What Readers Are Saying

My Companion Through My Spiritual Journey
The characters in all three novels became my companions on my spiritual journey. They are real because each character is just like you and me. And while none of us know how God will unfold Himself in time, all the Catholic references are in accord to what we believe.
- Deann from Sussex, WI

Amazing, Inspired, Life-Changing
Picked up "Pierced by a Sword" browsing in a used book store. Stood reading a few pages and was hooked. The whole trilogy was on the shelf. I just grabbed them all because I was so happy to see such inspired Catholic fiction with such solid theology. The characters are so real and the story so true-to-life. I finished the first book at three a.m. reading non-stop. These books have shown me the necessity and value of fervent prayer. Turned my daily rosary into a labor of love.
- Dee from Richardson, TX

Read, Re-read, Re-read Again
I cannot pick just one of the books since I have read and re-read all three novels many, many times. These people are so real that I cannot call them "characters." Most excellent books, thank you for writing them!
- Mikendra from Phoenix, AZ

Required Reading for All Catholics
I read all three books, each one was better than the last! I don't want it to end, please give us more to read! They're uplifting, inspiring, riveting, suspenseful, exciting, touching... and I learned so many things about the faith that I didn't even know! And I thought I knew a lot! This should be required reading for all Catholics, they're the best three novels I've ever read. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
- Book Lover from New Jersey

Lukewarm no more!
I have read all three books, House of Gold took me less than 1 day (riveting masterpiece). But there was something that spoke to my heart in Pierced by a Sword that has deepened and expanded my faith. I considered myself devout before reading them, but to quote Joe Jackson, "Lukewarm!", was a more accurate description. You began me on a journey into a deep, personal relationship with Jesus, and Our Blessed Mother, Mary. Thank you for your great gift.
- Nancy from Rockford, IL

Stories of Catholic life and culture.
Not long after I became a Catholic I read Pierced By A Sword and Conceived Without Sin. Reading these books made me feel like I was part of a Catholic culture, life, and world, the people are real. Like the people you meet every day at work in the neighborhood or at daily Mass. People like you and me.
- Ned from Brooklyn, NY

Changed my faith life!
I am a teen and these three books absolutely changed my faith. I was inspired and thrilled by Macfarlane's writing style. I laughed and cried through all three stories. Pierced By A Sword and Conceived Without Sin are my two favorite books of all time! I thank God for the beautiful Catholic Church and for Bud Macfarlaine Jr. for so eloquently writing about our incredible faith!
- Margaret from

A real page-turner!
Life can be very short, as this novel illustrates. Fortunately the Y2K bug didn't hit in an apocalpytic way, but we take so much for granted! Warning - this book is a tearjerker, but has a good ending! I couldn't put it down.
- Amy from Oklahoma

Can't Put Them Down
In a time when the Church is trashed daily on the news, yet humanity seems so desperate for a compassionate hand up from the mess in which it's mired itself, this set of books has never been more important. Not only are they far better written than the "Left Behind " series (not even considering the false topic of that series), but Mr. MacFarlane's characters seem like people you actually know. Read the forward, even if you do not usually. If the first few pages are slow going, force yourself to continue. All of the sudden, you will find that you cannot stop reading. Your spouse will beg you to shut off the bedside lamp. And in the end, you will feel that you have been changed in a way that you never believed possible from a book. You'll feel a commitment to your faith you may not ever have had before. You'll feel a puzzlement at why you never noticed all of the greatness and wonder of the Church and its teachings. And if you have the sudden urge to run off to Mass? All the better. If you read nothing else this year, read this book. But take my advice... order all three books. When you've finished Pierced by a Sword, you'll be desperate for more. And after the first, you won't believe it, but they get even better.
- Teresa from Indiana

The repentance, the joy... it's life.
I cried twice in one day, and the next day I was inexplicably happy. I love this book. Every Catholic should get the chance to read it, and the others too.
- Gigi from Cody