City of Dreams: A Novel (!Hero Series #1) by Stephen R. Lawhead and Ross Lawhead

An interesting "What if...?" take on the story of Jesus.

Published in 2003 by Navpress

This may be the most pointless review I have ever written. There is something sad about a stillborn trilogy. In this case, only the first book was published, although co-author Ross Lawhead claimed the 2nd and 3rd books are written in his blog. So, this reminds of an unfinished building - lots of big plans but someone pulled the plug before it was completed.

Nonetheless, here is the review:

The premise is simple. What if Jesus did not come into the world about 2,000 years ago, but instead was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the here and now. As a history teacher I very much enjoyed reading the alternate history aspect of this book - how would the world be different if Christianity did not eclipse the old religions of Europe? Would the worship of Jupiter, Thor and Diana have continued? Would Europe have developed the same sort of political structures? These topics are hinted at but are not really the main focus of the book.

The book features Special Agent Alex Hunter, an investigator for ICON (International Confederation of Nations), a one world government organization that has been experiencing difficulty with religious groups who want to break free from ICON's iron grip. Hunter is a tarnished agent, having mishandled a standoff with a religious splinter group in the recent past. The standoff went bad and a bloodbath ensued. He has been brought to New York City to investigate a Zionist splinter group (turns out that Judaism survives in this alternate, but still experiences plenty of difficulties).

Intrigue, plots and plots within plots are discovered and Agent Hunter is not sure who to trust - ICON, the local government or perhaps even the group he has infiltrated. Along the way, he meets Washer John, the character that corresponds to John the Baptist and his cousin Joshua, the character that corresponds to Jesus (Jesus is the Greek-ification of Yeshua or Joshua, if you are wondering about the name change).

The first book ends with Agent Hunter making a major decision about who he can trust in a cliffhanger situation designed to make the reader look for the second book. Unfortunately...there is no second book. Too bad, it would have been an interesting read.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com: City of Dreams: A Novel.

Reviewed on December 6, 2011

Hero (Graphic Novel) by Stephen R. Lawhead and Ross Lawhead

This re-telling of the story of Jesus was just okay

Published in 2003 by NavPress Pub Group.

Written by Stephen R. Lawhead and Ross Lawhead.

Adapted from the original story by Eddie DeGarmo and Bob Farrell

I picked this one up yesterday. I was excited to see it was a near-futuristic re-telling of the last days of Jesus re-told by Stephen R. Lawhead. I am a giant fan of his book Byzantium, so I knew he'd re-tell this is a respectful and interesting way.

It was respectful and faithful to the Biblical version but very short. I read this one in about 20 minutes. It is a graphic novel version of a rock opera but this so you obviously can't include the songs. But, there was nothing else added either. No background on the disciples (except Maggie). You actually have to know the story from the Bible to read this and get what they are doing. There's no explanation about who Petrov (Peter) is and where he came from and why he follows Hero (Jesus). Jude Discariot gets the most treatment, which is not saying much.

So much more could have been done. At least no harm was done by straying from the original too much, but this one could have been easily 3 times longer without straying from the original.

I rate this graphic novel 3 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Hero.

Reviewed on July 25, 2008.

Byzantium by Stephen R. Lawhead

The best description that I have for this book is that it is like a roller coaster

Originally published in 1996.

Why is it like a roller coaster?

A roller coaster is slow when it starts out and climbs that first big hill. Byzantium is also slow while Lawhead lays the groundwork and has the reader join with an enterprising group of 13 monks from Ireland and Britain that head off for a pilgrimage to Constantinople.

Like a roller coaster, once this book finally gets moving (around page 90 or so) the pace never stops and the reader is drawn into a wonderful world and is exposed to four cultures (Irish, Viking, Byzantine, Arab), as the main character is taken into slavery, lives the life of luxury, suffers from religious doubt, climbs to the heights of faith, fights corruption, is betrayed, and also travels the world in a whirlwind fashion.

This wonderful story, based on a composite of Irish monks from the 9th and 10th centuries, is a joy to read.

Bravo!

This is my first Lawhead book but it won't be my last.

I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Byzantium by Stephen R. Lawhead.