Chris Kuznseki Archives -

I first met Jonathan Payne and David Jones on their fourth adventure The Lost Throne for Book 3 of 2012, I traveled back in time to their second adventure Sign of the Cross. Both books sprout from the mind and pen of a terrific writer Chris Kuzneski. From his website:

The first victim is abducted in Italy then crucified over a
thousand miles away. The next day, the same crime
is repeated—this time in Asia and Africa.
Three different continents but one brutal pattern:
someone is reenacting the execution of Christ.

While visiting Spain, Jonathon Payne and David Jones
are arrested for crimes they committed during their
military careers. Fortunately, the CIA brokers a deal on
their behalf: all charges will be dropped if they help
catch Dr. Charles Boyd, a master thief who has stolen
some of the finest treasures in Europe.

With little choice, the duo begins their pursuit, only to
realize that Boyd is more than a criminal. He is one
of the world’s top experts on Ancient Rome and is
close to making a discovery that threatens to rewrite
the basic foundations of Christianity.

From its breathtaking beginning to its mind-blowing
conclusion, expect the unexpected with Sign of the Cross.

This is the type of book I love, one that blends history and action into one terrific story! At the end of these types of stories many others tell you what is actual fact and what the author made up, at the end of this one Chris didn’t say. He writes in the Author’s Notes: ” I have no intention of telling anyone (including my mother) which details are true and which are make-believe. I mean, that’s one of the reasons I chose to become an author. I longed for the opportunity to blur the line between fact and fiction without ever having to explain myself”

Well in this book he certainly did blur those lines, and he left me wondering about the events surrounding Christ’s crucifixion! I love the book and the characters of Jonathan Payne and David Jones. I read on Chris’ website that he almost killed Jones off in the FIRST book, boy, are all his fans thankful he didn’t do that!!

the series is now up to Book 7 so I have a lot of catching up to do and for all of you who haven’t spent time with Payne and Jones believe me it’s time well spent!!

By Chris Kuzneski

Book No 3 for 2011The Lost Throne by Chris Kuzneski is the fourth book of five in the Jonathan Payne David Jones series and it’s a good one. I love books that are based on history and teach me something! This one certainly did! After seven monks are brutally killed at the Holy Trinity Monastery in Greece, Nick Dial, head of Interpol’s Homicide Division is called to investigate the crime. Video footage of the murders reveal that the murders appear to have been commited by Spartans!! Meanwhile ex-special forces officer Jonathan Payne receives frantic calls from a Richard Byrd in Russia who is afraid he is being followed and will be killed! After Byrd is murdered Payne reaches his assistant, a graduate archeology major at Stanford, Allison Brown. Brown, Byrd;s assistant was set to meet Byrd and leave Russia when he was killed. Payne sets out to rescue Brown and discover why Byrd was killed. The remainder of the story revolves around Byrd’s search for the The Lost Throne of Zeus and that puts Payne and his partner on a collision course with the murderers in Greece! The story was great the characters believable and likable and I am certainly going back to catch up on the series! But what did it teach me?

Well, while the story was set in St Petersburg I learned some facts about that city, including the fact that because of all the rivers and bays it is known as the “Venice of the North” and that because of the geology and water the subway system is the deepest in the world!! Part of the action took place in the Nevsky Prospekt Station. (See photo). Another setting was the St Isaac Square where Jon and Allison where Allison was telling Jon about The Bronze Horseman statue when they were confronted by Russian soldiers and Allison was told to tell the soldier something he didn’t know about the city and she responded by telling him that Peter the Great opened the first museum in St Petersburg but was afraid that no one would come so he offered a free shot of vodka when they reached the exit of the museum a tradition that continues to today! But back to the statue which stands in the middle of St. Isaac’s Square and honors Nicholas I, the former emperor of Russia. The statute depicts Nicholas riding into battle. The statue was hailed as an architectural marvel when it was built because it was the first equestrian statue ever with only two support points, the rear legs of the rearing horse! When I was looking for the picture of the statue I saw in Wikipedia that the station rests on a pedestal created by the largest stone ever moved by man!! you can read about it here.

The majority of the story though takes place in Greece, where the monks were killed at the Holy Trinity Monastery one of the six monasteries of the Meteora (suspended rocks) of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Greece, second in importance only to Mount Athos. The description of this monastery took me immediately to Google to look for images and they are breathtaking. You can read more about them here The final action of the book takes place at Mount Athos the most important center of the Eastern Orthodox Church in Greece. The Mount is located at the end of a peninsula in the northeastern corner of Greece. There are twenty monasteries spread across the peninsula and only males are permitted and access is limited it is a self-governing territory like the Vatican!

So when people me ask, why do you read fiction? I respond that it takes me to places I’ve never been and teaches me! That’s why I love the writing of James Rollins, Clive Cussler, and Dan Brown and others of this genre. Hopefully, I can say the same about Boyd Morrsion whose debut novel The Ark I started this morning! So I hope I peeked your interest and you’ll pick up The Lost Throne,,,,,,,,oh yeah remember the guy in Russia was looking for the lost Statue of Zeus…… wonder where it could be????????