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Loading... The Thirteenth Apostle (original 2006; edition 2008)by Michel Benoît, Andrew Brown
Work InformationThe Thirteenth Apostle by Michel Benoit (2006)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Yet another contender in the now very tired Da Vinci Code genre, AKA "The Catholic church brutally suppresses terrible secret that could destroy it." While the basic premise isn't the worst I've ever seen, it's rather poorly executed, and the prose is clunky. We could perhaps blame some of this on the translation into English, but I suspect not much. The plot is weak and the characters are two-dimensional. It does pick up a little in the second half, but by then it's too little, too late, and the weak climax is somewhat anticlimactic. Desde el Siglo I al XX, de Judea a una Abadía del norte de Francia al Vaticano, una vorágine de muertes, mentiras y manipulaciones han perseguido a los que han intentado desvelar el enigma del decimotercer apóstol. No deben vivir para contarlo. ¿Sabia algo que había que acallar a cualquier precio? ¿por qué su testimonio sigue siendo tan peligroso en la actualidad?. Michel Benoit ex benedictino y especialista en los orígenes del cristianismo, desvela la existencia de un apóstol que misteriosamente fue silenciado en los textos sagrados y borrado de la memoria de Occidente. El padre Andrei estaba a punto de descubrir un secreto que la Iglesia se había afanado en ocultar desde su fundación. Un secreto que tuvo tiempo de confiar a su amigo, el padre Nil, antes de ser asesinado en el tren Roma-París. Nil, sin embargo está dispuesto a continuar su investigación: sigue la pista de una epístola y de un compañero de Jesús cuya existencia se tuvo oculta a lo largo de los siglos. Roma, por su parte hará lo imposible para impedírselo; Jerusalén y La Meca también: lo que está en juego es el orden del mundo según lo conciben las grandes religiones reveladas. Michel Benoit, basándose en documentación y un conocimiento profundo de los Evangelios y la historia religiosa, nos arrastra a las brumas de los orígenes de nuestra civilización. Apparently based on the author's lifetime research. He's also written a memoir about his time as an unordained monk for 22 years. I have a feeling he has modelled the character Nil on himself. I read it in 2 sittings. Fast paced and absorbing. Also a great overview of the origns of the 3 monotheistic religions and how their beliefs intertwine. Recommended.
When his friend Andrei is mysteriously killed on a train on his way back from Rome, Father Nil, a Benedictine who teaches the Gospel of St John to novices, decides to conduct his own investigation. The dead priest possessed proof of the existence of a thirteenth apostle and an epistle stating that Jesus was nothing more than an inspired prophet, not the Son of God - two things that would spell great danger for the Church. Father Nil then discovers a previously unpublished account of the origins of Christianity. It tells of the Nazoreans - a community excluded from the official Church by Peter and Paul - who appear to have thrived until the 7th century, playing an important role in the birth of Islam. While he pushes ahead with his investigation, the Pope's advisors, rival factions and secret societies are trying, by any means, to lay their hands on the priest's findings. From the Mossad to Fatah, everyone seems to have a very good reason to keep the thirteenth apostle asecret... No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)843.92Literature French French fiction Modern Period 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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However, the book overall does disappoint. The writing can be clunky in places, and, though at 360 pages, it seems quite a long book, it is also quite slow-moving at times. I liked the process of investigation and deciphering that the lead character goes through, but it all seems a little too quick and easy at times. Meanwhile, the ending seems a little drawn out, I would have preferred more on the process of investigation. It feels like the author got bored and just wanted to wrap up the book as quickly as possible. ( )