The Sacred Cipher

by Terry Brennan

History's greatest secret could be tomorrow's greatest threat

More historically and biblically accurate than The DaVinci Code and just as adventurous as an Indiana Jones movie, The Sacred Cipher, the first book in The Jerusalem Prophecies, combines action and mystery to draw readers into a world of ancient secrets and international escapades.

When an ancient scroll appears in a secret room of the Bowery Mission in New York City,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0825424267
• ISBN13: 9780825424267
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Kregel Publications
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Some things are better not found

How do you manage to work modern geo-politics, the composer of Pomp and Circumstance, an ancient and still barely understood language, and Charles Spurgeon the most recognized preacher of the nineteenth century into a tightly written novel of suspense? Pick up The Sacred Cipher by Terry Brennan and you'll find out. What begins as the casual discovery of a long forgotten scroll hidden within the walls of the Bowrey Mission in New York City escalates into an all-out race to prove the existence of a rumored temple hidden beneath the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem for a millennium. In his debut novel, Brennan puts his background as an award winning journalist and longtime officer of the Bowrey Mission to good use in weaving a fast paced story that blends strong characters, tight dialogue, and action that hits a dizzying pace as the story races to its conclusion. If you think the story idea is not plausible you would do well to bone up a little on Middle Eastern religion and politics or watch the evening news for a few weeks. The spiritual themes of the story are strong but woven into the fabric of the story rather than seeming artificial or forced. The people sucked into this mystery have depth and reflect the personalities of real people. Some believe but doubt. Others doubt but wish they could believe. And all involved find their personal search has ramifications far bigger and potentially more destructive than any ever considered. With this kind of writing one can only hope that Terry Brennan has many more stories in him yet to be told.

A Gripping Read

This book draws you in from the first page. The characters are well-developed and you feel like you know them within minutes of their introduction. Then there's the storyline - who doesn't love the idea of a secret code to decipher which might lead to one of history's greatest hidden discoveries in the Holy Land? For me it takes a lot to say a book might do well as a movie script, but I think this one would. Mr. Brennan has done his homework in researching his material, and he can spin an amazing tale. I could see someone reading this book at one sitting, if you had a day to burn through it - it's that good a story!

An Adventure In Pages

I love it when a debut author blows you away with his first book! Terry Brennan does exactly that with The Sacred Cipher. I had to remind myself it was a work of fiction. His research is flawless. His facts are amazing. His story is totally believable. His main character Tom Bohannon uncovers an ancient scroll while renovating the mission where he works. The search for the meaning of the ancient language takes Tom and his colleagues on a dangerous journey into the Holy Land and the secret tunnels beneath Jerusalem. While these men search for the meaning, others are prepared to kill and die to prevent the discovery. And, as the secret are revealed it becomes apparent that the entire world is about to change. This book is not a bedtime read . . . because you will not be able to sleep until you get to the end. And, if you are the type of person who likes to read the past page firs, DON'T. I highly recommend this book. I believe Terry Brennan has set the bar very high for himself and any subsequent novels. While that may be a challenge for him, for us as readers it will be a delight. I look to see this book on the big screen someday.

Adventurous, ripped-from-the-headlines, kind of novel

An Adventure of a Lifetime. History's Greatest Secret-Tomorrow's Greatest Threat. Those are possible headlines if this novel were true and ended up on the front page of The New York Times. Or it could be the title of the memoirs for any of the "ragtag scientists and historians" in this novel. Part history lesson, part mystery, this novel by Terry Brennan is a fast-paced quest for the truth behind the secrets hidden within an ancient scroll. Think of all the best parts of Indiana Jones and National Treasure with a Christian world view and you'll get the feel for The Sacred Cipher. I would love to see this novel as a movie. This is not your bubble-gum, light and airy novel (Though, I am not putting those kinds of books down - there is certainly a place for those too). Terry Brennan's debut novel is not one that you can pick up and put down numerous times. This is a curl up in a blanket with a big bowl of popcorn, a super-sized fountain Coke (heavy on the ice please) and read far into the night kind of book. If you can only read a few pages at a time, then read a magazine and save The Sacred Cipher for when you can devote your attention to it fully. It is worth it. The main characters are fleshed out in a way that it's easy to keep them clear in your mind. Though, personally, I wish there weren't two characters whose last names started with the same letter, and it would have been even easier. But that's just one of my quirky things. I don't know anyone else who has that kind of pet peeve. And it's not even really a pet-peeve so much as a hiccup that trips me up once in a while. Like I said, quirky. Did I mention that I'd love for this to be a movie? Seriously. This book was provided free of charge by the publisher. No payment was provided in return for this review. The publisher had no editorial rights or claims over the content or the conclusions made in this review.

Destined to Be a Fiction Blockbuster

I read a lot of Christian fiction, and I've never come across anything quite like Sacred Cipher. The author combines refreshingly good writing with a fascinating plot, believable dialog, moments of humor, and a wonderfully diverse cast of characters. The characters--a rich scholar, a crass dwarf, a burly Puerto Rican librarian, a female student, and an everyman as the lead--pop off the page, especially when introduced. The author makes getting to know them a joy, much like meeting interesting and fun people in real life. At the same time, the author grounds his novel in the characters' maturity. Man/woman relationships aren't trite or overly sentimental, and characters' backstories create immediate tension that the characters must address before working together. Without giving away the twists and turns of the story, I must say that lots of novelists can tell basic stories, but few authors can pull back to tell the ramifications of characters' actions. In this story, actions have consequences, not just for the characters, but also for the rest of the world. Expect to get goose bumps while reading the book's last scene. Overall the book is highly entertaining, with unexpected, gutsy moves from the writer. I've mentioned this novel to most of the fiction readers I know. You won't be able to keep the book to yourself either--it's just that good.