The Armageddon Box - A Novel [Deluxe Edition] [Hardcover]

Robert E. Weinberg (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 221 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press; 1st edition (1991)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0006DJENK
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,995,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born on August 29, 1946, making me one of the famous "baby boomer" generation. I attended Hillside High School in New Jersey, then got my B.S. degree in mathematics at Stevens Institute of Technology. I later obtained by M.S. in mathematics at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where I taught math for two years. I was working on my Ph.D. in Number Theory at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago when I met my (future) wife Phyllis in 1972. We were married in 1973 and I left college to start my own business. I ran three very successful corporations after leaving college and did some writing on the side. When I was 40, I decided I wanted to concentrate more on writing fiction, which I had done in college but had abandoned afterwards. So I started writing novels in 1986. My first book, THE DEVIL'S AUCTION, was published in 1998 and I've written another 15 novels since then. I'm probably best known as the author of a popular trilogy I wrote for White Wolf Games entitled THE MASQUERADE OF THE RED DEATH. These three novels have been published in a number of different languages (including French, German, Spanish and Hungarian) and I've gotten well over 1,000 fan letters about them since they first appeared.

I also have written 17 non-fiction books, many of them in the pop-science field with my friend, Lois H. Gresh. And, in my spare time, I've edited around 150 anthologies. I like to keep busy!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars come guess what's in the puzzle box, June 6, 2006

By 

H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Armageddon Box (Mass Market Paperback)

There exists in the world a puzzle box, a rare 1500-year-old relic purported to be imbued with wondrous powers. Whosoever possesses this relic is ensured of ultimate glory and mastery over men. Decades ago, the box was stolen away from the vaults of the Vatican. Now, with unholy hunger for this relic further blackening the hearts of the forces of darkness, the hunt for the Armageddon Box grows ever more desperate and dire...

Here is the electrifying sequel to The Devil's Auction. The Armageddon Box reintroduces the reader to history professor and ex-Special Forces vet Alex Warner and sorceress-in-training Valerie Lancaster. In this go-around, Alex meets with his old friend Howie Rosenberg, who regales Alex with a horrific World War 2 vampire encounter and then asks for his aid. But Howie is killed mere moments later in a hail of automatic gunfire, leaving Alex once more in the lurch and dangerously immersed in uncanny ongoing events. Faced with a murderous religious sect,thousands-year-old vampires and a neo-Nazi master sorcerer, the professor must dig deep and call on his combat experience and scholarly intellect to weed out his enemies and solve the enigma of the much-coveted ancient relic.

But Alex is not alone. Joining him in the trenches once again is ex-fashion model Valerie Lancaster (now his wife), who is well on her way to becoming a powerful sorceress. Help also comes from their good friend Makoto Tsuiki, owner/master chef of the restaurant Mama Mia's and a pretty darn good mage (he's giving Valerie magic lessons). Their adversaries are the secret religious order, the Circumcellions, and the enigmatic sorcerer Dietrich Vril (he sweats a lot), who commands the Very Old Folk (other-worldly vampires) and is implacable in his relentless decades-long pursuit of the Armageddon Box.

While not equal to the Devil's Auction, this is still a slam-bang horror thriller and most definitely not to be missed. Weinberg once again puts Alex and Valerie Warner through the wringer. This time, the calm but deadly Makoto Tsuiki, a very intriguing zen-like character, is more involved in the action (he only showed up in brief spurts in the Devil's Auction), and this is good news for the Warner couple and for humanity. This novel's plot heavily involves the early WW2 Nazi movement and its pertinent personages, and Hanns Heinz Ewers' 1911 novel Alraune plays a key role. Weinberg also delves into bits of history of the Catholic Church (specifically the Donatist movement, to give background to the Circumcellions - who actually existed). Honestly, I did find those particular passages pretty dry going. Nevertheless, when Weinberg isn't giving the reader a quick history lesson, it's a captivating, thrill-a-minute reading experience.

I think the reason I relish this book and the Devil's Auction so much is that the author pits an ordinary man against powerful fantastical foes and has that man vanquish them using non-magical means. Alex Warner is well on his way to becoming the Batman of the horror genre. So hop on this wild four-star ride - it's rife with deadly peril, great adventure and sorcery of the darkest ilk. It's always a good thing when the good professor is buried up to his neck in occult doings.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great sequel!, August 23, 2009

By 

G. Gaydos (Chicago) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Armageddon Box (Mass Market Paperback)

This was a fantastic sequel to the Devil's Auction. I wish the author would have continued with these characters in another series. Positvely captivating from the first chapter.