This novel helped me grow my understanding and feel for one way a Roman Catholic priest could be. ( )

I DNFed this book at 45% and skipped to skim the last chapter. This book is so slow paced and drawn out. Even though I was almost half way through practically nothing had happened. Furthermore, I looked up other reviews and discovered that there are some major historical inaccuracies (especially in the last 1/3 of the book). On top of that it sounds like the primary message of salvation is missing and instead leans towards actions/works and loving others. Not to mention that it appeared in the last chapter that Marcellus married Diana even though her salvation is debatable at the time . Even if I had finished this book, I don't believe it would have gotten any higher than 3 stars (and even that high a rating is uncertain).

Lloyd C. Douglas wrote this book in 1943. It is timeless in its message and in its story. This is a story of Jesus, and it begins just before the crucifixion on the grassy knoll at Golgotha. It ends about 2 years after that in a Roman forum. Lloyd C. Douglas has created a masterpiece here, and it has some of the the most beautiful language and prose I have ever read. Yes, the story is familiar to us as Christians, but Douglas has created a wonderful meld of fiction and history in this book. We learn to love and care for the main characters as we hear about Jesus's life story. Marcellus, Demetrias and Diana were as real to me as people that I may meet on the street corner any day of the week. The amount of work that went into this novel is astounding, and the skill in which it was created is beyond belief. Marcellus was present at the time of the crucifixion of Christ, and his presence at this momentous occasion forever changed his life. We see how a cocky, young Roman Centurion becomes a humble citizen whose main goal in life is to educate the people about Jesus Christ and his promised Kingdom. This is not a book to begin lightly. It is a very weighty tome that will probably cause readers to re-evaluate and re-discover their life lessons It is a book that will hit you in the solar plexus. This very real entry into the first century A.D. will knock your socks off and rock your world if you let it When Lloyd Douglas's housekeeper asked the innocent question about the crucifixion, "What happened to his robe sir?" this was the beginning of Lloyd Douglas's magnum opus. He has done a masterful job of combining fiction, folklore and history in this book. It is a book that should be read in every Christian's lifetime. I had read it before when I was much younger, and did not really grasp the scope of it until I picked it up now. As difficult as it was to read this story, I do not regret a minute of it. ( )

A Roman soldier wins Christ’s robe as a gambling prize. He then sets forth on a quest to find the truth about the Nazarene—a quest that reaches to the very roots and heart of Christianity.

This is a fabulous book which I read in high school and it still resonates! ( )

Changed my life. ( )