Another cutting-edge thriller set at the intersection of science, religion, and history from the bestselling author of The Last TemplarNew York Times bestselling author Raymond Khoury whose debut novel, The Last Templar, has sold more than a million copies in the United States, and whose second, The Sanctuary, was also a major national bestsellerreturns with The Sign. Like the first two, this new thriller combines gripping contemporary suspense with a high-concept mystery rooted in history, philosophy, religion, and science. And like those novels, it is bound for bestseller lists nationwide.
In Antarctica, a scientific expedition drops anchor for a live news feed. As the CNN journalist begins her report, a massive, shimmering sphere of light suddenly appears in the sky, enveloping the ship in luminous white light before disappearing as mysteriously as it arrivedthe entire event witnessed by an incredulous world audience.
Meanwhile in a dusty bar in Egypt, a dozen men are lazily discussing the state of the world when the brilliant, glowing symbol on the television stops them cold. One man breaks out in a sweat, crosses himself repeatedly, and rushes out of the bar muttering the same phrase over and over again: It cant be.
Across the Internet and around the globe, a stunning controversy threatens to consume the world: Has God finally decided to reveal himself? Or is something more sinister at hand?
Raymond Khoury/Steve Berry interview
STEVE BERRY: Your new thriller, THE SIGNIm gonna come right out and say it: I think its your best one yet. What do you think?
RAMOND KHOURY: Tough call. Its my new baby, and much as I adore its elder siblings, it does have that newborn magic to it.
STEVE: Trust me, it is. Its also a bit of a departure from your first two books, in that it doesnt have the past-and-present storylines. Knowing how stories kind of take on a life of their own, that wasnt a conscious decision from the get-go, was it?
RAYMOND KHOURY: No, it wasnt premeditated. Its just the way the story came out. The whole story happens in the present. It takes place over a few manic daysI think youre familiar with that pacing, right?and it deals with the present, its about a what if situation thats very today and now, theres a mystery, something to figure out, but theres no throwback to the past, no long lost secret to uncover.
STEVE BERRY: Its also very topical. Your editors must be pleased.
RAYMOND: I guess it happened that way because the story came out of some very strong feelings I had, feelings about what was going on around the world, in the US and abroad.
STEVE: Tell me about that process. Where the story came from.
RAYMOND: Its where they all come from, isnt it? That kernel, that one thought or one observation you have that just sticks and triggers a book, the one that bugs you late at night and that you cant shake. This one came to me while watching the news one day, and every item, one after another, it was all bad news. Not just bad, but it was like a lot of people were behaving so insanely in so many places around the worldand, sadly, a lot of it was fuelled by the manipulation or distortion of religious faith
STEVE: by intolerance
RAYMOND: exactly. Intolerance and closed minds. And it got me thinking. About how divided we are, about how so many people all over the world believe in the absolute infallibility of their faith and how it rules every aspect of their livesyou know what I mean, were right, everyone else is wrong, that medieval mindsetand wondering if anything could ever unite the planet under a single faith.
STEVE: One global religion. RAYMOND: Well, imagine if something did happen that convinced everyone that what we had until now, all these different religions that have grown over the last few thousand yearswhat if something new came along that was so overwhelming that it was impossible to ignore? Would we listen? Would we drop our previous faiths and embrace it?
STEVE: But your books about much more than that. Without wanting to give too much away, its really a political thriller, isnt it?
RAYMOND: Its always so hard to talk about a book without giving too much away
STEVE: its the fine line we walk.
RAYMOND: True. But yes, youre rightits really about the absolute power something like that would bringand how it could be abused. Cause above all else, its a thriller. Theres got to be a brilliantly dastardly scheme, right?
STEVE: Always. And this one certainly is dastardly. One thing Ive noticed, though, in all three of your books so fartheyre all, essentially, about the big questions that face us: why we believe, whether or not we have to die. Religion, longevity, life and death, science vs. faith ... Big questions. And in this one, you revisitthough in a completely different waythe power of religion, the good it can bring as well as the bad, something that was also central to THE LAST TEMPLAR. Will this always be your signature genrebooks that have a big, central theme at their core?
RAYMOND: You asked me earlier about where the story came from. For me, in order to get excited about a book, it has to have a big central theme about how we live at its heart, something Im interested in exploring. Its got to be about something I care about deeply. Thats what drives the story and the characters forward for me. Thats what I hope makes the books stand out. That theyre not just page-turnerswhich aint easy in itselfbut that theyre also about something. I see it in your books too. A point of view about things, a passion for laying out interesting information about a topic that interests you. Michael Crichton used to do that very successfully. Dan Brown, of course, does it brilliantly. Thats what makes the books worth writing, I think.
STEVE: And in reading the book, its clear you still had tons of research to do, even though there isnt a historic mysery to unravel?
RAYMOND: Absolutely. Some of it was about historythe monasteries in Egypt, for one. Again, part of the story, organically. Had to be done, and we do love our history, dont we?
STEVE: Guilty as charged.
RAYMOND: But for this book, I didnt need to do that much of itnothing like what you did for THE CHARLEMAGNE PURSUIT, for instance. Which I loved, by the way. Particularly since you beat me to using the Voynich Manuscript in a story!
STEVE: We do seem to be spookily in sync with our writingas further evidenced by THE SIGNs opening in Antarctica
RAYMOND: I know!
STEVE: So tell meMatt and Gracie. Are we going to see them again?
RAYMOND: I dont know. On the one hand, I envy your situation with Cotton Malone, youve got a solid anchor for your books, youre building this great world around him, his son and Stephanie and Henrik and Cassiopeiawho I hope we see again real soonand its meaty and its epic and like the rest of your readers, Im hooked and I want to know what they do next. Youve got that, Lee Child has had it since day one with Reacher, Harlan Coben with Myron Bolitar, the list goes on. Great characters. Id love to do that one day, but it has to feel right. I wasnt in that frame of mind in my first two books, certainly the world after the end of THE SANCTUARY would be a very different place from the world Mia started out in at the beginning of that book. Tess and Reilly, I could maybe bring back. A lot of fans have asked for that. But with THE SIGN, Iinitely think Matt and Gracie are characters that I could bring back. Id like to put them through another wringer, and it feels like it would come naturally. But before I do that, Im writing the next book which introduces a new lead character, so theyll be getting a bit of a breather.
STEVE: They sure can use it. Good luck with the book.
RAYMOND: Thank you.
"Khoury's thrillers engage the reader's mind, even as they move at a breakneck pace.... Readers who like their thrillers to have a solid intellectual component will enjoy Khoury's books very much." Booklist
"[A]n eloquent argument for the value of personal responsibility toward one another while maintaining careful stewardship of the earth...a thrilling read with compelling, well-developed characters. Highly recommended." Library Journal
Another cutting-edge thriller set at the intersection of science, religion, and history from the bestselling author of
The Last Templar New York Times-bestselling author Raymond Khoury — whose debut novel, The Last Templar, has sold more than a million copies in the United States, and whose second, The Sanctuary, was also a major national bestseller — returns with The Sign. Like the first two, this new thriller combines gripping contemporary suspense with a high-concept mystery rooted in history, philosophy, religion, and science. And like those novels, it is bound for bestseller lists nationwide.
In Antarctica, a scientific expedition drops anchor for a live news feed. As the CNN journalist begins her report, a massive, shimmering sphere of light suddenly appears in the sky, enveloping the ship in luminous white light before disappearing as mysteriously as it arrived — the entire event witnessed by an incredulous world audience.
Meanwhile in a dusty bar in Egypt, a dozen men are lazily discussing the state of the world when the brilliant, glowing symbol on the television stops them cold. One man breaks out in a sweat, crosses himself repeatedly, and rushes out of the bar muttering the same phrase over and over again: It can't be.
Across the Internet and around the globe, a stunning controversy threatens to consume the world: Has God finally decided to reveal himself? Or is something more sinister at hand?