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This is a Dan Brown type Biblical history thriller, with a Christian, as opposed to heretic, perspective. ( )

A suspenseful thriller with a premise unlike any other I have ever read or even imagined. "For two thousand years he has wandered the shadows of humanity’s blood-stained history, secretly carrying out an ancient mission." Consider that this man is Lazarus of Bethany that is on a mission given to him by God and until he succeeds he is unable to die and enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

I didn't know if I could read this book because I didn't know if I could imagine the premise even to read the novel. However, as I began reading the story, I felt compelled to continue reading. This is the author's first solo novel but he obviously knows the craft of writing as a screenwriter and has worked in collaboration with another author. This however was my first introduction to the writing of Mark Andrew Olsen. It is a novel of suspense that weaves past and present across a wide spectrum of locations beginning in Poland to Boston, MA, to France to Ireland to Rome to Jerusalem.

I'm glad that I finished reading the novel but I don't think it is a novel that I could recommend. I think that in whatever way one comes to find this novel, it is a very personal decision to read a novel of this content. It was once said that "Reading expands your mind and opens your world to a myriad of possibilities." [Specific author unknown.] This quote seems the best way that I can express my own choice to continue reading...to take me beyond my own thoughts, my own beliefs, and to consider other possibilities that might be different. It is definitely a unique portrayal of good vs. evil. I have learned through research about the author that he has written other novels but I do not anticipate reading another title. ( )

Plot Summary: What happens, When & Where, Central Characters, Major Conflicts
Father Stephen is the youngest and newest member of a secret Catholic society called the order of St. Lazare. They formed way back in the middle agest to protect "The Restrainer". Stephen is skeptical about their mission at first, but when they excavate a crypt outside of a former Nazi concentration camp and find a man alive within the sealed chamber, he is forced to believe. The man is Lazarus, who after his resurrection was fated to not die again but to remain alive as The Restrainer who keeps the demonic forces at bay in their quest to overtake the world. Lazarus has lived through much, and so has his family, for he found a brief time of love and now his direct descendants have become targets in this supernatural wrestling match. Still when he seeks out his great-something grandaughter, he is surprised when she in return seeks him out and insists on joining him on his adventures. A game of cat and mouse ensues between him and his adversaries.






Style Characterisics: Pacing, clarity, structure, narrative devices, etc.
OK, the premise is pretty fantastic, so how well does Olsen do at creating a great thriller out of it? Olsen creates some memorable scenes, I especially recall how Lazarus can see into the Angelic world like when he is at a hospice and can see the ministering angels who are with the dying person. The story can be a bit confusing, as it jumps around from character to character and between places and times a lot. Part of it is told in the form of Lazarus's journal entries which, while interesting, sometimes don't add much to what is going on. Lazarus/Lazare was an interesting character, I didn't find his rennaisance, man of the world persona meshing with the Biblical image, but maybe that's just me.






How Good is it?
A page turner, though confusing and a little slow in spots. ( )