The Magic Circle by Katherine Neville

By: Unknown on Monday, September 14, 2015

Title:  The Magic Circle
Author:  Katherine Neville
Publication Date:  July 21st 2015 by Open Road Media Mystery & Thriller (first published 1998)
Length:  553pgs
Genre:  suspense
Shelf:  review
Rating: ★★★

Back Cover Blurb:

A collection of prophecies from before the time of Christ gives a female scientist the chance to save the world in this captivating thriller from the #1 international bestselling author of The Eight

In the last week of Jesus’s life, the Emperor Augustus orders the purge of all prophecies that question his divine power. Thus, in the crater of a dormant volcano, the books of the Sibylline oracle are sealed—lost to the world until the nineteenth century when Clio, a brilliant archaeologist, discovers them. The Sibyl’s words remain as potent as ever, having the ability to change the destiny of mankind. But who will be bold enough to harness their power?

More than a century after their discovery, some of the secret prophecies fall into the hands of nuclear scientist Ariel Behn when her beloved cousin is assassinated. If Ariel can discover the mystery behind the prophecies, she will be able to prevent a potentially worldwide catastrophe—but in order to do so she must travel to Russia, Vienna, and Paris where too many people are desperate to protect the secrets of these ancient writings.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Katherine Neville including rare images from her life and travels.

My Review:

Neville weaves some intriguing history with a great deal of, well, intrigue. I enjoyed how mythology and fact wound together to create a seamless whole. The plot was one of a kind and kept me on my toes throughout. I really enjoyed the fact that this was an intellectual story that really caused me to think. At the same time, there were some very disturbing aspects to the story that I felt weren’t absolutely necessary to the plot.

The plot of the novel definitely had lots of potential and captured my imagination, but Neville lost me for a bit with her cast. It definitely took me quite a while to connect with the characters in novel. They were very well developed, yet didn’t always seem to fit quite fully into the story.

All in all this was an enjoyable story, but the characters kind of fell short of the mark. It was definitely a thought provoking read.

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