The Belial Ring (The Belial Series) Paperback – June 8, 2014

I'm a voracious reader of all things. For awhile, fiction has been my primary escape in a world gone mad on many levels.I am grateful for these amazing books by an incredible writer. As the series continues I find that I laugh out loud, gasp, feel grief and anger. Brady's writing is that good. Being pulled into the story and a part of each page to the point that I'm not aware that I'm reading is testament to truly gifted writing, tremendous research, and a great imagination. Bravissimo!

This book differs a bit from the previous two book in that Laney & Co is not really embarking on a quest of exploration and discovery of ancient artefacts. Well they do go off doing a bit of exploration as well but it is but a lesser part of the book and this time they pretty much know what they are looking for so it is not much of a surprise when they find the item. Also it is not out of archeological curiosity but rather out of necessity due to the situation at hand.Instead this book pretty much starts of by diving into the various elements of the plot, both ancient and present day, and it is not so much a matter of Laney & Co discovering or simply stepping into ancient mysteries or trouble in general but trouble comes to them. Actually it more or less searches for them, Laney in particular.I kind of miss the discovery and mystery bit of the previous books. This one is more straight thriller with a big supernatural element. It is nevertheless a fairly enjoyable ride. The cat is out of the bag when I comes to the existence of various people with supernatural abilities and it is not only Laney and her friends that are aware of their existence but the “men in black” makes an appearance as well.The plot twists around a fair amount and a few surprises awaits both Laney and Henry along the way. Luckily the author stays within the acceptable with the twists and revelations. Naturally she throws in a few teaser revelations at the end just so that you will be inclined to want to get the next book. Nothing too bad though and the book does have a decent conclusion.On the whole an enjoyable above average book.

As with the previous two books in the series, this book was a fun read, with a darker side. Something happens over halfway through the story which cripples Laney, the protagonist, emotionally and making this reader question if she would be able to fulfill the obligations put on her.It is the dwelling on this issue that I gave the book a four star rating and not a five. I thought Ms. Brady spent too much time dwelling on what Laney was going through.The other reason for the less than stellar rating is I’m not a student of archeology and it is apparent Ms. Brady is. There were times I thought the story came to a halt while she described the history behind an ancient ruin. These descriptions are not as bad as author Dan Brown’s, but I found it amusing when one of the characters in the story, Laney’s love interest Jake, shared my feelings when he said, “Go ahead, professor. Tell me.”My other issue with the book was two of my favorite characters, Yoni and Danny, didn’t get enough time in the book.But it is impossible for an author to please every reader. These issues aside, I was hooked from the beginning and read the book in a few sittings. The chapters are James Patterson short, making for rapid page turns. The mystery of one character is tantalizing that I kept reading to learn about her. But the book ended without her secrets being revealed which will make me read the next in the series to figure out what is up with her.I look forward to the next book in the series.

I am truly enjoying this series. And the fact that the majority of it is based on factual historical documents places and items makes it even more and treating. It is truly making me want to dig deeper into history, which I love anyway, and find out more of the facts behind these tidbits. The only thing I know to be false is written in the after notes of this book. In the section about the Vulcan death grip The author refers to the revered Star Trek character as Dr Spock. He was Mr. Spock portrayed by the late Leonard Nimoy. Dr Spock was a quack child psychologist who's writings where the beginning of the end of proper child rearing.. I found it a little strange that an author that is so meticulous with details would miss something so simple. Any and every Star Trek fan around the globe could have verified it for you. Live long and prosper.

It has mystery, ancient treasures, romance and bad guys!

We all know that theories are not fact. We can't know what really happened in man's distant past. We weren't there! But we can guess, suppose, theorize. Brady has taken what we think we know and added those theories that are often mocked, and combined all of those sources we watch on the history channel, et al. into a very cohesive, thought-provoking, and rather terrifying possibility. The writing is wonderful; the characters, (the good guys), are people you would like to know; and the bad guys are truly horrifying.So much like Clive Cussler! You learn real history & science while fighting bad guys, ducking bullets, travelling to amazing places, and always looking over your shoulder for the next attack, hoping to save the world as we know it. Amazing concepts.I've ordered the rest of the series.

I liked the story even though I felt that the revelation that of many of the main characters were in fact super heroes was a bit over-done. I would also have liked to know a bit more of the background to the Fallen etc ie who they actually were rather than what mythology remembers them to be.This is not to put down the use of mythology, which I thoroughly enjoyed and found interesting especially as I have studied this general subject at Uni as part of my degree many years agoThe story was still very enjoyable though in spite of my couple of negative notes above and I will certainly read the next book in the series.

Off on another tangent in this wonderfully inventive series - in the second half there comes a WHAT? NO!!!! moment; so unexpected that I had to go back and reread in case I had misunderstood. There is a new puzzle, too, in the shape of Victoria - excellent stuff.There is quite a lot of back tracking to remind you of what has gone before, even a few chapters ago, so I suppose that these books would stand alone; but why deprive yourself of a really good reading experience?The Author's notes are a helpful read too as in 'Fact or Fiction'. Surprising events turn out to be factual - education without pain?

This series just improves all the time I love the characters and the way their lives are intertwined, although some of the plot was predictable I enjoyed being proved right it wasn't a case I guessed right and was disappointed ...I can't wait for the next book just hurt ubiquitous up please

Enjoyed the book enormously and could not put it down. It had credibility and historical mysteries. A good recipe for a good book. Downloaded all the others now!

Totally addicted to this series and finding it difficult to put down,