When Cade discovers that his wife is not truly dead, but held in some kind of arcane status between the lands of the living and the lands of the dead, he vows that nothing will stop him from freeing her soul from the prison surrounding her.

But when an old friend calls on Cade to help protect the city of Boston from an ancient scourge, the Knight Commander will be asked to chose between rescuing his wife and saving the lives of those he has vowed a holy oath to protect.

When the lone survivor of a secret research installation wanders out of the desert, barely alive and babbling about demons hunting through the halls, the Templar Order is quick to call in Cade Williams and his Echo Team combat unit. Their orders – investigate the facility, determine exactly what happened there, and deal with any infernal presence that might exist.

But the being they encounter there beneath the desert sands has found a way to break the bonds of Hell itself and doesn’t plan on going back easily. This time, their foe might prove to be too much for even the men of Echo Team.

Centuries after the Knights Templar were presumed destroyed at the hands of King Phillip and Pope Clement V, the Order resurfaces as a secret militant arm of the Vatican, tasked with defending mankind from the supernatural.

Of the Orders’ enemies, the greatest are the Fallen, supernatural beings that claim to be fallen angels and are devoted to wreaking havoc on earth. It was contact with one of the Fallen that led to Knight Commander Cade Williams becoming a Templar.

When Templar commanderies come under attack, it is up to Cade and his Echo Team combat unit to determine who is behind the assaults and why.

Heretic

What people are saying…

“First-rate, stylish work from Mr. Nassise, with a steady escalation of the story’s speed that makes it almost literally breath-taking.” — Clive Barker

“With HERETIC, Joseph Nassise kicks off his TEMPLAR CHRONICLES in fine, swaggering style. This book bobs and weaves like the young Muhammed Ali, keeping us off-guard and entertained with its every surprising move.” — Peter Straub

“Nassise offers readers a tightly plotted terse military horror thriller in ‘Heretic’. There’s not a whiff of pretension and not an ounce of fat here. Just the good old muscles, gore and the terror of a soul in danger.” — The Agony Column

“HERETIC has it all — action, suspense, terror, sharp dialogue, a dynamite central concept, and richly drawn-drawn characterization. Don’t try pigeon-holing this book, because Nassise — like his Templar Knights — doesn’t stand still long enough for you to take aim. This is cross-genre fiction at its absolute best. I, for one, cannot wait for the next book in what promises to be a long and rewarding series.” — Gary Braunbeck

“HERETIC is a genre bending thrill ride that heralds the debut of a series to watch…and enjoy.” — Bev Vincent in Cemetery Dance Magazine

“A breakneck-paced thriller that delivers on the thrills and tosses in more than a few more chills.” — Kelley Armstrong

“HERETIC is a genre-bending thrill ride that heralds the debut of a seriesto watch…and enjoy.” — Cemetery Dance Magazine

“One part military thriller, one part religious horror, and 100% fast-paced action” — The Horror Channel

“Hellraiser meets Delta Force by way of George Romero.” — The Trades Entertainment Magazine

“Horror fans will be delighted to discover the works of Joseph Nassise, a relatively new writer who can hold his own with such masters as Douglas Clegg, Bentley Little, and Stephen King.” — Midwest Book Review

From the jacket:

At the end of the First Crusade, the church created a monastic military order known as the Knights Templar. Now, rising up from the ashes of history, they are the Vatican’s last defense in the war between good and evil…

AN ANCIENT ARMY REBORN

Cade Williams is no ordinary man. His ability to cross over to the other side makes him uniquely qualified to command the Church’s special operations division. As a modern-day Knight, Cade can use the curse that has scarred his soul as a weapon against the forces of darkness. But a new kind of unholy war is brewing — and soon Cade may be the last man standing…between the living and the dead.

AN ANCIENT MYSTERY RESURRECTED

The desecration of Templar cemeteries has sparked a full-scale investigation. Cade and his team suspect that a cabal of necromancers is behind it all. Their purpose: to claim the legendary powers of a lost holy relic for their own ungodly campaign. For Cade, there’s only one way to stop them — by tracking the dead himself…crossing the most sacred of battle lines…and facing his own terrifying demons.

Buy HERETIC at Amazon.com today!

When Jake Caruso and his construction team find a hidden tunnel in the cellar of the old Blake mansion in the sleepy hamlet of Harrington Falls, Jake can’t wait to explore its depths. There, he finds an even greater mystery: a stone chamber that’s been covered up for hundreds of years — sealed shut by some long-forgotten warden.

When the ancient seal is broken, a reign of terror and death consumes the town’s residents. Something is stalking them — something that strikes in the darkness without warning or mercy, leaving a trail of innocent blood in its wake — and Jake comes to realize the nightmarish truth of what he has set free. It is an evil born of ages past. A creature of eternal bloodlust. And it has risen to continue its endless slaughter….

What people are saying…

“A heady brew of horror and suspense that has an intense and original flavor. The book has both imagination and muscle. Expect great things from Joe Nassise.” — Tom Piccirilli

“RIVERWATCH is a stunning debut novel, intricately plotted and beautifully written. Nassise knows that a good “monster novel” needs to be fast-paced and terrifying…and he delivers action and frights galore.” — Tim Lebbon

“Nasty, vicious, and perhaps most insidious of all…seductive.” — Midwest Book Review

“Joe Nassise’s fiction reads like a skilled boxer – a jab, a cross, and ultimately a superb knockout.” — Jon Merz

Buy RIVERWATCH at Amazon.com today!

On a bright June morning, Sam Dalton’s world suddenly crumbles as he learns that his four-year-old daughter, Jessica, has contracted a mysterious disease. Thanks to some kind of new viral infection, her internal organs are slowly shutting down, one by one, and her doctors are unable to even pinpoint the cause, never mind find a cure. With weary shakes of their heads, “they give her less than a month to live.

Life has not been kind to Sam; two years previous, a drunk driver took his beautiful wife from him in a shower of crumpled steel and broken glass. Now the capricious hand of fate had reached out again, threatening to take his baby girl away from him, and with her, his only reason for living. He vows he will not let that happen.

Later that night, he is given a chance to fulfill that vow…

Reviews

“A filler free and nicely old fashioned tale” – SFX Magazine

“This novelette is at its most powerful when it is describing a man tormented by the decline and imminent death of his only daughter. When a mysterious apparition suggests that he make use of an ancient ritual which can save her, but only if he is willing to commit seven murders, he is initially horrified as well as skeptical. But then the opportunity to commit the first arises almost by chance, and it works, so he finds himself firmly set on the path of homicide to save her. But there is a catch. There’s always a catch. You’d think even fictional characters would know that by now.” – Unused review for Science Fiction Chronicle by Don D’Ammassa

“…a nasty little chiller that slices through the squeamish with surgical precision.” – SFCrowsnest