Millennium Rising [Hardcover]

Jane Jensen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 1999

Sacred texts around the world warn of the terrifying signs and wonders that will foretell the end of the world. For thousands of years, the prophets have always proved false. Until now . . .

Shortly after the change of the Millennium, in a tiny Mexican village, people of different faiths are flocking to Santa Pelagia from all over the planet to witness a miraculous visitation. Among them are twenty-four who experience something more personal: a messenger clothed in the raiments of his or her own beliefs--the Virgin Mary, an angel of Islam, the Hindu goddess Kali. And each is given the same terrifying message: the Day of Judgment is at hand.

The Vatican sends Father Michele Deauchez to investigate. And Deauchez, caught up in the incredible experience, watches his palms run red with blood from the wounds of the stigmata. Yet, as a man of reason, a man deeply scarred by his own experience of the supernatural, he cannot--will not--believe.

Simon Hill is an investigator of a different stripe. A top reporter for the New York Times, Hill has a nose for news--and Santa Pelagia smells like Pulitzer material. Especially when the portents foretold in the Book of Revelations--and now by the witnesses of Santa Pelagia, the so-called Twenty-Four--begin to come true.

As Deauchez and Hill search ever deeper for the truth--penetrating the holiest councils of the Vatican, the boardrooms of powerful multinational corporations, and the highest reaches of the U.S. government and military--they begin to wonder: Is this phenomenon a case of mass hysteria . . . a devious, far-reaching plot . . . or has God truly spoken?

This gripping novel vaults Jane Jensen into the front rank of suspense writers. A brilliant blend of ancient prophecy and vivid, complex characters, Millennium Rising is a terrifying, chillingly plausible thriller that will cling to you like a cold sweat and forever haunt your dreams.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Not long after the turn of the millennium, pilgrims of all faiths are drawn to a small Mexican town, where a vision appears to select believers of every religion (the Virgin Mary to a Catholic, the goddess Kali to a Hindu) and warns that Judgment Day is near. Drought and a new disease as virulent as Ebola are wracking the earth. Are the prophecies of the Book of Revelations being fulfilled? Cataclysms multiply as American reporter Simon Hill and French priest Michele Deauchez attempt to answer the question, only to meet with deadly opposition from the Vatican, a mysterious global corporation, and the U.S. government. Is the worldwide devastation the result of paranormally amplified mass hysteria, a terrifying conspiracy--or the will of God?

Any novel about Armageddon and plague inevitably invites comparison with The Stand. Millennium Rising isn't as strong as Stephen King's novel, but it's a scary, ambitious, suspenseful thriller that will keep you guessing till the end. And after reading it, you may find King's apocalypse rather wimpy.

Millennium Rising is the first novel by Jane Jensen, the computer game designer who created the Gabriel Knight interactive mystery series. Her non-interactive fiction debut is recommended to fans of thrillers, near-future SF, modern fantasy, horror, The X-Files, medical fiction, and terrifying nonfiction like The Coming Plague. It is not recommended to readers who want at least one significant woman character; females are few, and rarely seen. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly

Exploiting the paranoia surrounding the imminent new millennium, Jensen's first novel paints an apocalyptic vision of 21st-century avarice and affliction. In 2005 the world is facing famine. When numerous people in Santa Pelagia, Mexico, report visions of saints and gods, the Vatican sends Father Michele Deauchez to determine the authenticity of the sightings. Elsewhere, there is a quick succession of disasters: spores destroy human tissue and crops; a red tide slaughters fish worldwide; Pope Innocent XIV is assassinated; an Ebola-type viral plague breaks out. These events set Father Deauchez and his friend Simon Hill, a New York Times reporter, pursuing their predictable hypothesisAthat a conspiracy lies behind all the mayhem. The rest of the novel follows the heroes along numerous hair-breadth escapes from their enemies. These are led by a Bill Gates clone named Andrew Cole, head of a telecommunications firm whose global network has been publicizing the prophetic menaces. Dr. Michael Smith, a mild-mannered epidemiologist, is called in to deal with the plague and resolves to find the antidote. He is the only convincing character here, however, and does little to offset the implausible military scenarios, absence of significant female characters and pat ending. Jensen's lively descriptions of disaster offer a harrowing, voyeuristic pleasure, but the novel is unlikely to appeal to a wide range of SF (or thriller) fans. Agent, Shawna McCarthy. Author tour. (Oct.) FYI: Jensen designed the interactive computer mystery game series Gabriel Knight.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1st edition (October 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345430344
• ISBN-13: 978-0345430342
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,225,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jane Jansen first real novel is one scary hell of a ride, December 12, 1999

By 

M. van Driel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Millennium Rising (Hardcover)

The story, which reads like a cross between Chris Carters Millennium and The X-files, deals with the end of the world, but not as we know it. No comets or volcano's which can conveniently be stopped by a single action from a good-looking hero, but tales about famine and plagues and war. Let one thing be clear from the start, Millennium Rising is not a nice book and I would certainly not recommend it to the faint of heart.

The book starts with a vision, shown to twenty-four prophets of different religions. They are told that this time the end is really here. God has judged us and his judgment is fierce. Seven signs will not only make way for the apocalypse, but will also wipe out most of mankind. Only two people are wondering if there is real truth behind the prophecies of the twenty-four. They are Simon Hill, a New York Times reporter and Father Michelle Deauchez, a professional debunker in service of the Vatican. The question they have to ask themselves: is it really God who is behind the plague, the sores and the earthquakes, or is it mankind itself?

In the middle of the book I was wondering if Jensen wasn't overplaying her hand. The scope of the story is so broad, the things happening to the people and to the Earth so devastating, that it would be hard to end the story on a believable note. An Armageddon-like solution, with the two investigators stopping the end of the world with one push of a button, was simply not possible. It's just not that kind of book.

I must say that I should not have worried. If anything is clear about Millennium Rising, it is that Jensen is in complete control of the story. Like in a well-written computer game, plot points and clues are shattered around the book, some obvious, but most hidden in plain sight, like ancient prophesies. And the end, in all its tragic beauty, the narrative is utterly believable.

I made the game reverence on purpose, because Jane Jensen is mainly know as the writer/designer of the three great adventure games that make up the Gabriel Knight series. These CD-ROMs are detailed mysteries, set against a historical (and often supernatural) background. Not unlike Millennium Rising that is.

Jensen has written two novels before, based on her two first Gabriel Knight adventures. As much as I like them for the story, they read more as transcripts of the games then real novels and as such I can only recommend them to die-hard fans of the games, or people who don't want to be bothered with actually playing them. (Which is their loss by the way). Millennium Rising on the other hand is a real novel, with great writing and a cast of wonderful characters.

If there is anything wrong with the book, it must be that the two main characters are not as interesting as I would have liked them to be. Unlike the rest of the players, who are really flashed out, even though some of them are only present on some of the pages, Hill and Deauchez are a little flat. It is not until the end that the reporter and especially the priest become actual players in the drama, instead of devices to move the story along.

It is a minor scribble though. Millennium Rising is a great book, almost as good as Stephen Kings The Stand and a lot scarier.

Marcel van Driel

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At times terrifying, chilling, despairing, ever fascinating, January 11, 2000

By 

Tung Yin (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Millennium Rising (Hardcover)

At the outset, I should state that I am not a fan of horror fiction (aside from most of Dean Koontz's works). While I can tolerate blood and gore quite well, religious horror seems to strike a primal fear in me. Ten seconds of the head turning scene from "The Exorcist" was too much for me to stomach. Although I love Ah-nold movies, I passed on "End of Days."

So you can understand why I approached "Millennium Rising" with some trepidation. I bought it because it had been described as "The X-Files" crossed with "Millennium."

I'm happy to report that Jane Jensen did a fabulous job of bringing me to brink of that primal fear without crossing the line. That's not to say that the book is not terrifying at times, because it is, and there are sequences that really do evoke the feeling of the end of the world.

As other reviewers have noted, there is a key revelation (so to speak) about halfway through the novel, but that hardly means you understand everything. Rather, the puzzlement shifts to a different level.

The only negative I have to say is that the ending seemed a little forced. Not unbelievable; it works within the framework of the book. But it felt truncated. Another short chapter would have been good. (I think this is because when you have been writing about the Apocalypse, you need more than a few pages to end your story.)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best!, March 25, 2000

By 

Bill Degrasse (Little Rock, AR) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Millennium Rising (Hardcover)

Millennum Rising is more than just a novel. It is the battle between good and evil, told in a way that will not let you put it down. The blend of religion, New Age beliefs, the echo of aliens from outer space, and memories of Woodstock are all there.

This is a blend of political intrigue and corrup-tion. The title of the book fits the story perfectly. Jensen creates a fresh look at the Millennium, just when we need it.

This is the author's first big novel, but I am sure it will not be her last.