The Christos Mosaic

4 Stars

Originally I had given this book 3 1/2 stars, but I've since changed a bit and upped it to 4 stars. I definitely think that it's worth that extra half star. It's extremely well written, well researched and the subject matter is provocative. Fans of Dan Brown will definitely have an interest in The Christos Mosaic. I will issue a caution to anyone who does not want to have their foundation of faith rocked even a little bit, this may not be the book for you. If you can keep an open mind...proceed!

We meet Drew, an American ex-pat living in Turkey and mourning the end of his marriage, having no direction in his life as he works as an English teacher and loses himself in books. And it's that love of books that begins the adventure of a lifetime. His adventure begins with a chance encounter with a dwarf bookseller, Kadir, who asks him for a favor.

An ancient scroll was discovered and chance places that scroll with Drew along with clues to another scroll and these scrolls have the ability to rock the very foundations of Christianity. People will kill to make sure that these scrolls never see the light of day and all Drew wants to do is get them into the hands of scholars so that they can be studied and in doing so, redeem himself in the eyes of his ex-wife and everyone else who has doubted him in his life. But he has to work with Kadir, who just wants to get as much money as he can from the black market by selling the scroll to the highest bidder.

Full of twists and turns, packed with action and even a little romance. Ancient enemies are hunting for the same scrolls. This book has a lot to offer, especially if you can keep an open mind. There are a lot of Bible references and there is a lot of time spent going over inconsistencies in the Gospels. It's easy to get a little lost in these places, especially for anyone not familiar. I did get lost several times and found myself having to go back and re-read areas again so I could have a better understanding. But this is more my fault than the fault of the author, I really can't fault him for this, because without the information, the story would not have been complete.

THE CHRISTOS MOSIAC

The Christos Mosaic is a well-written novel that attempts to reconcile the question of whether or not there was a flesh-and-blood, historical Jesus versus Jesus being an amalgamation of many philosophers and gods, combined as one, in the scriptures.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK

Reading the book, it is obvious that the author and/or his research team did excellent research on all the philosophers, mythical gods, Christian deities and their origins that form the Christos Mosaic.

It is apparent that the author is formally educated and passionate about his theories in the Christos Mosaic.

The author did a great job of taking us into all the locales mentioned in the story. Istanbul is one of the major backdrops where the action takes place, and many times I felt I was there. The seas, countryside, and surrounding areas stood out in my mind, as well as the markets and streets of Istanbul and Cairo. Of course, with Istanbul’s history and historical sites, it is a wonderful place for a story to unfold, as is Cairo.

WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK

This is personal, and another reader may be fine with it, but I didn’t like any of the characters in the novel. While it’s not always necessary for me to care about a protagonist, in this case it would have helped. Drew Korchula is an American slacker expatriate (he has a small-time teaching job he hates - and has already quit - which is far below his educational level), who wants to do nothing more with his life than read literature and get his estranged wife back. He hides from his lack of achievement by staying away from his American dad and family, in Istanbul. His wife, who also doesn’t want to live in America, is a mean-spirited, combative, partier who starts fights with Drew for no particularly valid reason(s). To be fair, wifey has a condition that requires psychoactive medication, which she sometimes does not take. Drew, on the other hand (or maybe the same hand), is short-tempered and leaves during their unreasonable arguments rather than try to work things out rationally, although he claims she’s the love of his life. He’s been known to throw and break objects when he can’t “deal with it”. Both people behave like toddlers who need to be denied their toys until they behave appropriately. They have a love/hate relationship on steroids.

Drew has loose morals and doesn’t mind engaging in outside sex (while at the same time still having sex with his wife) with an old flame from college who happens to show up while Drew is trying to solve the murder of his best friend and solve another mystery. His best friend is an ex-professor/sage, who has always been helpful to Drew. Particularly distasteful (to me) was that Drew didn’t bathe or shower after his sexual liaisons with the two women, which seemed to occur very close in time, perhaps hours apart. He was staying with them in different places and had to leave very quickly, without showers or cleaning himself in any manner. The book stated that, several times, after sex, he got out of bed, pulled on his pants and shirt and immediately left to do other things. Both women remarked that he always smelled good, so maybe I’m the only person who would notice or care.

Kadir is the little person who brought the big problem to Drew that pulls him into the adventure, to find the truth about “who was Jesus” and make millions at the same time. Kadir may be one of the more palatable characters in the novel; it’s hard to say.

THE STORY

Without spoiling the actual unfolding of the story any more than I may have inadvertently, I will say, there are many characters, several religious cults, some Vatican secret mercenaries, some Israeli Mossad agents, U.S. agents, priests, monks, sea captains, dealers in stolen artifacts, some downright thugs, and others, who make up the cast of characters. I feel the story would have been better served by pairing down the number of characters, if possible.

It’s “somewhat” similar in genre to Dan Brown’s DaVinci Code but without the fast pace. There is pacing, but it seems the author said, “Okay. I’ve been going on and on about the subject I’m addressing, now it’s time for some action.” Then he put in some credible action, after which, he immediately took us back to the overabundance of information, in my opinion, that characterized this novel throughout.

CONCLUSION

If you like books, about whether or not Jesus was a real person, and you like copious amounts of information on the matter, this is a book for you. Again, I will say, Vincent Czyz lacks nothing, in terms of “putting his pen to paper” and research, so I advise you to read this book - if this kind of story is your cup of tea. Also, I believe religious scholars would like this novel, if for no other reason than to pick it apart – or support its positions and conclusions.

NOTE: I gratefully received a free advance copy of this novel from Net Galley, in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the book very much, but did find you had to totally concentrate on as it does become quite complicated and I found there were a lot of names and events thrown in, and was easy to lose your way.

Can only imagine the amount of research the author must have put into the book to bring it all together, his knowledge is very impressive.

Would recommend it.