The Book of Q: A Novel by Jonathan Rabb Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Book of Q: A Novel
Book Review: Is it a book? Or a screenplay?
Summary: 3 Stars
Raab's "The Book of Q" weaves Vatican theology, Tom Clancy international conspiracy, and Indian Jones adventure into fairly coherent entertainment. In some ways, the work succeeds, but not entirely. Except for Professor Angeli, character development suffers consistently. Transistions often confuse, leaving one to wonder if chapters were somehow overlooked. Plot tangents, especially those concerning the fractured conspiracy, are hardly interesting and seldom necessary. Overall, it reads like a screenplay waiting for a movie, not a book seeking an audience.Book Review: It helps to have an understanding of the "Q" controversy
Summary: 5 Stars
It is a well thought out idea and it is an excellent page turner. I liked how the author dealt with the Balkan problem of the late 90's in the first part of the book.
The action is good (if a little improbable) but the main thrust of the novel
is tracking down the Q and how he treated the Manichaeism heresy. The Amazon review by Kelly Flynn seems somewhat harsh. No, it is not as good as Brown's Angel and Demons, but it does stand very well for the genre.
I liked the fact that it made you think.
Book Review: Loved it
Summary: 5 Stars
I managed to get hold of a pre-pub. version of this book a while back, and i thought it was a very good book. I havent read his other book, the Overseer, but i thought that this one was interesting-despite the amazon editorial review which said it was re-hashed. But anyways, I thought that it was well written, and has so many twists and turns that keep you either on the edge of your seat, or sitting back in amazement at the new plot development. It deals with a priest named Ian Pearse who has this scroll that was supposedly lost many many years ago. The scroll is the most important relic of an ancient religous sect, and is rumored to have information on their plans to institute a one world church, in place of all others. A whole bunch of different people are searching for this scroll for different reasons, and it all gets really crazy. Read the book, its a good one.Book Review: Mystery wrapped in a Robe
Summary: 4 Stars
Although this does not approach the fabulous GOSPEL by Wilton Barnhardt (in which a fifth Gospel is uncovered and searched for by a priest and a woman) it is still a good read. It certainly does not merit the a * meted out by some reviewers - considering the praise for such mixed-up runarounds as The DaVinci Code. It dragged at times and some is outlandish but that's true of Clancy and (especially) Dale Brown. One problem was that it tried to be a religious mystery, spy tale and biography rolled in one. As a restul, each of the three suffered a bit.
Pearce, an American priest-to-be works in Bosnia during the war. His closest companions are a Croat man (Mendravic) and woman (Petra). He and the woman fall in love and before he returns make love in old church. They then narrowly escape a murder attempt. Fast Forward 8 years and the priest is in Rome as a Pope nears death. The reader learns that a crafty Manichaean is scheduled to be the next Pope. Pearce learns of a plot to replace Catholicism with Manichaeanism, historically Christianity's greatest rival. These believers have infiltrated all areas of the Church.
He obtains an ancient scroll that is actually a map with puzzles, a speciality of his. It leads to the Balkans - this time Kosovo - where he meets the Croats again. He discovers that he sired a son, Ivo, and the rest of the tale is a long search for the mythical "Hodoporia", the document that will usher in a religion for all. What it turns out to be, though, is the alleged "Q", a saying of the words of Jesus roughly used by the Gospel writers.
The new Manichean Pope carries out a grand scheme that unites Christendom against Islamic terrorists . In an avalanche of events all is finally reconciled. There is a satisfying personal ending - Pearce, Petra and Ivo unite and move to Boston. The story ending is less satisfactory. The Church uses the Q document but omits parts revealing that there was no Resurrection. So the Church endures but yet it is based on a lie.
Book Review: Not worth the time nor the money...
Summary: 1 Stars
Other reviewers share my opinion that this novel is weak in capturing readers' interest in the historical aspects of its theological theme. However, in contrast to other opinions, I found the "suspense and adventure" of this "thriller" uninspired and formulaic. Even the copy editors evidently lost interest in the book: The grammatical howlers in the final pages show that folks who read the galley proofs fell asleep too soon!