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Literary Friday: The Watchers

Friday, June 29, 2012

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This week I read The Watchers by Jon Steele: a very unique suspense thriller. The antagonists are fallen angels and Nephilim, while the main protagonist is the Archangel Michael. Unlike Cassandra Clare's Nephilim in the Mortal Instruments series, these Nephilim are not heroes protecting humanity from demons; these Nephilim are soul-eaters.  The Nephilim are mentioned in the Book of Enoch, a book believed to be only a myth until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947.  It is quoted along with the Bible in this novel.  Only a couple of Christian sects recognize this apocryphal book as sacred although Enoch is mentioned in the Bible several times.

Lausanne, Switzerland is the setting for The Watchers.  Three people have been drawn to Lausanne...three people with nothing in common, yet they share the same destiny.  First, there is an English private detective named Jay Harper.  Jay wakes up one morning with absolutely no memory.  A telephone call offering him a job in Lausanne is an offer Jay can't refuse because he has nothing else to do with his time, or at least he can't remember any plans he made previously.  Katherine Taylor is a former Playboy College Edition playmate from UCLA and high class call girl.  An exclusive club of the world's elite called the 200 Club recruits Katherine to work in Lausanne.  A young man named Marc Rochat is sent to Lausanne from Canada when he is ten after his mother's death.  He becomes le guet of the Lausanne Cathedral.  Le guet is the nightwatchman who calls the hour from 10:00 PM until 2:00 AM each night.  It is a custom that is centuries old.  Marc is a sweet, perceptive man with cerebral palsy and a slight gait.  He is plagued with visions from "beforetimes" or things that happened in the past, and visions of the future. According to the good angels, our world was intended to be a paradise, but the bad shadows (as Marc calls them) are intent on completely destroying it.  These three characters' lives intersect at the cathedral, and the fate of the world is in their hands, for they discover an ancient secret hiding below the cathedral: a secret forgotten by angels that could provide insight into creation.

There is violence, adult language, and very scary scenes in this book.  Steele is a fantastic writer, and I can tell he is a journalist because he does not waste words in spite of the more than 500 pages in this book.  I enjoyed reading about the cathedral,  and I would like to visit Lausanne one day just to visit it.  I would even enjoy staying up late to hear le guet call the midnight hour:

"C'est le guet; il a sonné l'heure!"
"This is the nightwatchman.  The hour has struck!"



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Until next time...

Happy reading!
Ricki Jill

6 comments

  1. I vaguely remember my New Year's resolution that this year I was going to only read books from my to-be-read pile, or new books that are continuations of series that I always read. I have failed miserably. This sounds like another to put on my list.
    Carole (Stapes)

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  2. You always post books I've never heard of before, that are truly intriguing. That's a great talent of yours. :)
    Thanks!

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  3. That sounds so intriguing! Thrilling in a creepy kind of way. :)
    I will have to remember this one for sure. I love all the stories like This Present Darkness or The Screwtape Letters.

    Thanks for hosting!
    ~Liz

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  4. I just noticed this book while at Barnes & Noble yesterday. Wondered what it was about...thanks for the overview. So disappointed at Barnes and Noble yesterday almost a third of the store had been set up with children's toys. I asked the clerk when leaving and she said that they found that it was a high selling product and they have to do what they have to do to survive.

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  5. I forgot again! Will get organised later on and post something my friend. Whilst I really enjoyed reading your review of The Watchers Ricki Jill I do not think I will be reading, although the setting does make it tempting.

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I'm Ricki Jill. Welcome! I'm honored that you're reading my blog. I enjoy sharing my creative lifestyle @ The Bookish Dilettante. For more information about my blog, please read the Start Here page. Thank-you for stopping by, and I hope you'll consider following me via email.

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