The Relic

Investigating a series of savage murders that are disrupting a massive new exhibition at the New York Museum of Natural History, graduate student Margo Green finds a clue in a failed Amazonian expedition. Reissue.

The Relic tells the story of an orphaned young man, Teodorico Raposo, who is brought to Lisbon from a provincial town in Portugal to live with his aunt, a rigid, stern—and oftentimes—forbidding Catholic. Her devout circle of acquaintances is made up almost entirely of priests, many of whom are more concerned with appearances than spirituality, and seeking her and their approval, Teodorico is driven to attend Mass, say rosaries, and frequent churches, all the while awakening to sensuality, women, and the material life in conflict with “Auntie’s” devotions, which are—inwardly—devoid of the charity preached by Christ. When Teodorico obtains a degree from the University of Coimbra, Auntie sends him to the Holy Land to search for a relic to cure her ills. He meets up with a learned German author and, after a sojourn to Egypt, the two make their way to the land trod by Jesus. It is there that Teodorico has the dream that takes up nearly one third of the novel: he witnesses the travails that lead to the Passion and Crucifixion, as well as the aftermath of Christ’s death. Faced now with his mission, Teodorico embarks on a search. He soon comes upon an item, a “true” relic authenticated by his German friend, the sanctity of which will send Auntie to the heights of spiritual bliss, so much so that she will make him her heir. But when Teodorico returns to Lisbon with it, deception awaits her as the result of a simple mistake that had been made, and disinheritance awaits him as a result of Auntie’s anger and vindictiveness.

Pressured by a patron who would buy a cardinalship, a sixteenth-century relic hunter and his best friend unsuccessfully forge a shroud before being placed in the custody of mercenaries to steal the celebrated Shroud of Chambéry.

Relic Hunter, the first instalment of X Masters Saga, revolves around Denver Grey, a relic hunter and adventurer who travels the world looking for new challenges. Partially based on facts, the story is set on the island of Sri Lanka known as the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. In addition to his quests for relics, Denver has a ranch where he has assembled a group of young boys and girls, all of whom are gifted with special powers. Their mission is to serve and help Denver, their mentor. Relic Hunter introduces these exceptionally talented young people and hints at what the future holds on their journey through life into an uncertain world. The story moves from mystery to murder, intrigue and drama, while simultaneously serving as a precursor to something more enthralling.

Nearly five hundred years after the French village of Domremy experienced the horrors of warfare and the brutal death of Saint Joan of Arc, the atrocities of war are once again a reality. United States Army Lieutenant John Chaple is no stranger to trench warfare. The day before the signing of the armistice that ends The Great War, Chaple becomes part of the last battle at Domremy. After Chaple and Germany Army Captain Otto Dengler become unlikely allies, one discovers the sacred relic of St. Joan inside the ruins of a Domremy church. As the lives of the two enemy officers intertwine through fates that lead them from the Black Forest of Germany to Niagara Falls, each strives to attain salvation and inner peace. In this historical novel, two unlikely allies transporting a sacred relic found during World War I embark on separate journeys of self-discovery.

War consumes planet Earth, but this war is far different from any other in its extensive history of violence. Races from other planets have found their way to Earth and have begun to tear it apart. Sierra Vazie, leader of the feared Drone Legion, is determined to reach total dominance, but she has obstacles to overcome. One of these obstacles is Jason Lance. Jason is a teenage boy from New York City, who has no idea how important of a journey he is about to embark on. According to prophecy, Jason is destined to save the universe from an impending destruction. Follow Jason and his companions into a world of magic and adventure like never before.

Tracing the history of St. Antoninus' cult and burial from the time of his death in 1459 until his remains were moved to their final resting place in 1589, this interdisciplinary study demonstrates that the saint's relic cult was a key element of Florence's sacred cityscape. The works of art created in his honor, as well as the rituals practiced at his fifteenth- and sixteenth-century places of burial, advertised Antoninus' saintly power and persona to the people who depended upon his intercessory abilities to negotiate life's challenges. Drawing on a rich variety of contemporary visual, literary, and archival sources, this volume explores the ways in which shifting political, familial, and ecclesiastical aims and agendas shaped the ways in which St. Antoninus' holiness was broadcast to those who visited his burial church. Author Sally Cornelison foregrounds the visual splendor of the St. Antoninus Chapel, which was designed, built, and decorated by Medici court artist Giambologna and his collaborators between 1579 and 1591. Her research sheds new light on the artist, whose secular and mythological sculptures have received far more scholarly attention than his religious works. Cornelison draws on social and religious history, patronage and gender studies, and art historical and anthropological inquiries into the functions and meanings of images, relics, and ritual performance, to interpret how they activated St. Antoninus' burial sites and defined them in ways that held multivalent meanings for a broad audience of viewers and devotees. Among the objects for which she provides visual and contextual analyses are a banner from the saint's first tomb, early printed and painted images, and the sculptures, frescoes, panel paintings, and embroidered textiles made for the present St. Antoninus Chapel.

A blunder draws Roger into the shadowy underworld of Tudor London... In his sixth journal, The Relic Murders, Roger Shallot must race against time to find the Orb of Charlemagne... and to save his own neck. Paul Doherty's Tudor mysteries are perfect for fans of Ellis Peters and C.J. Sansom. In the autumn of 1523, Roger Shallot, self-proclaimed physician, rogue, charlatan and secret emissary of King Henry VIII, has nothing to do. His master, Benjamin Daunbey, has been sent to Italy on a diplomatic mission, leaving him in charge of their manor outside Ipswich. Shallot, forbidden both to practise the art of medicine and to approach the beautiful Miranda, takes to reading. Discovering the potential wealth which can be accrued by the finding and selling of true relics, he goes in search of his own. Almost immediately he is in trouble - and in prison. Rescued by the return of his master and the influence of Cardinal Wolsey, Shallot finds himself at court, where he is ordered by the King and Cardinal to break the law - to steal back for the crown the Orb of Charlemagne, now under close guard at the priory at Clerkenwell. Benjamin and Roger have no choice but to agree to the task... Before long they are drawn, not only into the shadowy underworld of Tudor London and the illegal trade of relics, but also into murder and blackmail. What readers are saying about The Relic Murders: '[The] most exciting - and best written - of the six Shallot journals and well worth reading' 'This series has been consistently absorbing, fascinating, funny and thrilling, and [The Relic Murders] is no different' 'Pacey mysteries, with cunning plot twists and lots of action'