Messiah Node (Mass Market Paperback)

by Lyda Morehouse (Author) "Sometimes I wondered what God was thinking..." (more)
Key Phrases: wire wizards, combat computer, virtual temple, Temple Rock, Agnostic Press, Dome of the Rock (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist
With eerie precision, a meteorite falls on the Dome of the Rock, destroying it. Given a world run by religious authorities, that event promises to be the opening salvo in a tremendous conflict, and the sign posted at the virtual site--"Temple under construction"--that used to be a neutral space for all religions, bars visitors and points to other signs of impending doom. One of those is the proliferation of messiahs, including the often perplexed AI, Page, claimed as messiah by a cult popularly known as Maizombies despite his being a devout Muslim. Angels and demons walk the earth, too, drawing mere mortals into their age-old fray willy-nilly to fulfill prophecies or merely as tools. Morehouse knows how to pace her story, weaving strands of plot and drawing the reader ever deeper into its fascinating but unnerving world. Although the third book in a tetralogy, this one includes enough backstory to stand solidly on its own. The final volume ought to be riveting, for apocalypse is on the horizon. Regina Schroeder
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
Readers will cheer. -- Booklist

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Roc (June 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451459296
• ISBN-13: 978-0451459299
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #900,144 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner!!, June 6, 2003

By	Ember (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

Lyda Morehouse has delivered another excellent book. Her characters continue to be rich and complex, with likable villains and odd heros. The well-paced plot pulls the reader along, introducing new characters, revisiting old ones and constatly adding to the intrigue and depth of a world where church and state are one.

So often, an author starts out a series with fireworks for a first book and by the third has slid down to the fizzle of warm soda pop. Not so with Messiah Node. Another excellent offering from Ms. Morehouse.

Get this book & settle in for a good read. If you haven't read the first two, do so.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Apocalypse Wow!, June 14, 2004

By	Susan Cannon Harris (Chesterton, IN USA) - See all my reviews

MESSIAH NODE is set a hundred years from now, but it feels like it could happen tomorrow. That's what makes the third book in Morehouse's series so compelling. Built around a sudden escalation of the Israel/Palestine conflict, MESSIAH NODE draws a chilling portrait of a world in which political and spiritual power have become indistinguishable, and the armies of the Big Three monotheistic religions are at daggers drawn and ready to unleash global destruction. While unknown forces maneuver the world to the brink of apocalypse, an artificial intelligence, a pro-Israel ex-soldier, a rogue wire wizard and an earthbound archangel try to save themselves, the world, and what they care about while staying one step ahead of the Inquisition.

Like its predecessors, MESSIAH NODE is fast-paced, action-packed, full of engaging and innovative characters who are always ready to laugh at themselves and their predicaments. At the same time, in this novel, Morehouse's universe gets darker, and she is not afraid to ask us to feel some of the heavier emotions that her characters are struggling with. Morehouse's development of Rebeckah, who was a supporting player in ARCHANGEL PROTOCOL, is particularly challenging, and her willingness to take on the Israel/Palestine conflict should get her some kind of purple heart for political fearlessness.

MESSIAH NODE is funny, riveting, frightening, and full of surprises; and it could not possibly be more relevant. In a world full of false shepherds and hysterical sheep, MESSIAH NODE offers us a fresh new look at the End Times mentality that got us into this mess we call the twenty-first century, and gives us some hope that we may eventually get out of it alive.

3.0 out of 5 stars Wondeful world building but too much religion and shallow characters, April 27, 2009

By	K. Eckert "Devourer of all books fantasy" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The third installament in the Archangel Protocol. At present there are four books in this series; Morehouse is in the process of writing a prequel book called the "Resurrection Code". This book followed much in the manner as Fallen Host. I thought it was okay but the overly heavy religious themes get boring for me and the characters again seem to lack depth.

The story from Fallen Host continues but this time we are seeing from the eyes of Michael (archangel), Page, and Mouse. Other characters take their shot at telling from their points of view too; so we hear again from Diedre (her story is told in the first book), from the Dragon, and from Morningstar. Each chapter ends with a brief news bulletin describing world conditions as people are convinced the apocalypse is drawing closer. The plot follows as the new messiah and Anti-Christ are searched for.

This book is very creative and has a very complex plot. The world-building in this book (the whole series) is phenomenal. I find this whole series intellectually interesting but I don't take a lot of joy in reading this series. This book is no different.

The religious theme in this sci-fi series is overdone; there is no subtly to it. You are constantly having religious parable, cross-references, and consequences shoved at you. I don't particularly enjoy reading about religion and I find the depth of obsession with it in this series to be a bit silly. I also think that the character development and the plot development suffers from the fact that the story is parsed into little bits told from different characters' points of view. This method of writing worked much better in Fallen Host, there is propelled the story forward. In this story, for some reason, this method of writing parses the story up and makes the plot drag. Similarly you aren't allowed to have time to get attached to any of the characters.

I continue to read this series because I find the humanization of AI's interesting. I also find some of the "good" vs "evil" aspects of the story to be interesting. The world created is very detailed and interesting too. It is a bit disturbing though that, by far, my favorite characters are the Dragon of the East and Page. These are both AI's and seem to have more believable personalities and relationships than the human characters in the book.

This book is not as complete as Fallen Host and many things are left hanging. I will definitely read Apocalypse Array (the 4th book). I am not sure I will read the prequel though: I just don't get much enjoyment from these books. Lyda Morehouse also writes under the name Tate Hallaway and I am interested to read some of those books to see how her writing style crosses between genre.