Gospel Thrillers: Conspiracy, Fiction, and the Vulnerable BibleMain MenuInside the Gospel ThrillersAn exploration of the contents of the novels and their genreBehind the Gospel Thrillers: "Discovering" the BibleHistorical and social context for themes in the novelsBeyond the Novels: Gospel Thrills and U.S. CultureCultural spaces outside the novels in which the impulses of gospel thrillers are foundExtras: Reviews, interviews, and other mediaAndrew S. Jacobs45edf76073fc8204ba5adec5870047f3453dfd28
NYT Review of Gemini Contenders
12018-03-30T18:09:23-07:00Andrew S. Jacobs45edf76073fc8204ba5adec5870047f3453dfd28124582New York Times, March 28, 1976plain2018-03-30T18:09:57-07:00Andrew S. Jacobs45edf76073fc8204ba5adec5870047f3453dfd28
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1media/1976 Gemini Contenders.jpg2018-03-26T18:17:13-07:00(1976) Robert Ludlum, The Gemini Contenders (Doubleday)12plain2022-06-04T10:57:09-07:00 By the time Robert Ludlum wrote The Gemini Contenders, the middle-aged, former theatrical producer was the author of five novels and a bestselling success. Ludlum's combination of readability and facility with plot has led some to dub him the inventor of the "airport novel": the fast, engaging read that is neither too taxing nor too simplistic.
Ludlum's most famous works, due in part to their cinematic adaptation, are probably the Bourne novels. Gemini Contenders shares with these books, and most of Ludlum's oeuvre, a focus on global conspiracy and the quest of one man to uncover the truth—usually with mixed or no success. Like most of Ludlum's novels, Gemini Contenders debuted on the New York Times best-seller list and remains among the dozens of Ludlum novels in print.
As a multigenerational story, Gemini Contenders allows Ludlum to draw on the paradigmatic U.S. enemy, the Nazis. (Two earlier Ludlum novels were set during World War II and engaged the Nazis directly, as well.) Unlike most Gospel Thrillers, the title does not relate at all to the secret gospel that drives much of the plot (and which spends most of the novel hidden in a secret "vault"). Rather, the "gemini contenders" are the twin sons whose rivalry animates the second half of the novel. Ludlum's layering of personal struggle within global conflict captures perfectly the psychodynamics of conspiratorial thrillers.
Heroes: In part 1, the hero is Victor Fontine (né Vittorio Fontini-Christi, a much more suggestive surname), an Italian multimillionaire whose father agreed to hide "the vault" somewhere on their property, and who flees Fascist Italy during World War Two and becomes an Allied spy; in part 2, set in the present day, Victor's do-gooder attorney son, Adrian, whom Victor charges to find the secret vault Villains: In part 1, Nazis (including double agents); throughout, extremist Catholics; extremist U.S. military officers (including Adrian's twin brother, Andrew Fontine); and the mysterious "Order of Xenope," a group of monks who put the vault into hiding to protect its secret Gospel: probably authentic (there is some question at the end) confession of Peter testifying that Jesus did not die on the cross (another was substituted for him), but committed suicide three days after the crucifixion; it was hidden long ago, with other ancient documents, by the Xenope monks
Reviews: Like many of Ludlum's books, Gemini Contenders was favorably reviewed at the time for its taut plotting and engaging conspiracies; see the reviews from the New York Times and San Francisco Examiner below. As Goodreads and Amazon reviews suggest, it remains popular, although perhaps lesser known, among Ludlum's fan base.
