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A review by asteroidbuckle
The Betrayal: The Lost Life of Jesus by Kathleen O'Neal Gear, W. Michael Gear
2.0
I love historical fiction and I also love anything that has to do with bringing a touch of reality to the Bible and the life of Jesus. So when I saw this book at my local library, I snatched it up.
The premise: Rome has decided that Jesus' birth was indeed virgin and his resurrection was fleshly. That means that any book stating otherwise must be destroyed.
Enter Barnabas. He's a monk in charge of the books at his monastery and who has knowledge of the content and whereabouts of certain now-heretical texts which he vows to protect.
He and his monastic brothers, Cyrus (a former Roman soldier who has given his life over to God) and Zarathan (a young monk who is as annoying as he is useless, at least in the beginning), by chance end up being the only three survivors when Emperor Constantine's henchman come to enforce the new rules regarding heretical texts.
Oh, and there's a feisty redhead named Kalay thrown in for good measure. She was the washerwoman for the monastery and ends up tagging along with the group as a foil to their faith (she's a pagan goddess worshipper and a temptation to both Cyrus and Zarathan).
I had high hopes for this book, but overall, I was disappointed with it. There were some stellar parts: the backstory regarding the trial, crucifixion, burial, and 'resurrection' of Jesus was riveting. It was the rest that was a little too convoluted for my taste.
Bad guys, torture, rape, a desperate chase, and a love story to boot, which made my eyes roll back so far in my head, I think I saw my brain. There's also a bit of the supernatural (or the divine, if you're so inclined) thrown in as well. And it's not as if I am opposed to any of these things, but when the footnotes are more interesting than the story, you know there's something wrong.
I expected more. Perhaps I expected too much.
The premise: Rome has decided that Jesus' birth was indeed virgin and his resurrection was fleshly. That means that any book stating otherwise must be destroyed.
Enter Barnabas. He's a monk in charge of the books at his monastery and who has knowledge of the content and whereabouts of certain now-heretical texts which he vows to protect.
He and his monastic brothers, Cyrus (a former Roman soldier who has given his life over to God) and Zarathan (a young monk who is as annoying as he is useless, at least in the beginning), by chance end up being the only three survivors when Emperor Constantine's henchman come to enforce the new rules regarding heretical texts.
Oh, and there's a feisty redhead named Kalay thrown in for good measure. She was the washerwoman for the monastery and ends up tagging along with the group as a foil to their faith (she's a pagan goddess worshipper and a temptation to both Cyrus and Zarathan).
I had high hopes for this book, but overall, I was disappointed with it. There were some stellar parts: the backstory regarding the trial, crucifixion, burial, and 'resurrection' of Jesus was riveting. It was the rest that was a little too convoluted for my taste.
Bad guys, torture, rape, a desperate chase, and a love story to boot, which made my eyes roll back so far in my head, I think I saw my brain. There's also a bit of the supernatural (or the divine, if you're so inclined) thrown in as well. And it's not as if I am opposed to any of these things, but when the footnotes are more interesting than the story, you know there's something wrong.
I expected more. Perhaps I expected too much.