Veil of Lies (Resurrection Dawn Book 4)

Veil of Lies. Book 4 in the Resurrection Dawn series. Nearly escaping the international police, Victoria reunites with her son. Friends shed new light on the cold.
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Nearly escaping the international police, Victoria reunites with her son. Friends shed new light on the cold case. Read more Read less. Kindle Edition File Size: Customer reviews There are no customer reviews yet. Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a product review. Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon. Bad writing, stupid story, deceptive title. These are romance novels with some preposterous scenarios.

Today it is known as the Temple of Inscriptions see fig. In addition, he noticed a number of plugged holes carved into one of the flagstones. His workmen joked that perhaps they were finger holes for a trapdoor—unlikely for a slab of limestone weighing several hundred pounds. After four seasons of digging out the tons of rubble that the ancient Maya had placed to seal the passage, Ruz and his workmen were able to clear an upper flight of forty-five steps see fig.

Upper flight of steps, Temple of Inscriptions, Palenque The actual crypt at the base of the stairway was opened on June 13, The crypt is dominated by a massive sarcophagus covered by a fifteen-ton slab of intricately carved limestone see fig.


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In some ways it is as if it had been carved only the day before. The sculptors of Palenque were masters, among the finest anywhere in the Maya world, and the sarcophagus lid of Pakal is a masterwork justly ranked as one of the most beautiful Maya carvings to have survived from antiquity. It is marked with the profile head of God C, seen on the lower left corner of the trunk, a symbol that the Maya use to identify objects that are profoundly sacred. At first glance the tree looks like a cross, leading early Spanish priests who saw similar trees in the monumental art at the site to conclude that they were Christian crosses.

But the Maya were careful to identify the motif as a tree. The trunk and each of the three branches are marked with curving double lines with two attached beads, the glyphic sign for te tree ; they are also marked with shining mirror signs, the triple-lined motif with cross-hatchings, indicating that the tree shines with reflective light, analogous to the bright surface of highly polished jade, obsidian, or hematite mirrors.

Such mirrors were used for at least three thousand years in pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica as a means of prophecy and divination. In Maya art such signs distinguish objects and deities as divine, precious, or the means of passage to the world of the sacred. At the ends of each of the branches of the tree are jeweled serpent heads with squared snouts that curl back on themselves.

These represent sacred flowers, likely the flower of the ceiba tree, whose stamens and pollen cores double back in a similar manner. The cut shell on his head and other deity markers identify him as Itzam Ye, the avian form of Itzamna, a sky god and one of the gods who participated in the creation of the world. His name is derived from the word itz, a Maya concept that is difficult to translate into English. Itz is a kind of life-generating power that permeates the fluids of all living things.

It may be found in blood, tears, milk, semen, rain, tree sap, honey, and even candle wax. His presence atop the World Tree, as depicted on the sarcophagus lid of Pakal, indicates that the tree is alive with sacred, life-giving power. These glyphic symbols all express the Maya concept of k'ulel sacredness , indicating that the tree is surrounded by an ambient atmosphere of sacred space. The ancient Maya believed that sacred persons such as kings and other members of the royal family carry within them the divine spark of godhood.

By drawing blood from their bodies, they released a portion of their divine nature, thereby giving birth to the gods. The symbolic representation of this birth was the opening of the maw of the great vision serpent, through which sacred beings emerged to bestow on the world tokens of power and life. For the Maya it was the open jaws of the serpent. Numerous inscriptions and carved panels show royal individuals letting their blood onto fragments of bark paper. This paper was then burned in offertory bowls, sometimes combined with aromatic incense or rubber to accentuate the scent, color, or volume of smoke rising from the flames.

The Maya believed that within the smoke of such offerings could be seen manifestations of the World Tree as well as undulating vision serpents, with supernatural beings issuing from them. Upon accession, Maya kings had a white cloth band tied around their heads with one or three jade images of this deity set over the brow. The god of royal blood thus emerges on the left western side of the sarcophagus lid as a token of the sacrifice of Pakal. Sak Hunal emerges on the right eastern side as a sign of the dawn or restoration of kingship.

This may refer to the rebirth of Pakal himself or to the rebirth of kingship in the guise of his son and successor, K'inich Kan B'alam II.


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The bowl is marked with a large, four-leaf clover—shaped k'in day, sun glyphic sign, identifying the head as the sun. The upper portion of the head is fleshed, with the curled pupils in the eyes characteristic of the sun deity. The lower half of the head is skeletal, however. The bony lower jaw bears the tiny holes, or foramina, where nerves and blood vessels once entered the mandible in life. The fleshed upper portion of the sun and the bony lower half indicate that the sun is in transition, half above and half below the horizon.

This occurs at both dawn and dusk. This begs the question of which is implied here—sunrise rebirth, resurrection or sunset death and sacrifice? Not optimal in terms of preachiness, but not over the top, either. This is definitely one of the most creative urban fantasy books I've read within the last five years, even with its flaws, and I really can't wait for book two, whenever it does decide to come out. Dec 18, Abhinav rated it it was amazing Shelves: You can find the full review over at my blog: Shadowhawk reviews the first in a new post-apocalyptic fantasy series from Angry Robot Books.

Nothing else can capture the reading experience. Black Feathers is a novel that is set in two very different times. The first is the post-apocalyptic world where we follow Megan Maurice in fulfilling her destiny as a keeper of knowledge from the lost times.. The second is the pre-apocalyptic world as we see the birth of Gordon Black and through him see how the world, specifically England, falls into anarchy and tyranny with lots of shades of V for Vendetta mixed in.

He has captured the feelings, the attitudes and behaviours of his two protagonists really well and he has given them an almost equal page-time.

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That is doubly great since neither character feels neglected at the expense of the other. Whether we see Gordon Black as a young kid, or as a teenager, his character always rings true. His story arc is one where he has to learn to grow up while still young, still inexperienced in how the world functions. It would have been a challenging enough circumstance had the world been as we know it. The old government, the old social mores, the old relationships, they are all gone, and all that remains is the basic family unit, struggling to survive in an increasingly hostile world.

There are lots of hints throughout the novel that he is someone special, someone unique, and that ultimately he is going to leave his mark on the world. It all added immensely to the dark fantasy atmosphere he was creating from the get go, and contributed to a wonderful reading experience. With Megan, it was like reading a low fantasy novel with young adult characters, very much like the early parts of Peter V.

The dichotomy between the two serves to enhance and enrich both stories, further adding to the immersive experience of the novel. Of course, the two stories are also connected by the Crowman, a distant and mysterious individual about whom people are conflicted: Is he a saviour or is he Satan himself? The horror aspect of the character comes into its own in the sense that there is never any certainty about what he is, who he is, or what he wants. I really enjoyed that he was made out to be a possible lurking menace in the human psyche, someone who could perhaps be classified as Lawful Evil in a way!

Jun 12, Ginger Nuts rated it it was amazing. This review has taken rather a long time to make it's way onto the site. There is a reason for this, and it's a good one. Two days after buying this book, I found out that yes I was indeed going to interview Joe Hill in front of a live audience. This meant that there was no way I could do this book the service it deserved until I got that out of the way.

So Saturday morning I took the book down from the shelf and headed out to one of those places where I could fill my body live giving sugary co This review has taken rather a long time to make it's way onto the site. So Saturday morning I took the book down from the shelf and headed out to one of those places where I could fill my body live giving sugary coffee. Was the wait worth it? Well you're just going to have read on With Black Feathers, Joseph makes a subtle shift from writing ecological themed horror, that entertained as well informed the reader about some important issues, to writing a Dark Fantasy coloured with the same passion and desire to educate the reader.

Now this may sound like his books are preachy and full of self righteous anger, please believe me that this is not the case. You see Joe fully understands that the prime aim of a novel is to entertain, the fact that Joe will make you think at the same time is purely down to his talent as a writer. Black Feathers, can be classed as a Dark Dystopian Fantasy. The story is told from two narrative view points, the Black Dawn, a time of environmental apocalypse, and generations into the future in its aftermath, the Bright Day.

In both of these eras a journey must be made to find a saviour, know only as The Crowman, however will he be our saviour, or our final destroyer. Sometimes when novels are told from the viewpoint of two time zones one of the narrative threads tends to suffer, sometimes it feels as though one has been tagged on as filler. This is not the case here, both narratives have been written with vim and vigour, both of them have been developed, molded and polished into a living and breathing worlds connected The Night Country, which is the vivid dreamscape conjured by the mind of Megan, the heroine of The Bright Day world.

So we have a brilliant pair of worlds for our story to inhabit, what we need now is a pair of protagonists to carry the story. It's a good thing that Joe knows how to write a cracking pair of heroes as well. Our first hero Gordon, is introduced at the start the book, in a vivid and tense chapter that describes the entry in our world, and the early years of this dark haired and eye. Counterpoint to Gordon is Megan, who has been selected as the apprentice to the wonderful Mr Keeper. She is to become the world's first female Keeper, and must leave behind everything she knows in the pursuit of this task.

Both of these characters are vividly drawn and come fully to life within the story. Supporting Megan and Gordon is a cast of wonderful characters, the aforementioned Mr Keeper is a fantastic eccentric character who lights up the page whenever he appears, there is also a fantastic villain in Skelton, who like the best of fictional baddies is rotten to the core. Black Feathers is a triumph of a novel, D'Lacey has produce a book that is epic in it's themes, while at the same time manages to be a very personal story about our lead characters. The way in which D'Lacey intertwines his thoughts on such themes as the environment, and the end of days is a joy to read.

This is a riveting read and hopefully it will be the book that finally see Joe reach the huge audience he so rightly deserves. Aug 01, Melissa rated it really liked it Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is a pretty swell book. It tells two stories concurrently; that of Gordon, born into current-ish day England where everything is going to hell, and that of Megan, a young girl living in the peaceful future.

The Blacks are just trying to live off their own land, hoping to ride out calamity with their family unit intact. I certainly hope she shows up again someday. Apr 02, Colin Leslie rated it it was amazing. Typical you wait years for a Joseph D'Lacey book and then three come along at once. Following hot on the heels of the excellent Snake Eyes and Blood Fugue, Black Feathers is the first volume in a proposed duology and it's the book I have been waiting for D'Lacey to write, let me explain.

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Black Feathers tells the tale of two adolescent children, Gordon Black and Megan Maurice who are entwined in a journey despite occupying different periods of time. A prophecy tells of the Crowman, "a dark man is Typical you wait years for a Joseph D'Lacey book and then three come along at once. A prophecy tells of the Crowman, "a dark man is coming and he signals the end of everything we know" and both Gordon and Megan are special players in this prophecy.

Neither has any real idea of their importance but gradually those around them begin to take an interest and it's not long before they are separated from their families and thrust into an epic quest to prevent the forthcoming apocalypse. A simple battle of dark versus light is of course a well used and frequently abused theme but this book handles it in an altogether new and interesting way. D'Lacey's work has always been full of morality, from the anti-factory farming message in Meat to the eco-horror of Garbage Man, but in Black Feathers, Joseph D'Lacey has integrated his messages much more subtly without losing any of their power.

Gordon's land is a place threatened by climate change and a totalitarian government known as the Ward. Feeding on the greed and terror of the populace, the Ward are a frighteningly realistic vision of the future. Contrast that realism with the mythology of the Crowman and the folklore of the Crow and you have all the ingredients for a fascinating morality tale.

Black Feathers

Even better is the fact that D'Lacey, in this first volume at least, doesn't clarify whether the light or dark path is correct. So we end up with two heroes, Gordon and Megan, who may in fact be headed for conflict. What really makes the book though is D'Lacey's writing. His early tales were good but this is better than good. Loaded with atmosphere, this is a book that draws on all that mythology, all that folklore and creates magic from it.

At times a fast paced thriller, at others a poetic eulogy to nature it's always literary, intelligent and thought provoking. Regular readers of my reviews will know that I have always held Joseph D'Lacey in high regard but this writing raises him into the upper echelons of horror literature. First up, I have to say that I was not in a right state of mind to read the story.

We are moving in 8 weeks to a different country , so I am very anxious and it is hard for me to really concentrate on anything. I did had some difficulties following the prose, and had to reread some parts English is not my first language. But never less it grabbed me and it was beautiful written. It wasn't so much about the action but really more about the development about two young people faced with an extra First up, I have to say that I was not in a right state of mind to read the story.

It wasn't so much about the action but really more about the development about two young people faced with an extraordinary faith. The story is told in two POV and different areas. It did get confusing at the beginning of the chapter to know which POV I was following, but after I got into the flow of the book I had no problem picking it up.

The story is told by Gordon and Meghan. Gordon's birth sets of the Eco-pocalypse! He is as the one who will safe or destroy us all. He has to find the Crowman to ensure the survival of humankind. The Crowman is also referred to as Black Jack. I believe if he is referred to as the Crowman he represents the good in us, where Black Jack stands for the evil. But honestly the whole Crowman thing left me with a lot of questions. So I wont really go into that. Meghan is born generations after Gordon. It is her fate to recapture his story and retell it to the world so history wont repeat itself.

Both undertake a breathtaking journey to fulfill their destiny. Where Gordon is faced with the Ward, who is determined to kill him, and the discoveries of his powers, Meghan's struggle is more based on her insecurities and fears. The way they develop through out the book is wonderful, and I found myself connecting with both of them, to the point I was filling physical ill for them.

That is another thing, the world setup was so realistic, and no far stretch from how our society would react if faced with environmental disasters on an epic scale. You know, when I read the Hunger Games, the idea that society would send children to fight to the death and think this would be entertainment, was something I just can not see happening. But everything in Black Feathers is so realistic that it did give me a sense of how it would be.

The Ending leaves you with enough unanswered questions to ensure you will read Book 2 "The Book of the Crowman" which has no release date as of yet!!! Highly recommend this book! Now, rivers overflow, volcanoes spill hot lava, the very crust of Earth splits and soil is borne anew. For Gordon Black, a young boy blessed and cursed to follow the path of the Crowman, this new world takes everything from him while subjecting him to daily torment at the hands of the Ward and the ills of mankind in general. Now on the path alone he looks deep within to discover what the Crowman is, and how he can influence the second coming of man.

The story is told from two POV and set in two different times. While at times it was rather slow, I enjoyed the way the entire novel was paced, it has a slow steady flow to it. I loved how the two MC, living in different times, experiencing completely different things, still were connected by the same thread and how things slowly unfolded. The two MCs, Megan and Gordon, are both adolescents who are embarking on a journey of change better late than never i guess The two MCs, Megan and Gordon, are both adolescents who are embarking on a journey of change and discovery.

They are connected by their destiny despite a century of difference. I personally found myself more drawn to Megan, but I think partly because Gordon went through a much bigger and stranger change. They are both extremely well written characters and I felt I got to know much about them, but more so I took part in the growth and changes the went through. By the way this is written in 3rd person, so in my opinion it's even harder to bring these things across to the reader.

D'Lacey did an incredible job at it. In fact all characters are written with much insight and are extremely well developed! The world-building is really well done. I think it's one of my favorite things about the book Megan's time and Gordon's time have such a vast difference that in a way D'Lacey did create two worlds and cleverly connected them.

While Gordon's time has a dystopian feel to it, Megan's is more medieval. I really like how they are interlinked and make slowly sense and how in a way either could be real. The bits about the Crowman are beautiful mystic and enticing. They are so well written they feel like part of real mythology. The prose was beautiful, dark and a testament to D'Lacey skills as an author. A wonderful new series, for me it's a must read for dystopia and classic fantasy lovers. I already put the second book on my wishlist for next year Jul 14, Charlie rated it really liked it.

I honestly bought this book as a joke. Reading the back, it sounded like some over the top trying-to-be-edgy horror novel, and the author's photo in the back didn't convince me otherwise. So imagine my surprise when this book turned out to be something completely different. Parallel coming of age stories, adventure, fantasy What really struck me was how real the two main characters felt. As someone who used to be an avid reader of YA fiction, I feel that this is the first time I've read a teen I honestly bought this book as a joke. As someone who used to be an avid reader of YA fiction, I feel that this is the first time I've read a teen character or two written by an adult that didn't feel like it was trying Too Hard to connect with its audience.

The kids, Megan Maurice and Gordon Black, are in extraordinary circumstances, but at the same time there's the familiar glimpses of fear and uncertainty with regards to ones future and purpose, confusion, the feeling of not being Good Enough despite the incredible path you're on, the inevitable comparison of oneself to the parent they wish to emulate. There's so many familiar teenage emotions and I was impressed with how easily D'Lacey wrote them.

The writing style is as easy and gorgeous as the landscapes described throughout. While environmentalism and leaning to live with nature in symbiosis is a huge theme, it never feels preachy. It just feels like an entertaining story. Jun 03, Liz Barnsley rated it it was amazing. So we come to Black Feathers by the wonderfully funny on Twitter! Joseph D'Lacey a book I've been dying to get around to and finally did! Stephen King, my favourite author, reckons Joseph D'Lacey rocks.

Having completed this novel I have to say I'm in utter agreement. This is a fable of sorts. A dark fairy tale. Telling two stories, interlinked but in different times, it follows two young people on their journey towards a prophetic future. Megan has an encounter that will change h So we come to Black Feathers by the wonderfully funny on Twitter! Megan has an encounter that will change her life forever, Gordon is learning who he is and what his part will be in the world. Is an apocalypse coming? Shadowing them both is the Crowman, a mythical figure, and one who is absolutely fascinating.

As we journey with them, there are unexpected challenges and both will have to grow up fast. As plot details go thats all you are getting. Pacing is perfect for the story being told. Slowly but surely the plot unfolds and it will have you turning pages - a warning, the temptation WILL be there to flip forward a bit - I nearly did at several stages because I was dying to know but don't do it.

It comes when it comes and when it does its electrifying. I held my breath through the last few chapters and boy, I'm not sure how patient I'm going to be waiting for whatever comes next. Feb 07, Joe Jones rated it really liked it Shelves: Gordon Black and Megan Maurice are from two different times and each has their own story to tell.

What connects them is the Crowman, who also goes by the names Blackjack and Scarecrow. Gordon lives in the beginnings of post-apocalyptic England. Megan lives generations later when people live a simpler existence. Yes, we have seen this idea before of a young boy or girl who finds out their destiny is to save the world. Here we even have two of them. The author pulls you in right away and keeps you immersed in his world. Along the way he introduces some great characters to keep the story moving. I will warn you there were some incidents that were quite jarring to me and unexpected.

Part fantasy, part horror and part coming of age story, this book will entertain you and make you think. This is the first book in a planned two book series, which I wish I knew before I started.


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It is going to be a long wait until ! Jan 25, Victoria Hooper rated it really liked it Shelves: It has a very interesting setting, being split between two time periods, neither of which is very common in fantasy, and the combination of the two seemed quite unusual to me. Whereas post-apocalypse is a well-trodden sub-genre, the actual build up and early days of the end times is much less common, perhaps featuring more in the thriller genre than fantasy.

These are the present day sections of the novel, which are actually told in past-tense. The other sections are set in the future in present tense, post apocalypse but far enough ahead that civilisation now lives as normal, albeit in a less numerous and more rural and at-peace-with-the-land state. I thought both these settings were very interesting, and the inclusion of subtle magic mainly in the future setting , a well-created sense of folklore, and prophecies of doom all made the world of this book a really memorable one.

The author has an amazing ability to evoke a dark, tense and brooding atmosphere, as if there is always someone watching, something waiting, or disaster about to strike.

Book 11 in the Resurrection Dawn series

There were points where the tension was so thick it felt like the characters must have trouble breathing. This feeling ties in well with the mythology of the Crowman in the story. What is this mysterious being — a man, or something else? What does he want, and is he here to save the world or to destroy it?

Is he evil or good, or something beyond either? The figure is creepy, his folklore is creepy, and events, particularly towards the end of the book, left me questioning whether we are seeing the story of some kind of manipulating devil-creature after all. This was well done, complementing the story and the atmosphere, and leaving a sense of mystery. The book did have some problems for me, the main one being that there were sections that felt as if they dragged for too long with very little happening. There were times when all either Megan or Gordon were doing was walking and thinking, which I would have preferred to be cut a bit shorter.

I also found both Megan and Gordon to be very intriguing characters who grow a lot through the course of the novel. The parallels between the two were clever, as if they were mirror images of each other, or driven by fate to repeat the endless cycle of the past. This drew the two storylines together, helping to keep all aspects of the story feeling relevant. The book has some strong messages about the way humans interact with their environment and the way we treat the Earth.

The apocalypse is not brought on by some kind of freak accident, but through the incessant build-up of human belligerence, selfishness and greed. The author does a great job of showing that it is people who are the true horror — the way they treat both the world and each other — and most of the true danger in the book particularly to Gordon comes from other survivors. This is certainly a relevant book. In the last stage of the book the pace really speeds up and some major changes begin to happen.

With memorable settings, vivid writing and important themes, Black Feathers is an extremely atmospheric and thought-provoking read. This review also appears on my blog. Thank you to Angry Robot and NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Black Feathers 4 32 Feb 01, Videos About This Book. Became vegetarian after writing MEAT. Fond of meditation, unfathomable questions and cats. Repped by Robert Dinsdale. Other books in the series. Black Dawn 2 books.

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Books by Joseph D'Lacey. See All Goodreads Deals…. Trivia About Black Feathers B No trivia or quizzes yet. Quotes from Black Feathers. She had been sick, yes, weakened by an infestation. Now she was ridding herself of it. For those who remained alive the choice was a simple one, whether they realised it yet or not: Work with the land-- respect it and give back to it-- or die.

When you came into the world, you brought me a new purpose and a new drive. Suddenly , I was not just a parent, I was a guardian too. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Black Feathers by Joseph D'Lacey.