F. Paul Wilson has written a number of apocalyptic thrillers over the years, but he has not really done much with the Christian end-of-the-world ideas that come from Revelations and have been done, for better or worse (often worse) in such stories as the Left Behind books. Wilson's Virgin is his venture into this genre, combining Christian mythology and his own writing style to make a book that can be entertaining to readers of many different religious backgrounds.
The story opens during the Gulf War in 1991. An errant Scud missile exposes a cave that has some unusual artifacts: some scrolls that are found by a pair of young Arab shepherds who see a gold mine in the ancient documents. Years later, a forged version of these writings makes it way to Father Dan Fitzpatrick, a homeless advocate in New York City.
For all his good deeds, Fitzpatrick does have one sin: he is secretly lovers with the nun Carrie Ferris. While Fitzpatrick treats the translated scroll as merely entertaining, Ferris takes it seriously and drags her lover to Israel in search of the body of the Virgin Mary herself. They are successful, setting up a series of events that are beyond either of their control.
If you are expecting a truly Christian novel, you will be disappointed. The ideas expressed herein, while reasonably respectful of Christianity, are more plot devices than reverent messages. In fact, by the end of the book, it is clear that this is not a promotion of any faith. Instead, this is a supernatural thriller, with Wilson's usual flair for creating page-turning fare. If you are a Wilson fan, you may not find this his best work, but it is still a fun read.
To all of the ignorant folk who don't listen to others that VIRGIN was published LONG before Dan Brown's snoozer, get a clue.
Wilson has been a talented, successful writer for far longer than the other authors who ventured into the religious thriller vein. He did it on a whim, under a different name - not like the horders of hacks who are just aching to cash in on the wake of Davinci's success.
If you want a novel that has a plot, real characters, and substance, rather than a ton of non-fiction info stuffed into a write-by-numbers two dimensional efforts, read this.
This book is pure junk. I could write a review and use my thesaurus to denigrate it, like many reviewers. Instead i will keep it short and simple. The book is not worth the loss of the tree's that it took to make this book. The premise is garbage, character development is poor, dialogue is weak. Without these things a book is a waste. I usually enjoy Mr. Wilson's books, have read the majority of them in fact. This is the first that i have felt compelled to complain about.
