The Testament: a novel by Eric Van Lustbader

More religious intrigue**** January 20,2007

Eric Van Lustbader, who has witten many noteworthy novels in several genres, this time joins the religious secrets genre spawned by Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.The centuries-old Order of the Gnostic Observatines still guard part of The Testament of Jesus. The real secret is a fifth element, called the quintessence, which allegedly brought Jesus back to life after his crucifixion.The Gnostic Observatines are under attack by the Knights of St. Clement.Braverman "Bravo" Shaw suceeds his father as head of the Observatines and sets out to find Christ's testament. But trachery lurks at every turn as an old friend proves to be a deadly enemy. A good yarn but it pales besides The Da Vinci Code.