers, resurrected with the promise of immortality if they continue killing. Even if the master is killed, covert shadows are loose in home countries to yield a series. Authors Lynn Soles and Joe Moore open with excess explicit torture and gore and prophecy woo-woo that scared me off. Yet this gratuitous capsule and a second Aztec beating heart scene are distinctly isolated from lukewarm main flow. So I've had to incorporate opinions from another reader who pushed to finish, overall more thriller than mystery or horror. The prologue predicts a Mayan apocalypse on 12 Dec 2012, preventable if the gods are appeased by sufficient sacrifice. Yet we never get a sense of the world ending or personal sacrifices.
  In 1876 Mexico, Apaches scalp soldiers still alive. One cowboy survives a triple fatal attack: arrow, bandito bullet, and earthquake. I skipped ahead to verify my guess that he stays around for the future section. Yet when Billy becomes Groves his personality entirely changes.
  In 2012 Mexico, Montezuma's remains are not found in the excavation site. The gentle academic in charge is of course sacrificed here to initially motivates fianceé Seneca. Images of his torn dying body bubbling fluids recur, like indigestion, caught up in repetitive grief, more dragged in than instigator.
  In a sudden sidetrack, Bloody Queen Mary's crypt is shown empty. The villain carves his arm for blood in a ritual to Quetzacoatl, and begins reviving killers from history. She realistically does get backup before risking danger. Her father adds resources and finances. Admirer Matt (Everheart sic groan) adds brains and love interest for sequels. He is the first to recognize a pattern of missing corpses, and persists in the trail. They awake with no memory, ruler, or current identity - great plot potential. Seneca is tepid, gets swept up waits to be rescued, rather than inspiring us. The climax was disappointing compared to the encounter with an Apostle. The story concept is inspiring beyond the competent execution competent, excellent for book club discussion. The potential for the series is there. Unfortunately, the first book is a tough read. I would pick up the next just out of curiosity. Does Seneca grow a backbone?
  
• 
  Victoria

  I loved Lynn Sholes' and Joe Moore's Cotten Stone series, so I really looked forward to this one. As usual, the premise is a little cosmic-woo-woo mixed with Michael Chrichton-like science-ish stuff mixed with evil people who believe they're doing the right thing. The cosmic component is just enough to make the story happen, but not so much as to sink the story with silliness. When you read one of their books, yes, you must suspend your disbelief and go with the flow. It's worth the ride.
  
  Their main characters are well-fleshed out, but I think they do the best job with their villains. You don't like them, they creep you out, but you don't hate them. You simply want them to not succeed and please, have the heroine make them go away.
  
• 
  Erin Tanner

  Absolutely amazing read! Couldn't put it down. I plan on reading the rest of the books that this amazing writing team has authored. I am now inspired to try my hand at the thriller genre.
• 
  Marijke Van de venne

  Nice holiday read
• 
  Leandra

  Dit is zo een boek waarvan je niet wilt dat het uitgeraakt :(( echt een goed boek!
• 
  Joy

  Really good mystery/adventure/suspense book. Would make a good screen-play. In fact, it's written so visually that I realized I was "seeing" it when a certain scene made me drop my Kindle. Thank goodness I was in the lounge chair and Kindle was not harmed.
  
  I was so into it that I talked about with my husband who is now 79% through--he stayed up reading last night.
  
  There is a description of Aztec ritual sacrifice that may be hard for the squeamish--the detective book I started reading since is much worse. And the Aztecs did have a very gory ritual. I read through that part quickly and fortunately it didn't take up much reading time...and on to the mystery.
  
  Although "anti-Christ" is never mentioned as such in the book, some readers would recognize that the character Scarrow could fit that role.
  
  I think this was one of the Amazon "deal of the day" reads but we would get it again at full price...it's that good.
• 
  Nate Solberg

  My first purchase from Kindle Daily Deals, and it was quite a good book! I thought the plot was put together well, and it definitely held my interest as it moved me from scene to scene and even year to year. I had a few very small qualms with the main character and how she processed what was happening around her (trying not to give anything away), but they were small and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. I enjoyed the story, and I'll likely try more Seneca Hunt novels in the future.
• 
  Erin

  This book wasn't as good as Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code or Angels and Demons, but it was still entertaining. Instead of dealing with Christianity, the story is based on Aztec gods/goddesses.
  
  It was an enjoyable read, but I wish the characters had been developed more. I know that I will probably check out the next book in the Seneca Hunt series if the authors write one.
• 
  LaToya

  Very good book. I took a step away from my usual horror interest and stepped into a world I never thought I would care much about. I loved the story and the characters. The mix of archaeology, mystery and suspense made this book a winner. I'm definitely going to do more research on things mentioned in the book and I hope the authors will write more with Seneca Hunt.
• 
  Kev

  Good plot and engaging characters, bad theology. Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore deliver another exciting adventure. Not a Cotton Stone book, this is a new character, Seneca Hunt - apparently the start of a new series.
  
  (I miss Cotton.)
  
  
• 
  Rdonn

  This is a hard book to categorize, part mystery, part science fiction, part history, you name it!! It is very much a thriller, and I quite enjoyed it, though it's not a genre I usually read. Kept me awake one night!!!
• 
  Ginger

  This was easy, "beach" type reading...just what I needed this week.
• 
  Douglas Cook

  First sentence, "BILLY GROVES DIDN'T KNOW if he was dead or alive.
  
  Lynn Sholes;Joe Moore. The Phoenix Apostles (A Seneca Hunt Mystery) (p. 3). Kindle Edition.
• 
  John Hanscom

  Not as good as the "Cotten Stone" books, but a very good adventure story with a hint of religion thrown in.
• 
  Sandy Adams

  4.5 Stars
  
  Enjoyed the story, annoyed by unnecessary hyphenated words then realized it was likely because in the printed book, it was done at the beginning of several chapters. Otherwise an interesting premise.
• 
  Iceman

  Uma tradição cristã refere que no caminho de Jesus Cristo para o calvário, uma mulher enxugou o rosto de Cristo num pequeno pano e que a imagem de Jesus teria ficado gravada nesse pano.
  
  Essa tradição, ou relíquia, obviamente que nunca foi comprovada, sendo ao longo dos séculos alvo de várias especulações sobre a sua autenticidade e destino. Hoje em dia, julga-se, ou assim o Vaticano afirma, encontrar-se no santuário do Santo Rosto de Manoppello, a cerca de 200 km de Roma.
  
  Conhecida como o “Véu de Verónica” (deformação do nome “vera ícona”, “verdadeiro ícone”), ou na antiguidade como “a mãe de todos os ícones”, trata-se de um véu ou um fino pano de 17x24 cm, que mostra, de uma forma vaga, a imagem de uma face.
  
  Verdade, mentira? Depende da fé de cada um, em todo o caso, Os Apóstolos da Fénix, gira em torno desta relíquia.
  
  Já o referi em diversas ocasiões, que um dos principais propósitos de um livro é o de entreter. De nada adianta ler um livro erudito, se o mesmo só nos traz longos e intermináveis bocejos e a sua interrupção se revela a melhor parte face a tanto aborrecimento. Ou seja, já li livros, alguns apenas tentei, considerados “obras excepcionais”, “clássicos”, “de leitura imprescindível”, mas que se revelaram enfadonhos, nada prazeirosos e imensamente chatos. Digam o que quiserem os pseudo iluminados intelectuais da nossa praça, mas eu dou muito valor a um livro que me entretém e que me diverte.
  
  Pois bem, Os Apóstolos da Fénix é um desses casos e, confesso, que a sua leitura me deu muito gozo, tornando-se até, em alguns capítulos, viciante.
  
  Aprender, enfim, pouco aprendi, até porque isso é uma das falhas dos autores que podiam explorar um pouco mais o campo que utilizaram, no entanto o livro tem um ritmo alucinante num estilo que nos dá aquela ânsia de querer virar página a página até ao seu epílogo.
  
  Uma equipa de arqueólogos encontra-se a escavar junto ao túmulo de Montezuma II, na Cidade do México, quando se depara com algo muito misterioso no interior do túmulo. Pouco depois, uma violenta explosão mata toda a equipa, excepto uma jornalista que ali estava a acompanhar as escavações.
  
  É o início de uma aventura que nos irá levar a vários pontos do planeta, acompanhando não só essa jornalista, como também um estranho personagem que se intitula o novo Messias e afirma saber como salvar o Mundo da eminente catástrofe prevista para o dia 21 de Dezembro de 2012.
  
  Um livro muito interessante, cheio de ficção a até alguns clichés, é certo, mas que entretém bastante e coloca no mesmo campo de acção o passado da civilização Asteca com a clonagem humana e a tão desejada imortalidade que o Homem sempre buscou, a eterna busca da Fonte da Juventude.
  
  Gostei do livro, pese embora a ficção da imortalidade seja algo difícil de digerir, porém, os autores souberam colar muito bem a história e, julgo, construir todo um trama que daria um belíssimo filme.
• 
  Rachel

  Had I been aware that this book had anything to do with "2012" business, I would never have picked it up. Luckily, I didn't realize that until I was already into the book and intrigued by what was happening.
  
  I liked all of the characters, I think that they were delved into just enough so that there might be still a teensy bit of suspicion left. (Will Billy really help Seneca? Is her father really out to just get to know her? What are Matt's motives?) Although I was disappointed that everyone who claimed to be good was good (minus Carlos/Coytl), the storyline did keep me reading. There seem to always be something different happening and I like that in a mystery.
  
  Felt that the ending fell very short. Call me thorough, but I really wanted to know what happened after Scarrow finally died. How did the crowd react? Did all of his followers just give up? And how did the apostles get away? I think a sequel where they are being chased down would be really interesting, but not having any details about what they did after Scarrow's death annoyed me. And speaking of Scarrow's death, was it not a little too easy? I mean, doesn't this man have pretty great powers? Could he not have stopped Billy on his way up the stairs? Had him seized? And isn't it pretty silly of him to not have audio on his surveillance? I get that that might be expensive, but he has unlimited resources, yes? He could have EASILY prevented Billy and Seneca speaking to one another. I don't know, Scarrow just seemed a lot more put together and diabolical up until the end. His last images for me are of a weakling.
  
  Overall, I enjoyed the book, but it's not something I would re-read or really recommend.
• 
  Kate

  Very similar style to the Da Vinci Code, with slightly less Christianity and a little more ancient Aztec Gods.
  
  It's not my usual choice of reading material and, as such, I grew tired of it rather quickly. Unfortunately I also found it far too easy to predict the outcome. Perhaps this formula is just not challenging enough.
  
  For those with gentle stomachs I'd advise steering away from this book. There are a few rather gory passages, detailing some brutal deaths -- Seneca's fiancé, the Apache Indians slaughtering the Federales and a slightly-too-detailed sacrifice. (Seneca being the main character.)
  
  Seneca Hunt doesn't really develop as a character, which is quite disappointing. She starts out so strong with quite a bit of potential, but progressively becomes weaker and tepid. Seneca becomes dependent, needy and her intelligence appears to recede with each chapter. Perhaps I just like stronger women in my books!
  
  Matt Everheart (ugh) is the strong, dependable, handsome, intelligent cliché. Apparently he watched a little too much MacGuyver as he seems to always have something to help out in the multiple near-death situations. I promise I will refrain from eye-rolling.
  
  It was an easy read and quite enjoyable for that alone. There were a few too many clichés for my taste.
  
  Three stars might be stretching it a little bit, it's closer to 2.5.
• 
  Robin

  The basic premise was interesting (books like this stretch reality a little bit but that's what makes them fun). The characters were believable, the plot well paced, and the writing quality was good.
  
  One of the things I didn't like was the fundamental misunderstanding of at least one of the "apostles". The entire basis of cloning historic mass murderers was to recreate individuals who are predisposed to kill in mass quantities out of a blood lust or a sadism. But individuals like Mary I of England or "Bloody Mary" didn't kill out of enjoyment of killing; she was not a sadist. So she didn't seem to quite fit with the others. It seems like the author just picked her out because of her nickname "Bloody Mary". A much more deserving character would have been Vlad the Impaler but I assume he wasn't used because his resting place is unknown. Still, since the novel is set slightly in the future, there could have been a fictional "new find" of his burial place.
  
  But then, this is one of those things my husband would laugh at me for - finding immortality and the cloning of long dead historical figures acceptable but not the character assessment of one of them.
• 
  Mary Maffer

  Imagine walking past a restaurant that has an advertisement for pancakes. They look delicious. You think, "Why not? I've always loved pancakes."
  
  So you walk in, sit down, and wait for those pancakes. A waiter comes out. He slams an empty plate in front of you and then books it for the kitchen.
  
  A second waiter presents himself. He puts a glass of water in front of you, grabs the empty plate, and sprints away.
  
  A third waiter arrives. He brings a knife and fork and then dramatically knocks over the glass of water.
  
  The first waiter interrupts, shoves the third waiter down, and then shows you a picture of the empty plate.
  
  After an hour and seven minutes of this, you finally get your damn pancakes. And they're okay. A few lumps, not exactly what you imagined, but at least they fill you.
  
  In particular, you like that the waiters left it open what exactly was in those pancakes. You could have done without the second waiter standing around announcing how he's learned from all this, but that's pretty typical of this kind of restaurant, so you let it go.
  
  You leave, and have a real nice day.
• 
  Adriana Ferrero

  Another great thriller from Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore. As in their previous books, the authors mix modern science with ancient religious artifacts and cultural customs, all set against a race against the clock to prevent a disastrous outcome. The question raised in The Phoenix Apostles is what if scientific advancements enabled us to use human DNA to actually "ressurect" someone from the dead? What if this knowlege was then used for the purpose of bringing back to life twelve of the worst mass murderers in history? I know I am a sucker for these types of books, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
• 
  Tonia

  The book felt contrived, like everything happening was just a device to move the plot along, which is how every book works, but with this one I couldn't look past it. I couldn't just enjoy the book. I kept thinking, "The death at the beginning was just to motivate someone to solve a mystery, and this character showing up out of nowhere was just so they'd have access to inaccessible information," and things like that. The plot interested me enough to read until the end, because I wanted to know what was going to happen. However, most of the book was just unbelievable and I just couldn't really get into it. I won't be reading more by this author.
• 
  Greg

  This book is written similarly to Dan Brown's books with the religious angle and the chapters ending in suspense. The first half of the book is wonderful where each chapter jumps from character to character however it starts to lose its edge as the story progresses and more of the plot is revealed. I would consider the next book in the series when it comes out to see if Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore can keep the suspense and thrill longer through the book.
• 
  Caitlin Hillen

  At first I wasn't sure that I liked this, but once I understood the connection of billy groves to the rest of the plot I started to enjoy it. It was a bit like the Da Vinci Code, but not quite as good. Still, by the last fourth of the book, I couldn't put it down.
• 
  Reneasy

  I love a fun post-apocalyptic read, especially when theres history and tombs involved. I wish the good guys were as well developed as the bad guys though. The main character and I just couldn't get along. I found myself cheering everytime she got hurt, which wasn't often enough.
• 
  Jeff

  Reasonable book. Interesting premise and a bit of a religious theme which I always like. Compelling enough to get me to finish it but it wasn't the most engaging book I've read.