John: Son of Thunder

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent from the Beginning to the End
Review: From the banks of the river Jordan-to the End of the World on Patmos Island! This story of an angry Jewish teenager who becomes best friends with the Son of God is a monumental work. Filled with action, danger, romance, sorrow, and the everlasting friendship with Jesus of Nazareth, this is an epic for all ages. Please, read it and enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent! I felt as though I was the 13th desciple.
Review: I have read it three times. You get to walk with Jesus and with the desciples. She has a wonderful gift of filling in the rest of the "Painting" that the Bible doesnt have(i.e. the culture, the geography, the desciples daily lives,etc.). Mostly, you get to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear just what it might of been like at the actual events. The agape of Jesus permeates this work. Moved me very much and made me a better man of God. A must read and then pass it on book!

Rating:
Summary: Feel the heart of the "disciple Jesus loved"...
Review: I just recently made a decision to read and turn off the TV. The first book that God led me to was John Son of Thunder. I know it's a fiction book and that certain liberties are taken, but Ellen does an awesome job of sticking to the Bible. I really felt like John. I felt his love for his two mentors (John the Baptist and Jesus). I understood why he got the title "Son of Thunder". I felt his horror and confusion at the crucifixion, and his important part in the first church.
I was in tears the last few Chapters feeling for John and praying that I might know what it means to give as much of a sacrifice for Jesus.

Rating:
Summary: A different version
Review: Most of us think of John as the lucky disciple - the one who didn't die a martyr. Ms. Traylor makes the point that his lot may have been the hardest of all in this fictionalized account of the life of the young man who stood at the cross with Mary and the old man who wrote the book of Revealation.

Living to be an old man meant, for John, the horror of seeing everyone he ever loved die - not only Jesus but his earlier mentor John the Baptist, his brother James, best friend Peter, adopted mother Mary and even the young disciples following Paul. It isn't until the end of his life that he comes to understand, through what he learned from Christ, that it's our souls and not our bodies that count. Only then is he given the rather dubious gift of the vision of the Apocalypse, ad he finally understands why he was meant to survive his loved ones.

The book is quite biblically sound, with the possible exception of the notion that Mary sister of Lazarus was the love of John's life - and althought it's not mentioned in the Bible there's no real reason why it couldn't have been true. All the characters are well written, so you feel awful when John looses them even though you know what's going to happen (I especially liked the charming portrait of Peter's brother-adoring and painfully shy "little" brother Andrew and the powerful, heartbreaking depiction of John the Baptist's last thoughts). A good addition to your biblical fiction library

Rating:
Summary: John brought closer
Review: One of the types of books that I love to read are Christian fiction. I enjoyed this book tremendously because it was a thoughtful dramatization. I have always wondered, "what about" or "what if" of some of my favorite people of the Bible. Ms. Traylor brings a story out of our Biblical accounts of John and gives him a plausible history. One of the great products of this book, for me, has been the ideas that make me dig even deeper into the Bible to understand what it is that God has said that make this story sound "real". I would easily recommend this book for anyone that would like to have some enjoyable time with a good book.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent! I felt as though I was the 13th desciple.
Review: This is a great book that takes you inside the life of the great apostle John, from his boy-hood, through his death. It's a great book about the struggles and triumphs of the disciples during the time of the first church, and walking with Jesus.