Product Description

A bomb in Rome, a flash of bluish-white light, and photojournalist Josh Ryder's world exploded. From that instant nothing would ever be the same.

As Josh recovers, his mind is increasingly invaded with thoughts that have the emotion, the intensity, the intimacy of memories. But they are not his memories. They are ancient—and violent. A battery of medical and psychological tests can't explain Josh's baffling symptoms. And the memories have an urgency he can't ignore—pulling him to save a woman named Sabina—and the treasures she is protecting.

But who is Sabina?

Desperate for answers, Josh turns to the world-renowned Phoenix Foundation—a research facility that scientifically documents cases of past life experiences. His findings there lead him to an archaeological dig and to Professor Gabriella Chase, who has discovered an ancient tomb—a tomb with a powerful secret that threatens to merge the past with the present. Here, the dead call out to the living, and murders of the past become murders of the present.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #111609 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Best known as an author of erotic thrillers, Rose (Lip Service) delves into religious myth and past-life discovery in her well-paced ninth novel. In present-day Rome, a terrorist bomb explosion triggers flashbacks of pre-Christian Italy in photographer Josh Ryder. Josh experiences the memories as Julius, a pagan priest defending the sacrosanct monuments of his gods and the life of his vestal virgin lover against the emperor-mandated onslaught of Christianity in A.D. 391. Six months later, Josh has teamed with the Phoenix Foundation, an institute specializing in past-life memories in children, to explore a newly excavated tomb that may contain pagan memory stones that incite past-life regressions and will, by proving the existence of reincarnation, challenge the church. The stakes rise after it becomes clear that dangerous outside forces also want the stones. In a series of memory lurches, the narratives of Josh and Julius slowly wind together to reveal a Da Vinci Code–esque tale of intrigue that's more believably plotted and better meets its ambitions than Dan Brown's ubiquitous book. (Sept.)
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From Booklist
After a bomb explosion nearly kills photojournalist Josh Ryder, he begins experiencing flashbacks—or, perhaps, memories—of events that seem to have happened to him 1,600 years earlier, in another life. Convinced these episodes aren't figments of his imagination, he enlists the aid of the Phoenix Foundation, a group that specializes in past-life research. Later, when he becomes involved in the unearthing of an ancient tomb—and experiences a connection with its long-buried resident—Josh realizes he has a chance to right a wrong that happened a millennium and a half ago, not to mention an opportunity to solve a series of modern-day murders. This is one of those books that succeeds in spite of itself: even though the writing is merely competent, the story itself is so appealing that you can't stop reading. Josh Ryder is a difficult character to pull off (among other things, he's a man in love with a woman who lived 1,600 years ago), and at times he comes off a little loopy. But for the most part he, like the novel itself, is surprisingly well grounded in the real world. Pitt, David

Douglas Preston, author of The Book of the Dead
"One of the most original and exciting novels I've read in a long time, with a premise so delicious I'm sick with envy I didn't think of it myself. It will open your mind to some of the incredible mysteries of the past and the greatest secrets of existence. The Reincarnationist is more than a page-turner-it's a page-burner. Don't miss it."

Customer Reviews

Great premise, unsatisfactory ending
Gurus who study reincarnation claim that those around us in this life life were around us in previous lives. Rose uses this premise to her advantage as she weaves an interesting mystery with a cast of characters who've dealt with each other before.

The main character, who--after a near-death experience in the opening pages--begins experiencing "lurches" into a lifetime connected to a present-day archeological dig wants to learn more about his uncontrollable journeys into the past. Suddenly, he finds himself involved in a present day whodunnit.

Rose has concocted a compelling story, but she tells it in choppy and unclear prose and then suddenly ends the book in the middle of the climax. I was convinced my copy had been damaged in printing and was missing the last chapter of the book. She needs a denouement to show how all of the characters get out of the mess they're involved in on the last page she bothered to write.

The publisher has played a cheap trick with the book in adding more than the standard amount of space between the lines of body text making the book fatter and more costly than it would otherwise be.

Finally, an interesting novel based on the concept of reincarnation
The Reincarnationist is a fast-paced, suspenseful, exciting read. Others reviewers have written an excellent synopsis of the book, so I'd just add that after having read numerous books on reincarnation, as well as my own personal experience with the subject, I thought that Ms. Rose did her homework. Her characters show how our past lifetimes often intertwine with the present, and she brings fate and destiny into question. Are we fated to experience a specific outcome in this lifetime, or do we have freewill?

I agree with some comments that it was a bit difficult to follow several of the characters between lifetimes. I found myself asking, "Now, who is this again?" a couple of times. The ending felt abrupt, and left me wanting to know what happened to everyone else not in the final scene, but perhaps there will be a sequel?

You certainly don't need to know anything about reincarnation, or believe in it, to enjoy the book. Overall, the complex plot had a few holes, but it was still an engaging, thought-provoking, novel.

Rome, Si; overall, no
I do (sort of) believe in reincarnation, and I love Rome. So I spent the $19.99 and joined the ride (got this at a physical bookstore).
The portions that concerned Rome directly were great....or is it that I'm less critical when reading about the Eternal City? I don't think so. After the first third or so, there were too many portions of the book that suffered from melodramatic, romance-novel-style dialogue and writing style. It's as though the author had a really good inspiration but then got bogged down in some unfortunate writing habits.
This book MIGHT make a good movie, but would have to be changed somewhat...there are some plot points that are really rather tiresome. Unfortunately these are some of the same ones that are meant to be thrilling.
It's a book. I'm afraid it "isn't literature."