Customer Reviews

Coins of Judas

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This is a gem. One of those rare horror books that will scare the heck out of you until the very end. The plot is great, it is written so that it draws you in. The subject matter is very scary. This is a great book written by a great writer (he also wrote The Mastership Game which is great). Due yourself a favor, if you're a fan of really great horror fiction, and get this book. It's worth it!

Paul Stauffer is a professor of crime-psychiatry at the university of San Francisco and in his opinion religion and faith would have their best time behind themselves. The avowed atheist is conviced, that there for everything in the universe is a rational explanation and that religion and art are of the same kind, because they are either the work of a genius or a bag player trick. Because there would be neither God or still some kind of bad power, criminal behavior has to be evaluated by means of medical instead of moral terms....

Although better knowledge and by self-interests Stauffer defends his psychological appraise during the court hearing, that finally causes to the acquietal of the murderer Karl Kramer an gets him the acquaintance of the puzzling Helen. At a dinerparty Helen asks the professor, what he would be ready to give, in order to experience all "eternal truths"....

At the same time the indications of a 1000 years old, dark prophecy of pope Silvester II. accumulate. This prophecy is standing directly before it's fulfilment. In the Vatikan pope Johannes XXV and his three combatant fellows are preparing temselves for the fight against the messengers of the darkness.....

The novel is a fantastic and fascinating mixture with the elements of psychology and mystic. The borders between C G. Jung and the medieval "Malleus Maleficarum" (witch hammer) are flowing. The strictly scientific-rational beginning follows a gradual change into a religious-mystical action, whereby the figure of puzzling Helen(a) riminds of Goethe's Doctor Faust Part II.. Now astral journeys with bilocations belong to plot, like the hunger for knowledge, an greed for power, betrayal and other abysses of soul. The name of the Leading actor Stauffer is an interesting allegory, becauses it awakes associations to medievallyn emperor Friedrich II. of Hohenstaufen, who was recognized as the "Anti-Christi" by many of his contemporaries and the pope, who put a spell on him. At the end of the novel origin and meaning of the term "simony" becomes understandably. The mention of historical events and persons (Bannockburn, Milvi bridge, the Roman emperors Diokletian and Julian Apostata), of astrology (conjunctions of the planets) and hermetic (Hermes Trismengistos, Zoroastranism, Kabbala. Manichaeism) and the notes of the author together are rounding the overall view. ... ....

....that means the maximum valuation of 5 Amazonstars!