Title: The Book of Malchus
Author: Neil K. Newell with William J. Hamblin
Publisher:
Release Date: N2010
ISBN:
Size: 416 pages, 6×9, softcover
Genre: Historical
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A book for all who believe and especially for those who want to believe.
It is A.D. 410 and Rome, the symbol of order and civilization, has fallen — sacked by and army of barbarians. Renowned pagan philosopher Lucius Crescentius struggles to make sense of it. Why had the gods allowed it? Could it be they are merely stone after all? Has everything he has known all his life — everything he has studies, believed, and worked for — been a lie?
But as Lucius struggles to understand his world, he makes a startling discovery: a hidden and mysterious record written by a long-dead ancestor — a merchant explorer by the name of Malchus. Malchus’ tale reveals a story of high adventure on the sea, of unexpected romance, and of barbarian ways in a strange, faraway land. He also tells of an even stranger story about a chance encounter with a man from Galilee that is destined to change his life forever.
In Rome, chants of death and destruction fill the streets. How can Lucius reconcile yesterday’s Rome with the chaos of today? As Lucius struggles to make sense of a world turned upside down, he turns to the strange and exciting Book of Malchus, hoping that within those pages, he might discover a new path and new meaning for his life.
I really liked this book. Loved it, in fact. As historical Fiction, it has equal parts of both. The history is fascinating and the fiction, those characters set in that history and the story line that is woven around them, is engaging and full of adventure. The voyage made in this novel will have many parallels; similar voyages that may or may not have been taken but are thought all the more probable through this voyage. This is an intelligent and fun book. You don’t need to already know the history to enjoy the book. Yet, the history will come alive through its characters as you page quickly through the book and absorb the live that springs off of its pages. Is it the best book ever written. No. But it is totally worthwhile and you will feel rewarded for having read it.