Ancient Shadows

Ancient Secrets, Book 2

By: Joanne Pence

Narrated by: Tim Paige

One by one, a horror film director, a judge, and a newspaper publisher meet brutal deaths. A link exists between them, and the deaths have only begun....

Archeologist Michael Rempart finds himself pitted against ancient demons and modern conspirators when a dying priest gives him a powerful artifact - a pearl said to have granted Genghis Khan the power, eight centuries ago, to lead his Mongol warriors across the steppes to the gates of Vienna.

The artifact has set off centuries of war and destruction as it conjures demons to play upon men’s strongest ambitions and cruelest desires. Michael realizes the so-called pearl is a philosopher's stone, the prime agent of alchemy. As much as he would like to ignore the artifact, when he sees horrific deaths and experiences - firsthand - diabolical possession and affliction, he has no choice but to act.

The dark legends are true. To stop the artifact's evil, Michael must follow a path along the Old Silk Road to a land that time forgot and somehow find a place that may no longer exist in the world as he knows it.

©2015 Joanne Pence (P)2019 Joanne Pence

Overall 3.5 rounded up to 4 :)

Well, the story is 3.5 stars, really...
I liked the first book in the series a lot - it was action- and mystery-packed; this installment feels much slower, in comparison.

The main plotline itself is well thought out, the mystery intriguing - an ancient pearl which turns out to be a powerful philosopher's stone comes into Michael's hands and now he's the one who has to fight powerful demons... Sounds great but there are some small things that make me rate the book 3.5 for the story. What are they? Well, there are a lot of dangers to escape, a lot of discoveries into the ancient history to make and a lot of journeying to do but somehow all of these don't feel as rushed and as urgent as the story in the previous book was. There are parts that simply drag on a bit, with all the explanations of the history and legend behind the pearl and Genghis Khan, and Marco Polo...There's also a woman character in tow - but she's not Charlotte; Charlotte was Michael's equal partner, this time the woman character seems to be a burden rather than help, at least for most of the time. Also, the demons, though truly cruel and vicious do not feel as bad and unpredictable as I feel they should (the unredictability of the previous book's otherwordly horrors turned out really hard to match, even for its creator:)).

But, with all these weaknesses, it's still a very good, engaging and gripping novel. We get to know a bit more about Michael and his partner, and about the pain Michael carries in his heart and soul. We travel around the world, getting to know some bits and pieces of ancient history, myths and legends of different nations (which I always like), and all that in a very good interpretation by Mr Paige. As with book no. 1, he's very good at conveying emotions, differentiating voices and taking the story to a higher level altogether.

DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Great....kept me captivated, super

joanne pence, and tim paige are a great team of writer and narrator. the book is super , keeps you thinking and wondering whats next. great writer and reader.

Ancient Shadows

This was a really good book!A bit of history and a lot of adventure! Tim Paige was a fine narrator. I was given this book by the narrator,author or publisher free for an honest review.

great adventure

Joanne Pence write a great story. It's starts strong and continues until the end. There's plenty of action as the story takes the main character to different parts of the world. Tim Paige does a very good job in narrating the story.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

Ancient Shadows review

The author Joanne Pence tells a unique story in Ancient Shadows. It's interesting, with unique characters and well worth the time. Five stars.