Souls of Megiddo: Book 1, The Caretakers is an epic science fiction thriller by John P Goetz. Beginning with the suicide of Adolf Hitler, the novel tracks the progress of the Dolar Stone, an ancient Mayan source of incredible power and unspeakable evil. As the stone passes from owner to owner, its malicious power and influence spread, whilst the secret society of The Patrocinium attempt to track its whereabouts. They are guardians of the Vitam Stone, an artefact in polar opposition to the Dolar, and they believe that the reunion of the two will end the wild thirst for destruction that has overcome the post-war world. A Caretaker is chosen to protect the Vitam at all costs.

I’ve been getting to know John P Goetz as the author who writes incredibly evil women, and this work of great science fiction was no exception (don’t worry, there’s plenty of evil men too). Souls of Megiddo: Book 1, The Caretakers takes readers on an incredible trip through beautifully described historical places, always maintaining a superbly tense pace before the gruesome and inevitable actors of evil take to their stage. The emergence of our eventual hero, Jacob Collier, is fraught with its own true to life tensions, which only serve to add an intense sense of reality to the fantastical things happening in Goetz’s version of our world. Overall, I’d highly recommend this well written novel to anyone who enjoys historical settings, deep character development, and an epic battle between evil and good.

Souls of Megiddo, Book 1: The Caretakers by John P. Goetz is a paranormal thriller about a historic battle between good and evil. In 75 B.C., Ixzalouh, the last High Priest of the lost Mayan civilization, created one emerald pendant representing the opposing souls of good and evil to ensure the legacy of his dying civilization. A magical stone was separated into two identical stones of Life and Pain, to be passed down from one generation of Caretakers to another. Dolor Stone, the Stone of Pain, has been used throughout time to bring destruction upon humankind. A secret society called The Patrocinium wants to reunite The Stone of Life, the Vitam Stone, with its opposite twin to prevent those who would use their powers for evil.

The story unfolds in Berlin, Germany, on April 30, 1945. Hitler and Eva’s deaths are relived with a hidden power in Hitler’s possession unveiled – the Dolor Stone. Readers are introduced to the secret daughter of Hitler who will extend her father's malevolent ambitions. From the get-go, Goetz immerses you in a world so rich and filled with diverse characters, cultures, times and places spanning from the Mayan era, World War II, the 1960s, the '80s and the '90s. I enjoyed the story of how the Caretakers from both sides came to be. Collier and Vogel are the perfect opposites. Overall, The Caretakers is a great debut for the series. It’s an interesting read, lending characterization and imagination to an intriguing premise with a solid plot that made sure the story was successfully delivered.

Souls of Megiddo is Book 1 of the supernatural thriller series, The Caretakers, written by John P. Goetz. Two stones of power have played a crucial role throughout human history, from the ancient Mayans through to Jesus Christ, Napoleon, Adolf Hitler and the present day. One stone brings pain and evil and the other life, but they have been separated and must be brought together to restore harmony to nature. In the early 1960s, six-year-old Jacob Collier was not expected to live much longer, but, remarkably, he recovered after seeing his great-grandmother Tilly in a dream. Before she died, Tilly had given a carved stone necklace to Jacob's mother, Mary, when she was 16. Tilly insisted that Jacob needed that necklace and that he would be just fine. Jacob did recover from the leukemia that nearly killed him and he became the next guardian of the Vitam Stone.

John P. Goetz's supernatural thriller, Souls of Megiddo: The Caretakers, Book 1, is exciting and fast-paced. The author deftly builds an entire mythology around the stones of power and ties them into human history. I enjoyed reading about the ancient Mayans and found Hitler's death scene in the bunker to be chilling and dark. Jacob Collier is a marvelous character whose lectures are sometimes disrupted when he goes into a trance and begins speaking what appear to be nonsense words. His mentor, Father Bill Ratigan, and he work well together, and I appreciated seeing how the two of them would decipher Jacob's cryptic utterances, especially when Jacob finds the missing little girl. Goetz's writing is assured and fluent, and his plot works on a number of levels. Souls of Megiddo: The Caretakers, Book 1 is highly recommended.

Souls of Megiddo by John P. Goetz is a very well told saga. It feels very much like an historical novel in that it has important passages which take place in 1945 and circa 75 AD. Those passages are used as foundational blocks to build an exciting and engaging story of adventure, suspense, and supernatural interventions. The story unfolds over decades, so the author has placed a date at the beginning of some chapters. That helps keep the flow and continuity of the story going. This is an excellent novel which was hard to put down. Not to sound clichéd, but this book is a real page turner.

The stones are a consistent element throughout the story. If I say more, I fear giving spoilers, but just say the stones are nicely done. Characters are especially well developed and described. John P. Goetz vividly paints the personalities of his characters, even the minor ones, and they come to life in the reader’s mind. These complex characters have emotional motivations which are explained in effective ways without ‘info dumps.’ Not all the “characters” are human, and that makes the story extremely engaging. Cancer, spiritual forces, and other things are successfully used as types of characters. I found that highly enjoyable as a reader. Souls of Megiddo is a great example of showing the reader things as the story unfolds, rather than telling the reader what is happening. That is the sign of a quality storyteller. I was reminded of Stephen King’s writing while reading Souls of Megiddo (in a good way).

Dialogue is effective and each character has his or her own voice. Depth of discussion carries the story along. Plot is very solid with unexpected twists and unique elements. Some blending of sci-fi with fantasy, which in other books does not always work very well, but here the blend is seamless and functionally adds to the storyline. Settings are described in rich textures. From the jungles of Central America to medical complexes, to dream visions, courtrooms, political events, and many others, the settings where the story unfolds just have a sense of being real places. The Caretakers' ‘society’ or ‘Guild’ was intriguing to say the least. It takes about a third of the book to unveil much of that, so the reader needs to keep on, but as soon as it clicked, it had me hooked.

Mysticism, magic, and supernatural elements are present throughout the book. Some who are sensitive to religious icons might find traditional concepts stretched a bit in those areas. Christian imagery is used in unusual ways. Souls, either in a body or not, play a big role throughout, and they are not exactly as traditional or orthodox Christianity portrays them. This is a novel, so that fiction is fine here. If someone was looking for theology, Souls of Megiddo has its own unique take on physical and spiritual realities. There are some rather intense scenes of ritual religious torture and murder that might be too much for some readers. The violence did not jump out as excessive, but just on the same vivid level of the rest of the writing. However, again a caution is offered. It is intense at times. Overall rating.: solid A work.