The Omega Factor

" A great stand-alone action adventure by Steve Berry. As with all his books, Berry blends 80% real history with 20% fictionalized plot and gives us fast-paced, books that actually teach us a lot about bits of unknown history as part of his novels. Here he has a brand new character, Nick Lee, who comes to Belgium at the request of his ex-girlfriend (who is now a nun!), who is involved with the restoration of the missing panel of the Ghent Altarpiece. Upon arrival, there is a fire that destroys the painting and Nick is after a laptop that holds the only remaining images of that restored panel. So what do we have here? Well we spent time in Brussels and France, and we learned a lot about the history of the Ghent Altarpiece, we have a mysterious order of nuns, Joan of Arc, the Catholic history of Mary the Mother of Jesus, the Marion Legend, the Inquisition and the Cathars. Whew! I am sure I missed something, but you get the gist. This is a wonderful read, with a new character (Nick Lee), who works for UNESCO and may just appear in future books. Berry has a wonderful mind for history and for this blend of history and fiction that makes even non-historians love his works. It is an easy-flowing novel and one that will be another best-seller."