Rating: 
Summary: Christian fiction thriller!
Review: This is so good, I wish I had the means to bring this into film. It would be better than any Indiana Jones thriller with it also being so accurate in its details.Maier keeps you really hanging on this one -- I mean the whole of Christianity rides in the balance, unless you're one of those that skips ahead. Top of the list of Christian fiction!
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING
Review: This is the best fiction book I've ever read. I recommend it to everyone I can. It is thought- provoking, intense, well written (with an amazing attention to detail...which must have required years of research), and inspiring. What if?? Nothing prepared me for the surprising ending.
Rating: 
Summary: A Stimulating and Provocative Read.
Review: This is the first book I read in the genre 'Theological Thriller'. The book represented the world really well. It depicted one way the world could react to the discovery of Jesus' bones. It was an intense read at times forcing me away from sleep to continue another chapter. I enjoyed the book thoroughly except for one thing, the romance. There was a relationship between the main character and another character that seemed out of place and a bit forced. This was a pretty minor thing though. I just dismissed the relationship as just a vessel for more conflicts and complications to intensify the situations. I give it a 4 out of 5 because there were some instances where it was slow but they were pretty slight, but this combined with the relationship brought it down a little. As I said, overall I love the book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes a good, captivating read!
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Summary: The Ultimate Test of Faith
Review: This is the first novel I read by Mr. Maier and was extremely pleased. It is useless in telling what the plot is about since others have explained it and the main review gives it away. This book is first rate for its outstanding attention to detail in terms of religious philosophy and archeological terminology and methodology. The character development, including some startling twists and turns along the way, does not leave the reader asking "What else is there to this character?" It's like Maier was watching the actors live out his story. Rare is it to find an author willing to develop charcters' background and personality to the extent Maier does. Maier, a scholar, is a treasure not only to history, religious studies, and philosophy, but also to literature and story telling. Above all, Maier challenges the readers' own faith with each turn of the page. A great story that deserves reading.
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Summary: Suspenseful novel highlights interesting theological ideas
Review: This novel succeeds as a work of entertainment. It is also a very informative examination of archeology, with lots of interesting details about digs and the verification of artifacts. The characters are reasonably well drawn, though the females seem to be celebrated more for their beauty than for their personality or character. There was room in this novel for an older or unattractive woman known for her warmth, wisdom or expertise. I liked the main female character in the book, I just felt that her chief virtue in the author's mind was her beauty. Perhaps the book's greatest feature is that it encourages us to think about the nature of faith. The plot is very cleverly designed to make us think specifically about the details on which Christians base their faith in Christ. The key theological issue in the book involves questions about the truth of the physical resurrection of Christ in the body. Whether Christ lived on after the crucifixion is not the consuming question of this novel, but rather whether he lived on in physical form. The question is not whether he ascended into heaven, but weather he did so in the flesh and blood body he bore while here on earth. As a result, this book is really a text written for Christians by a Christian in order to argue a particular theological point of interest primarily to Christians. The argument seems a bit contrived at times because it sets up those who believe in a physical resurrection of Christ against those who believe that Christ had no true divinity. There is no room in this book for those who believe in a non-physical resurrection or who believe that Christ is not tied to the physical body he wore while on earth. Even if one believes in the physical resurrection of Christ, I'm not sure that one must believe that he currently resides in heaven in the physical body he adopted while here on earth. Yet this is the point on which the gripping plot of this book hinges. Dr. Maier is an expert on the subject of Biblical history. I think, however, that he puts too much weight on the value of the historical record in "proving" the articles of faith in the Christian religion. Ultimately, Christianity is a matter of faith, and there has so far been no true historical verification of the most important details in the Christ story. I greatly admire Paul Maier's ability to introduce interesting philosophical and theological material and wed it to a suspenseful plot. Too often we have to choose between tedious novels that have interesting themes and thrillers that are totally vacuous. This books finds a fruitful middle ground that puts it ahead of most of the books on our best seller lists. The style of the text is breezy and entertaining, but not always aesthetically pleasing. Many might find the style a bit old fashioned at times. There is one point where a woman in the book is described as a "winsome lass," which is not necessarily a common manner of speaking in America. However, I tended to find these flourishes to be engaging rather than detrimental. Overall, an unusually good book. I would recommend it to Christians who enjoy suspenseful entertainments with a strong theological twist.
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Summary: The greatest disaster in history takes place!
Review: This novel will shake you up! It takes an incredibly realistic look at what the reaction of the world would be if someone found the body of Jesus, and it's not pretty! I could not put this down until I was finished. Things just kept getting worse with each page until finally it looked like there was no hope! Even though it's only fiction, it will make you think
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: This was truely a great book and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Premise; Mediocre Execution
Review: What would happen if archaeology were to find Jesus' bones? That's the basis for this Christian thriller. Dr. Jonathan Weber has made this startling discovery. While he searches for the answers, the rest of the world panics. Millions abandon the faith while some still take the Bible at it's word and believe that Dr. Weber has uncovered the hoax of the century. His investigation seems to lead no where, but is there a light at the end of the tunnel? I really have a mixed reaction to this book. The first hundred pages drag. It takes that long for our characters to find what they have. Meanwhile, the reader is bored waiting to learn something not on the back of the book. This part could have been told in 50 pages and kept the reader's interest more. Once the story gets going, it is interesting. The reactions of the general populace really made me examine what my faith was in, archeology or God's word. Still, the story spends a little too long on the archaeology details before it reaches its satisfying conclusion. A good editing job could have taken this book from a mediocre book to a great Christian novel.
Rating:
Summary: Riveting!
Review: While I do agree with other reviewers that the archaeological techno-babble got a bit tedious at times, I can't help but give the book five stars. I guess it's because I'm a wanna-be archaeologist, who knows. Anyway, onto my review... When I first heard about this book, it was because my Grandmother was a subscriber to the Guideposts condensed books, and this happened to be in a volume. Well, I had read another book in the volume, and decided this one looked interesting -- since I was a fan of archaeology anyway -- and I decided to read it. My, what a surprise it was. You really don't know quite what to expect when you get into a book that handles such a controversial topic, but the author did it beautifully. I could scarcely put the book down, and when I was able to find the full version, I bought it immediately and read it from cover-to-cover in a day. Even if you're not a fan of Christian fiction, I must highly recommend this book. Even if your knowledge of archaeology comes from seeing a single Indiana Jones movie. I think if you give it a try, you'll really like it.
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