MOSAIC
When archaeologist Nic Mancuso receives a frantic phone call from his uncle, Vatican priest Father Rosario Ferri, claiming the Vatican will fall in three days, a centuries old struggle between the Vatican and a secret cult, The Knights of the Third Age, reaches flash point.
At the centre of the conflict is an ancient mosaic encoded with occult power and its links with a famous 13th century apocalyptic prophesy. Whoever obtains the mosaic and deciphers its clues has the potential to summon the legendary power of the Antichrist.
A trail of bizarre ritualistic murders across Rome convince Nic and occult historian Gabriella Rossi that there is an unexpected adversary at work: the discoverer of the mosaic, corrupt medieval scholar, Professor Ugo Zimmatore. The power-hungry scholar has a weapon no one could have foreseen: the confessional diary of the mosaic’s tormented creator.
When the mosaic disappears Nic and Gabriella have less than 24 hours to outrun and outthink the forces determined to change the face of Christianity forever . . .
At the centre of the conflict is an ancient mosaic encoded with occult power and its links with a famous 13th century apocalyptic prophesy. Whoever obtains the mosaic and deciphers its clues has the potential to summon the legendary power of the Antichrist.
A trail of bizarre ritualistic murders across Rome convince Nic and occult historian Gabriella Rossi that there is an unexpected adversary at work: the discoverer of the mosaic, corrupt medieval scholar, Professor Ugo Zimmatore. The power-hungry scholar has a weapon no one could have foreseen: the confessional diary of the mosaic’s tormented creator.
When the mosaic disappears Nic and Gabriella have less than 24 hours to outrun and outthink the forces determined to change the face of Christianity forever . . .
"Mosaic is a fast-paced Vatican conspiracy thriller," Susan explains, "but readers who loved taking a trip to the dark side with Blood of Dreams will find much familiar territory. Arcane occult knowledge, murder, characters driven by dark and powerful obsessions and a cataclysmic finale with a twist in the tail. The story moves between two time periods: modern day Rome and the exotic and sophisticated court of 13th century Palermo, Sicily. In modern day Rome we follow a trail of gruesome murders in a race against time. Seven hundred years earlier, we follow the confessions of a brilliant astrologer-magus whose fate had led him to create the most terrifying occult device ever conceived."
Some historical facts upon which Mosaic is based:
* The 13th century apocalyptic prophecy that drives the conflict between the Vatican and the novel's cult organisation, The Knights of the Third Age, is a real one. Among other things, the prophecy claims that the arrival of the Antichrist will herald the downfall of the Vatican power structure. Many anti-Vatican cults sprang up around this proclamation and persisted for some time, but were largely suppressed by the 16th century.
* Michael Scot is a legendary figure of the early medieval period. A renowned magician, astrologer, translator and physician, he was also feared as a necromancer. His reputation as an adept of the black arts earned mention in Dante’s Inferno and Boccaccio’s Decameron.
"In 2007 it was my great pleasure to spend time in Rome and Palermo (a city I have found as fascinating to explore as Venice) investigating the locations that will feature in Mosaic. I was extremely fortunate while in Rome to gain access to Domus Aurea, the ruins of the magnificent villa built for Emperor Nero. The site was extensively damaged by flooding a few years ago and access to the general public has been severely restricted ever since. Back in Australia and engrossed in weaving fact into fiction, another task became insistent -- one which wasn’t easily resolved using my own powers of research and observation. And for this solution I have Ben Burress, a very patient astronomer with the Chabot Space & Science Center in California, to thank for his generous assistance.
"I hope to be able to bring Mosaic to readers very soon . . ."
Coming next . . .
Mosaic
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