Archaeologist and cable TV host Annja Creed is chasing
monsters in France for a future episode of her "Chasing
History's Monsters" show. Annja is researching local
history in the town of Lozere regarding the legends of La
Bete, a man-killing beast who roamed the French countryside
in the 18th century and was rumored to be responsible for a
good number of deaths during her reign of terror.
Annja is soon embroiled in a power struggle between
several different factions that are trying to find the
final resting place of La Bete for reasons of their own.
They include a group of lethal monks desperate to protect
the age-old secrets of their order; a half-insane
millionaire who's searching for buried treasure and
imagines himself the leader of a present day "Wild Hunt,"
made up of a gang of teenage boys who, in a drug induced
state, run "the Hunt" through the countryside in Berserker-
like fashion; and a 500-year-old wizard who's trying to
assemble all the pieces of the legendary sword of Joan of
Arc, which was broken and scattered during her execution.
Whew! That's a lot for a girl to deal with! Annja ,
determined heroine that she is, must unravel the secrets of
the past, while avoiding a large number of murderous
villains all vying to be first in line to slit her throat.
There really is a lot going on here; maybe too much. Hot
chicks with super powers are the new thing and sometimes
they can be a lot of fun, but Annja was not a believable
character to me. The plot seemed to be on a runaway track a
good deal of the time. I kept thinking of Peter
Straub, who liked to throw everything but the kitchen
sink into his books. The conclusion to the mystery
surrounding the beast was really clever but unlikely.
Still, it was nothing I'd ever read before, so I was
entertained by it. The monks...not so much. They reminded me
a little too much of the secret order in Da Vinci, killing
to protect their secrets. And Archer's monks had secrets
that really didn't seem to be all that earth-shaking after
a couple of hundred years. Nothing that would shock the
world, anyway. And just where do all these monks get their
assassin's training? While parts of ROGUE ANGEL: DESTINY
are mildly entertaining, I didn't enjoy it.
An ancient order tied to the Vatican... A blood fortune
buried in the caves of France... A conspiracy of power,
greed and darkest evil...
Archaeologist and explorer Annja Creed's fascination with
the myths and mysteries of the past leads her to a crypt in
the caves of France, where the terrifying legend of the
Beast of Gevaudan hints at the unimaginable. What she
discovers is shattering: an artifact that will seal her
destiny; a brotherhood of monks willing to murder to
protect
their secret; and a powerful black-market occultist
desperate to put his own claim to centuries-old blood
money.
Annja embarks on a high-tension race across Europe and
history itself, intent on linking the unholy treachery of
the ages with the staggering revelations of the present.
But
she must survive the shadow figures determined to silence
her threat to their existence.
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