The Celtic Conspiracy and The Problem With Power

I spent this last month catching up on reviews. In between the Book Fair, A Shadow of Time coming out and watching kids, finding a spare minute wasn't easy. However, I managed to pull it off.

I am a voracious reader. I love many different genres, but concentrated on my fellow authors and Amazon reviews. I'm an Amazon Vine participant which means Amazon sends me books (and other things on occasion) for me to review. 

This week I picked one book that was so so and another I just loved. 

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THE CELTIC CONSPIRACY was one of those books I had to push myself to finish. The premise is good, but the book was translated into English and I'm afraid it lost its pizazz. It fell flat and I don't know if that's due to the translation or if the writer needed to add some emotions to the piece. 

That said, I also had problems with everything being blamed on the Catholic church. There are plenty of religions out there that have issues of which Catholicism is just one. In addition, the Druids and those like-minded, manage to bring down the entire Catholic church which to me is a bit over-reaching. Then again, I don't follow Catholic conspiracy theories so this may be my problem. 

Here's my review: 

During WWII, Ronald MacClary's father discovers a treasure trove of Druid antiquities buried in an air-tight cave. Terrified the artifacts will be lost, he blows up the cave and keeps the location secret even as Catholic priests torture him and eventually kill him with a cyanide capsule.

Years later, MacClary Jr., now a Supreme Court Justice, follows in his father's footsteps by trying to discover the whereabouts of the clue his dying father whispered in his ear. He vows to bring the Catholic church to their knees by exposing them to the world as liars, murderers, and thieves. He will do this by challenging the church's authority in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Adam Shane sees visions of other times and places. Druids are murdered by Constantine and the treasure they carry is buried in a cave as they flee Constantine's wrath. Frightened and confused, Adam contacts Ronald MacClary hoping to discover why he dreams of the new paradigm he is envisioning.

Jennifer Wilson, trial lawyer, dear friend of Ronald, is ready to throw away her career by exposing the Catholic church. Once she meets Shane, sparks fly. She is the one who brings the church to trial only to have her case given over to the Supreme court--her true objective. 

Thomas Ryan  is a Druid with connections to Ronald. He can trace his family history back to the last Druid who died in the cave discovered by Ronald's father. He longs for the papers that prove his heritage.

Deborah Walker, linguist, has been in on the plan to steal the Druid antiquities with Ronald and Thomas from the very beginning.

The Catholic church knows of the cave and sets out their spies to follow the four. They will stop at nothing to secure the artifacts, even murder.

While this novel had the chance to be a good one, something is lost in translation. The emotive is flat. While you read the words you cannot feel what they say. Most of what is discussed in the book, i.e., the Catholic church's infamous history is already known.

The one thing I did sense, was the author's vehement hatred of the church. The belief that all the violence and financial discord alive in the world today is directly related to the past and the rise of the Catholic church and materialism. There is no mention of other religious discord. 

Overall, the book had potential but fell flat. I don't know if it was because of translation or the author's single-minded focus on the perceived abominations of the church.

It's with great reluctance that I post this review because the book has possibilities. I learned a lot about the Druids and am grateful for the education at least. 

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From a great new author, Agnes Jayne comes the PROBLEM WITH POWER.  I enjoyed this book and gave it my Shooting Star award. Not only is Jayne talented, but she weaves a tale full of suspense, heart-ache, and at last, resolution. Everything a good book needs. 

My review:

Emily VonPeer hopes her dreams never come true. In them, her lover dies in her arms and that is something she cannot bear to experience. When she meets Nicholas Flynn, she attaches herself to him in order to prevent his demise. At least that's what she tries to tell herself.

Her Aunt Maeve's death is hard to take and Emily finds herself as head of the house--a witch's house that is. The Paladin, an organization working to get rid of demons, finds Maeve's death suspicious so they send Nicholas Flynn to investigate.

Together, Emily and Nicholas work to uncover the truth about Maeve's death. They discover friends who are not what they seem and Emily grows into her powers, using them to fight off demons far stronger than herself. (Even the sexy one.)

THE PROBLEM WITH POWER kept me up until I finished it through that did not bode well for a good work day. When a book keeps me up, I know it's good.

I'm really excited about this series as this is the genre I love and THE PROBLEM WITH POWER is as good as it gets.

Just a note. I've turned off the comments section because for whatever reason I've been slammed with spam. Rather than have you read about buying Nike shoes or Speedos or whatever, I shut 'er down for a few weeks hoping they will go away and leave me alone. If you need to contact me you can reach me at [email protected] for now. 

Happy reading!

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