Synopsis
Right after the millennium, pilgrims of all faiths flock to the Mexican village of Santa Pelagia to witness a miraculous visitation. Among them are twenty-four who experience their own startling personal vision. A messenger appears differently to each - as the Virgin Mary, an angel of Islam, the Hindu goddess Kali - but carries the same terrifying tidings: The Day of Judgment is at hand.
To investigate this extraordinary situation come two very different men. Father Michael Deauchez is an agent of the Vatican, with personal experience of the supernatural - and a dedication to reason that will not allow him to believe the wonders he witnesses. Simon Hill is a top New York Times reporter, convinced that the events in Santa Pelagia are Pulitzer material, especially when the apocalyptic prophecies of the Twenty-Four begin to come true.
From the holiest councils of the Vatican to the boardrooms of powerful multinational corporations to the highest level of the U.S. government and military, Deauchez and Hill hunt desperately for the truth, as the prospect of the world's end looms ever closer. But what is the truth? Mass hysteria? A devious, far-reaching plot? Or has God truly spoken?
Publishers Weekly
Exploiting the paranoia surrounding the imminent new millennium, Jensen's first novel paints an apocalyptic vision of 21st-century avarice and affliction. In 2005 the world is facing famine. When numerous people in Santa Pelagia, Mexico, report visions of saints and gods, the Vatican sends Father Michele Deauchez to determine the authenticity of the sightings. Elsewhere, there is a quick succession of disasters: spores destroy human tissue and crops; a red tide slaughters fish worldwide; Pope Innocent XIV is assassinated; an Ebola-type viral plague breaks out. These events set Father Deauchez and his friend Simon Hill, a New York Times reporter, pursuing their predictable hypothesis--that a conspiracy lies behind all the mayhem. The rest of the novel follows the heroes along numerous hair-breadth escapes from their enemies. These are led by a Bill Gates clone named Andrew Cole, head of a telecommunications firm whose global network has been publicizing the prophetic menaces. Dr. Michael Smith, a mild-mannered epidemiologist, is called in to deal with the plague and resolves to find the antidote. He is the only convincing character here, however, and does little to offset the implausible military scenarios, absence of significant female characters and pat ending. Jensen's lively descriptions of disaster offer a harrowing, voyeuristic pleasure, but the novel is unlikely to appeal to a wide range of SF (or thriller) fans. Agent, Shawna McCarthy. Author tour. (Oct.) FYI: Jensen designed the interactive computer mystery game series Gabriel Knight. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.