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Unholy Crusade
With an effort Adam came back to earth. This was no dream but really happening. Adam Gordon, the poor Scots lad who, through a number of strange vicissitudes, had made good, become a best-selling author and flown out to Mexico in search of a background for a new book, had got himself caught up in a conspiracy to overthrow the government and, dressed in the costume of a Toltec Prince, was about to present himself as a Man-God to scores of credulous people. It was absurd, ridiculous-but a fact.Set in modern and ancient Mexico, Unholy Crusade recounts the adventures of 'Lucky' Adam Gordon, a young best-selling novelist who has gone to that country in search of background material for a new book, and who soon finds himself in love with the exquisitely beautiful but deeply religious Chela.Adam's ability to go back in time enables the reader to glimpse both the magnificent and barbaric sides of ancient Mexican civilisation, but this is only part of the story. Adam becomes entangled with a group of sinister individuals who are prepared to go to almost any lengths to achieve their evil ambition, finds himself continually fraught with danger, is caught between two powerful rival factions, and is forced to participate in blood-curdling pagan rites.
433 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1967
4 people are currently reading
125 people want to read
About the author
Dennis Wheatley
382 books248 followersDennis Yates Wheatley (8 January 1897 – 10 November 1977) [Born: Dennis Yeats Wheatley] was an English author. His prolific output of stylish thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors in the 1950s and 1960s.
His first book, Three Inquisitive People, was not immediately published; but his first published novel, The Forbidden Territory, was an immediate success when published in 1933, being reprinted seven times in seven weeks.
He wrote adventure stories, with many books in a series of linked works. His plots covered the French Revolution (Roger Brook Series), Satanism (Duc de Richleau), World War II (Gregory Sallust) and espionage (Julian Day).
In the thirties, he conceived a series of whodunit mysteries, presented as case files, with testimonies, letters, pieces of evidence such as hairs or pills. The reader had to go through the evidence to solve the mystery before unsealing the last pages of the file, which gave the answer. Four of these 'Crime Dossiers' were published: Murder Off Miami, Who Killed Robert Prentice, The Malinsay Massacre, and Herewith The Clues.
In the 1960s his publishers were selling a million copies of his books per year. A small number of his books were made into films by Hammer, of which the best known is The Devil Rides Out (book 1934, film 1968). His writing is very descriptive and in many works he manages to introduce his characters into real events while meeting real people. For example, in the Roger Brook series the main character involves himself with Napoleon, and Joséphine whilst being a spy for the Prime Minister William Pitt. Similarly, in the Gregory Sallust series, Sallust shares an evening meal with Hermann Göring.
He also wrote non-fiction works, including accounts of the Russian Revolution and King Charles II, and his autobiography. He was considered an authority on the supernatural, satanism, the practice of exorcism, and black magic, to all of which he was hostile. During his study of the paranormal, though, he joined the Ghost Club.
From 1974 through 1977 he edited a series of 45 paperback reprints for the British publisher Sphere under the heading "The Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult", selecting the titles and writing short introductions for each book. This series included both occult-themed novels by the likes of Bram Stoker and Aleister Crowley and non-fiction works on magic, occultism, and divination by authors such as the Theosophist H. P. Blavatsky, the historian Maurice Magre, the magician Isaac Bonewits, and the palm-reader Cheiro.
Two weeks before his death in November 1977, Wheatley received conditional absolution from his old friend Cyril ‘Bobby’ Eastaugh, the Bishop of Peterborough.
His estate library was sold in a catalogue sale by Basil Blackwell's in the 1970s, indicating a thoroughly well-read individual with wide-ranging interests particularly in historical fiction and Europe. His influence has declined, partly due to difficulties in reprinting his works owing to copyright problems.
Fifty-two of Wheatley's novels were published posthumously in a set by Heron Books UK. More recently, in April 2008 Dennis Wheatley's literary estate was acquired by media company Chorion.
He invented a number of board games including Invasion.
-Wikipedia
His first book, Three Inquisitive People, was not immediately published; but his first published novel, The Forbidden Territory, was an immediate success when published in 1933, being reprinted seven times in seven weeks.
He wrote adventure stories, with many books in a series of linked works. His plots covered the French Revolution (Roger Brook Series), Satanism (Duc de Richleau), World War II (Gregory Sallust) and espionage (Julian Day).
In the thirties, he conceived a series of whodunit mysteries, presented as case files, with testimonies, letters, pieces of evidence such as hairs or pills. The reader had to go through the evidence to solve the mystery before unsealing the last pages of the file, which gave the answer. Four of these 'Crime Dossiers' were published: Murder Off Miami, Who Killed Robert Prentice, The Malinsay Massacre, and Herewith The Clues.
In the 1960s his publishers were selling a million copies of his books per year. A small number of his books were made into films by Hammer, of which the best known is The Devil Rides Out (book 1934, film 1968). His writing is very descriptive and in many works he manages to introduce his characters into real events while meeting real people. For example, in the Roger Brook series the main character involves himself with Napoleon, and Joséphine whilst being a spy for the Prime Minister William Pitt. Similarly, in the Gregory Sallust series, Sallust shares an evening meal with Hermann Göring.
He also wrote non-fiction works, including accounts of the Russian Revolution and King Charles II, and his autobiography. He was considered an authority on the supernatural, satanism, the practice of exorcism, and black magic, to all of which he was hostile. During his study of the paranormal, though, he joined the Ghost Club.
From 1974 through 1977 he edited a series of 45 paperback reprints for the British publisher Sphere under the heading "The Dennis Wheatley Library of the Occult", selecting the titles and writing short introductions for each book. This series included both occult-themed novels by the likes of Bram Stoker and Aleister Crowley and non-fiction works on magic, occultism, and divination by authors such as the Theosophist H. P. Blavatsky, the historian Maurice Magre, the magician Isaac Bonewits, and the palm-reader Cheiro.
Two weeks before his death in November 1977, Wheatley received conditional absolution from his old friend Cyril ‘Bobby’ Eastaugh, the Bishop of Peterborough.
His estate library was sold in a catalogue sale by Basil Blackwell's in the 1970s, indicating a thoroughly well-read individual with wide-ranging interests particularly in historical fiction and Europe. His influence has declined, partly due to difficulties in reprinting his works owing to copyright problems.
Fifty-two of Wheatley's novels were published posthumously in a set by Heron Books UK. More recently, in April 2008 Dennis Wheatley's literary estate was acquired by media company Chorion.
He invented a number of board games including Invasion.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 13, 2018
Obviously very dated, but a decent read all the same.
July 1, 2016
I suspect that Unholy Crusade looked good in the planning stages: an international thriller with occult/reincarnation underpinnings, heavily rooted in history and mythology. It seems like it should have everything, and Wheatley clearly attempts to push in all that he can, but when it comes right down to it this book is just not so good.
Adam 'Lucky' Gordon comes from a striking past, riddled by bad luck followed usually by extreme good fortune. Following after his mother, he has 'visions' of past lives that he accepts as reality. Entirely by coincidence, his writing career leads him to Mexico, where he gets entangled in an attempted revolution under the guise of a resurrection of the fabled man-god Quetzalcoatl. At the same time, there's his affair with the wealthy, unbelievably lovely (and sexy...and cultured...and smart...etc.) Chela and her influential family, as well as falling under the influence of a British agent who wants his help.
If you can't see how wrong this all can go, then perhaps this is the book for you. But when all these disparate elements get crammed together by a man of Wheatley's mediocre talents, disaster is in the air. Not to say he's a bad writer, or even that this is a bad book, just that in a better creator's hands it might have been a better work.
Though there are plenty of fascinating 'facts' about Mexican history to be found here (though I won't be fact-checking any of it), the way Wheatley delivers it is in large chunks of clunky exposition from character after character. His attention to some of the ridiculous minutiae of occasional events goes even further to drag down the speed and fluidity of the narrative.
If you (like me) are not thoroughly-read in Wheatley, I recommend a little research into better books from him before finding your way to this book. It's longer than it needs to be, is at times painfully dull and has an ending that neatly reroutes itself on the last page. I happened into it at a charity shop, and now it'll find its way right back there.
Adam 'Lucky' Gordon comes from a striking past, riddled by bad luck followed usually by extreme good fortune. Following after his mother, he has 'visions' of past lives that he accepts as reality. Entirely by coincidence, his writing career leads him to Mexico, where he gets entangled in an attempted revolution under the guise of a resurrection of the fabled man-god Quetzalcoatl. At the same time, there's his affair with the wealthy, unbelievably lovely (and sexy...and cultured...and smart...etc.) Chela and her influential family, as well as falling under the influence of a British agent who wants his help.
If you can't see how wrong this all can go, then perhaps this is the book for you. But when all these disparate elements get crammed together by a man of Wheatley's mediocre talents, disaster is in the air. Not to say he's a bad writer, or even that this is a bad book, just that in a better creator's hands it might have been a better work.
Though there are plenty of fascinating 'facts' about Mexican history to be found here (though I won't be fact-checking any of it), the way Wheatley delivers it is in large chunks of clunky exposition from character after character. His attention to some of the ridiculous minutiae of occasional events goes even further to drag down the speed and fluidity of the narrative.
If you (like me) are not thoroughly-read in Wheatley, I recommend a little research into better books from him before finding your way to this book. It's longer than it needs to be, is at times painfully dull and has an ending that neatly reroutes itself on the last page. I happened into it at a charity shop, and now it'll find its way right back there.
October 12, 2019
Very dated, and the story is overlong. Abrupt ending.
July 20, 2012
i was always put off by dennis wheatley because dont like scary books , films but i did him a disservice theres more to his books i quite enjoy them give wheatley a try
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews