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Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
May 2005, 416 pages
Paperback:
Jan 2006, 400 pages
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse Review Team
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Explosive in both its pace and its revelations,
The Third Secret is a
remarkable international thriller. Bestselling author Steve Berry tackles some
of the most controversial ideas of our time in a breakneck journey through the
history of the Church and the future of religion.
Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children,
sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world.
The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not
disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and
anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the Church has truly
unveiled all of the Virgin Mary's words–or if a message far more important has
been left in the shadows.
Vatican City, present day: Papal secretary Father Colin Michener is concerned
for the Pope. Night after restless night, Pope Clement XV enters the Vatican's Riserva, the special archive open only to popes, where the Church's most
clandestine and controversial documents are stored. Though unsure of the
details, Michener knows that the Pope's distress stems from the revelations of
Fatima.
Equally concerned, but not out of any sense of compassion, is Alberto
Cardinal Valendrea, the Vatican's Secretary of State,. Valendrea desperately
covets the papacy, having narrowly lost out to Clement at the last conclave. Now
the Pope's interest in Fatima threatens to uncover a shocking ancient truth that Valendrea has kept to himself for many years.
When Pope Clement sends Michener to the Romanian highlands, then to a Bosnian
holy site, in search of a priest–possibly one of the last people on Earth who
knows Mary's true message–a perilous set of events unfolds. Michener finds
himself embroiled in murder, suspicion, suicide, deceit, and his forbidden
passion for a beloved woman. In a desperate search for answers, he travels to
Pope Clement's birthplace in Germany, where he learns that the third secret of
Fatima may dictate the very fate of the Church–a fate now lying in Michener's
own hands.
Vatican City
Wednesday, November 8th, The Present
6:15 a.m.
Monsignor Colin Michener heard the sound again and closed the book.
Somebody was there. He knew it.
Like before.
He stood from the reading desk and stared around at the array of baroque
shelves. The ancient bookcases towered above him and more stood at
attention down narrow halls that spanned in both directions. The
cavernous room carried an aura, a mystique bred in part by its label.
L' Archivio Segreto Vaticano. The Secret Archives of the Vatican.
He'd always thought that name strange since little contained within the
volumes was secret. Most were merely the meticulous record of two
millennia of Church organization, the accounts from a time when popes
were kings, warriors, politicians, and lovers. All told there were
...
Berry provides background to his research in his 'Writer's Note' at the end of the book; in this he clearly distinguishes where fact ends and his interpretation begins. This does make for interesting reading - and if you don't mind a few plot spoilers up front, might be something to consider reading before you start the book - so that you can put the elements into context as you read...continued
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(Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).
Katherine Neville, author of The Eight
Controversial, shocking, explosive . . . rich in a wealth of Vatican insider knowledge and two thousand years of Virgin Mary visitations. The Third Secret will change our view of the relation between religion and wisdom.If you
were uncomfortable with the plot line in The Da Vinci Code,
you'll want to keep The Third Secret at more than arms
length!
The premise of the book is that the 'Third Secret of Fatima'
wasn't revealed in its entirety. In this Berry is reflecting the
opinion that a number of people expressed at the time the final
prophesy was revealed in 2000 - 40 years after the first two
prophecies had been revealed and 19 years after the Vatican
claimed it had been fulfilled (with the attempted assassination
of Pope John Paul II). It's...
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