Rating: 
Summary: Radical and Challenging Fiction
Review: In ELI, best-selling author Bill Myers asks the question, "what if Jesus had been born 2000 years later?" The concept is familiar to readers of the book JOSHUA, but Myers' execution puts ELI at a higher level than JOSHUA ever reached.ELI's story revolves around the character of journalist Conrad Davis, who is thrown from our world into a parallel reality thanks to a coma-inducing auto accident. Davis soon realizes, even though he is not a Christian, that everything about this new reality is the same, save for the fact that no one had the faintest clue who Jesus Christ was. Through his work and his ex-wife he happens upon a controversial figure named Eli, and soon parallels between Eli and the person of Jesus begin to appear. Conrad is taken with what Eli represents and he takes a leave of absence from work to become one of his followers. What results is a modern day enactment of the ministry years of Jesus; specifically His passion week. Myers freely admits at the beginning of the book that this story is a work of fiction. But this fiction has the familiar ring and power of Biblical truth. Because in changing the setting of the story of Jesus, Myers has given it a contemporary and radical edge that strikes at one's preconcieved notions and ideas about the character of Jesus and the world He was born into. Though Myers does take some literary freedom in the translation, the end result is quite sound. I found it much harder to point a finger at the Pharisees and unfaithful disciples after reading this book because the story's concept forced me to put myself in their shoes and, in this modern situation, I realized that I wasn't sure that I would fare any better than they did. In the end, ELI succeeds precisely because of that radical twist. The afore mentioned JOSHUA showed us that we, who are so comfortable with our ideas of Jesus, would probably find him just as much of an outlaw if He came today. ELI accomplishes the same thing but takes it further by forcing us to look at the bigger picture and apply the lessons He taught to our modern world in a surprising new light. In the story's end Conrad is forced to make a hard decision about Eli. The reader hopefully will be just as challenged in their walk with Christ. A fast-paced, thought-provoking read: Four stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Mercy + Justice = Jesus
Review: When this book caught my eye in the bookstore I didn't expect it to be this amazing. The idea of getting a glimpse of what it would be like if Jesus had come 2,000 years later, today, was very intrigueing. In this book I was impacted time and time again over the truths, emotions, and outcome that Jesus, or "Eli", made and provoked. I was reminded and given a firm reason to why we so desperately need Jesus's blood and death. Have you ever had a Bible that translates things into "today terms"? Such as when they talk about a certain about of money and they have a footnote that says exactly how much that money would be worth today? Well, "Eli" is like a big footnote for the story of Jesus. Bill Myers puts the story of Jesus into terms that we can relate to, and the effect is breathtaking. I highly recommend this book if you are familiar with the story of Jesus, but if you aren't then please read the real thing first in the book of John in the Bible.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good.
Review: I liked the story and it made me look at Jesus story in a different way. Very good attempt.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T PASS THIS BOOK UP!
Review: Extremly Inspiring. Riveting.
The only book I wasn't able to put down! Bill Myers really captures Jesus and puts him in a modern setting it is so on cue, so realistic. I didn't feel like it was someone trying to conjure up what Jesus would be like if he hadn't walked the earth today. I didn't feel like Bill Myers was trying to be "hip", he was telling it like it is (just like Jesus did!.)It gets you thinking and wanting to know more about Jesus, wanting to the read the bible more to parallel parts in the book (it did for me!) It really brought everything to life for me! This is why I call this book inspiring! This book is well worth the 10$ or whatever you spend on it (I paid $6.99 soft cover from a local christian bookstore). This book is a great gift/read for anyone of I would say age 11-any!!! It's very open to different audiences.
Rating: 
Summary: Inconsistent and frustrating
Review: It is a shame that Myers doesn't write fiction as well as he does screenplays (notably the wonderful McGee and Me series.) This book was more disappointing than even his religious sci fi. Conrad Davis slips into a parallel universe where Christianity hasn't happened yet and a new messiah named Eli is born in a laundry room in Santa Monica. Somehow the world had evolved as if Christianity had occurred however: hotel rooms have Bibles including only the Old Testament, not Talmudic tracts, the non-Jewish characters do not worship Greek gods but are monotheists, there are crystal cathedrals and evangelical theme parks celebrating Old Testament figures and a monotheist God- but they are certainly not Jewish. Did the Reformation happen anyway? While the idea of a Messiah ploped down in contemporary life has potential, this book doesn't achieve it. The concept is half-baked and the interspersing between realities and memories is confusing. None of the characters is fleshed out- maybe Myers is better when he writes for actors who can add personality. It's a shame. In religious fiction Myers is certainly no Madelline L'Engle and not even a C.S. Lewis.
Rating:
Summary: A thoughtprovoking read that dares to tick off its readers
Review: I am NOT a big fan of Christian fiction. A lot of it is hopelessly goody-goody..afraid to ever deal with REAL emotion. Afraid to admit the nastiness that often lurks underneath the facade of Christians as they struggle to slowly become more like Jesus and less like themselves. This book rang true for me for the most part. I didn't cringe at the dialogue and plotlines. I liked that Myer's Jesus (as "Eli") overturned the Jesus junk at the Christian theme park. It's the type of thing I would easily envision Jesus doing today. His Jesus was also difficult..asking seemingly impossible..or inconvenient things in order to be a follower. The real Jesus was like that, too, IMHO. This was a gripping read...highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: What is the real Jesus really like?
Review: Do you want to find out what the real Jesus is like? Do you have trouble relating to external trappings that have been placed around the person of Jesus? Do you want to know what it would have been like to be with him and be his friend? What would it be like if he visited 21st century America? What would he say to you if you could walk and talk with him? Do you want to know what it would be like for Jesus to come to earth today? Then this book is FOR YOU!!!
For me, this novel captures more of the heart, love and character of Jesus than any other fictional book I have ever read or movie I have ever seen. The book expressed Jesus' story in a very real way which I could understand and relate to. So much so, that I wept when I read it, even though it is fiction. If you want to learn about Jesus without having to wade through man-made religious trappings, this book will help you understand what his life on earth was really like by translating his story and circumstances into modern terms and settings. I give this book my very highest recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Not Bad for Religious Fiction
Review: Conrad Davis is a TV journalist whose life appears to be good on the outside. Still, the competitive nature of his profession and his own internal drive had him continuously pushing for the next and best assignment. However, this also led to some problems in his past that he never really dealt with: divorce from his wife, Suzanne, and estrangement from his daughter, Julia. The latest assignment he hoped to pursue involved allegations by a scientist that he could prove the existence of parallel universes. However, on the way back from an interview of the scientist, he was involved in a fiery car crash . . . . From which he woke in a completely different life. He caught a ride with a couple young kids who looked like the jumped out of the 60's, and ended up at a cheap motel where he witnessed the birth of a newborn child, Eli. Years later he runs into Eli again, and witnesses many miracles that push him beyond all his former beliefs. Mr. Myers really did a fantastic job of taking Jesus' miracles and stories from the New Testament, and setting them in present day. (FYI, the crux of the story is that in this alternate universe, Jesus was never born, and "Eli" is born in the 20th Century.) For example, the men that Eli chose to be his 12 disciples closely mirrored the diversity in the men Jesus chose, including ones with whom most people would never wish to associate. The only real "problem" I saw in the story was the overriding fact that today's society has clearly been influenced by Christianity. And it was difficult for me to see how a parallel universe/world could have developed so similarly if that belief system had never existed before. Additionally, it appears that even in fiction, the questions that many of us face regarding faith and belief in God still cannot be answered easily.
Rating:
Summary: Imaginative!
Review: I've often wondered what life would be like if Christ were alive today. This book answers those questions. Instead of being a perfect society like I would have thought, Bill Meyers shows that people from the Bible are just the same as people today. Very imaginative and original!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Astounding!
Review: Eli is a tale of the coming of Christ today. It is absolutely compelling, and sparks new emotion within you. I abolutely loved this book, and as I'm trying to express how wonderful it is, I fall short. Two words come to mind: MUST READ. I cannot express how wonderful this book is, you'll just have to find out for yourself.
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