Dr. Jonathan Keats is caught off guard when, while walking down the street one day, an infant is thrust into his hands by a nun. Her last breath to him was that he must protect Serenity. Thus Keats is pulled into the middle of a prophecy dating back to the dawn of Man.  As the child grows up, it becomes clear that she is no ordinary person. In fact, it is believed that she herself is the key to preventing a dire prophecy from coming true. Serenity is thought to be part of a family line dating back to before the Great Flood spoken of in the Bible. As such, she may be the key to setting free the very Angels that were, according to Christian tradition, cast out of Heaven by God. If these Angels were set free, it could have catastrophic results for Humanity. It will be up to those who guard Serenity to prevent the powers of evil from kidnapping Serenity and using her to fulfill the prophecy.

The Fruit of the Fallen by J.C. Burnham is a well-written, Da Vinci Code-style novel. Burnham has written a novel which is engaging and offers an intriguing mix of theology and adventure in the same package.  In the last seven years, numerous authors have seized on the popularity of Dan Brown’s work in order to write similar novels, drawing on the Bible with its nearly endless supply of mysteries. In this case, Burnham focuses on a central facet of Christianity that God cast out a group of Angels from Heaven, condemning them to exile for eternity.  The idea that there could be someone walking around today that is part of an ancient bloodline sold millions of copies of The DaVinci Code and I believe it will do the same for The Fruit of the Fallen. I give this book 5 of 5 stars.