Customer Reviews

Fraternity of the Stone

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

THE FRATERNITY OF THE STONE is quality writing, right up there along with all the earlier Morrell books, THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE and THE LEAGUE OF NIGHT AND FOG, with which it forms a loose trilogy.

In THE FRATERNITY, Drew MacLane, an antiterrorist agent, renounces his former vocation and becomes a Carthusian monk. After six years of hermitage and isolation he finds himself at the center of a complex plot, when all his monastic brethren are killed in a search and destroy mission focused upon him.

Drew leaves the monastery and reenters the mundane world in order to hunt the hunters. What results is a tautly written book with enough action and fascinating details on tradecraft to keep any reader fascinated.

The plot is not quite as engaging as THE LEAGUE, which had some truly O. Henry elements. However, it is a dynamic story which moves at a strong pace throughout. Particularly entertaining are Drew's reactions to the outside world after so many years as a recluse. Morrell is not only observing here; he is making social commentary.

Definitely worth the time and effort.

I bought this book after reading "The League if Night and Fog". Drew had once led a life as an assasin for the C.I.A. He retreated to a monastery to escape the evlils of his previous life. He was nearly the victim of a mass killing. Thanks to his mouse he escaped being poisoned. It was very unique how the author managed to make the Ayatollah Khomeini the target of Drew's assasination attempt. It was also interesting how civilization had changed since Drew had been in the monastery. The appearance of the killer Preist eho turned into Drew's protector was a good addition to the story. Drew later discovers that he is betrayed by his mentor. He gains vengance and takes the blame for the death of the Priest and has to flee for his safety. A very good story that turns into a very good sequel. Buy thid book and then read the League of Night and Fog.

I have previously read other Morrell books and somewhat expected this one to be a little less delivering when I started. Boy was I wrong! Morrell takes us through the first few chapters giving the necessary background info while weaving in the events of the present, set in a monastery. The story then takes off as the ex-master assassin Drew is forced to run for his life from the monastery escaping those who had killed off all the monks. He is forced back into an unfamiliar society searching for friends. He is stabbed in the back and rekindles an old love while learning of an underground fraternity of priests dedicated to protecting the Church at any cost. I felt this book was an excellent showing by Morrell-twisting the usual violence and chaos in with the usage of religion, immense inner struggle, and an interesting new story involving the protection of the entire Catholic Church. A highly recommended action-packed book!

This book was wonderful. I just finished reading it after receiving it from my history
teacher. I could not stop reading it. If you like Clive Cussler books this book will appeal
to you greatly! The way Morrel incorporates an elaborate plot, conspiracy, action, love,
and history into one book is amazing. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys the
above-mentioned aspects of a book. If I could give this a 6 star rating, I would. Buy this.

The novel begins with a quick start and just gets faster and faster all the way to the end. Mr. Morrell certainly knows how to begin the action and continue. Also plenty of religion and knowledge of its orders envolved. I always feel that in all fiction there is a lot of fact and again I find it true with this writing. I highly recommend this one as I have the other four of his I have read. Do yourself a favor read it and enjoy.

David Morrell is without question my favorite author, and it is books like this one that put him in the top spot. For readers of "The Brotherhood Of The Rose", this is the follow up. The lead character, Drew MacLane, is according to Morrell a "reinvention" of Chris from 'Brotherhood'. Drew has entered a monastery after a life as an assassin, but is tracked down after six years and is now on the run. Just like 'Brotherhood', this book is full of authentic spy craft as well as action on every page. A new copy isn't available through Amazon, but it is worth whatever you pay for a used copy because you'll get your money's worth and then some!

Well, it looks like I'm late to this on reviews so let me just list a few highlights:

OVERALL FEELING: Great pacing; tense; excellent main character; ending was a bit of a letdown; great spy ideas; great action.

SCORING: Superb (A), Excellent (A-), Very good (B+), Good (B) Fairly Good (B-) Above Average (C+), Mediocre (C ), Barely Passable (C-) Pretty Bad (D+), Dismal (D), Waste of Time (D-), Into the Trash (F)

DIALOGUE: A- STRUCTURE: B+ CHARACTERS: B+ EMOTIONAL IMPACT: A SURPRISES: B+ SPY IDEAS/GADGETS/SKILLS: A INTRIGUE: B+ PACING: A THE LITTLE THINGS: A OVERALL STYLE: A FLOW OF WORDS: A- CHOICE OF FOCUS: A TRANSITIONS/FLASHBACKS/POV: A COMPLEXITY OF WORDS/SYMBOLISM/THEMES: B+

OVERALL GRADE: A (at the lower cusp)

CONCEPT: Great idea. What makes this blend interesting is Morrel's mix of the church with the violence of espionage. Drew carries the guilt around with him and worries about his soul, but another part of him is still a killer.

INTRIGUE: Keeps turning the cork screw here. For a good part of the novel, Drew isn't sure who's trying to kill him. And, even when he gets a lead, its only one segment of the part. So, he may wipe out a few enemy agents but it takes a long time before he realizes who's out to get him.

CHARACTERS: There's a great deal of focus on Drew and he's an interesting character. He isn't the typical assassin type since he bears so much regret that he sequesters himself away into a monastery and then inflicts wounds on himself with a little whip. But once he gets moving, he's a killing machine. And, I think the majority of readers find this fascinating. We may not admit it but a spy is like the cowboys of old; self sufficient and working outside the rules. In a homogenous society, this is a very attractive set of traits. Drew has an interesting mix of temptation in regards to sex with his old love.

THE LITTLE THINGS: Morrel did his research. Many of the means used to execute maneuvers seem to be real, as if real spies would have used them in such circumstances. This isn't a silly James Bond style story. Agents get hit by bullets and it hurts like hell. Lots of questions that Drew asks himself. Helps us understand the life of a spy and risks to be avoided (vital towards understanding the agent and making the story work).

Highly recommended to spy thriller fans.

This is the first david morrell book i read. But it is a truely amazing book. Author cares about details so much such as the death of the mouse Stuart Little. He describes the training and life style of an agent in a very realistic way. He also gives us the story about Iranian leader Ayetullah to make the story linked with the reality so this is not a pure fantasy for a reader. Moreover he explains the structure of church very well-especially for a muslim like me. I wish he developed the relationship between Arlene and Drew more through the story then the book would be excellent.

this book was written a few years back,its about the opus dei
the catholic intelligence org. its the best fiction book of its kind ever written.its a real thriller, that begins in a monastery and becomes a chase book like no other ever written.
the story ,the characters, the pace of the book is non stop.
morrell, has written a book that far out paces the da vinci code.both are about a secert org.that no one knows about.
in and out of the catholic church.but that where the secert ends.this book is so much better in every way than the da vinci
code, that you want be able to wait to tell your friends to buy
this one !! the fraternity of the stone.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No matter what order you read his books in, each is complete in itself and explains history and the Catholic church in relation to the the current book. A priest finally explains the origin of the ring with the ruby, sword and crucifix and who wears it. Drew is living in a monastary to escape from those who would kill him. Everyone thinks he is dead for he has tied up all the loose ends and entered the hermit order to redeem his soul. But after six years his location is found out and he escapes only by a twist of fate. Now he must seek revenge on those who violated the Church. Contains a lot of violence, killing and has a lot of action but it is a good read.