Rating: 
Summary: Powerful!
Review: J.R. Lankford's earth-shattering new novel, the extraordinary tale of a man who attempts to clone Christ, doesn't merely deliver on the high expectations created by such a blockbuster idea, it exceeds them in every way. Lankford handles weighty issues with a deft hand as she first broaches, then resolves topics far beyond the scope of an ordinary novel. Almost miraculously, the various threads of the story weave together into a tapestry that ultimately encompasses both the modern history of man and the current state of world affairs. To call this story important is an understatement. You should definitely read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Unique and Memorable Must Read
Review: Lankford took my breath away with her unique concept and then absorbed me with her elegant prose. I loved this book. I was all set to be dissapointed, because the concept was so high, but the novel never lagged, never let me down. This is not what you'd expect. Not a sci-fi, not a end-of-the-world phrophecy. It's an emotional, rich journey with vivid characters that you can't get enough of (especially Felix). The author took a controversial idea and made it mainstream enjoyable with living characters who have real emotional motivations. The suprising suspense-thriller pace kept me hooked. My only dissapointment was I wanted more -- I hope there's a sequel.
Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Thriller
Review: From the "hook" to the "ending," what an incredibly wonderful and entertaining read. The kind of book one doesn't want to put down. Indepth character development. The reader truly gets to feel and visualize all of the characters and reader empathy for the characters flows throughout. Praise to Ms. Lankford for gradually building the feeling of suspense in the story and for keeping the scientific technicalities to a level that most readers can easily negotiate.
Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Thriller
Review: From the "hook" to the "ending," what an incredibly wonderful and entertaining read. The kind of book one doesn't want to put down. Indepth character development. The reader truly gets to feel and visualize all of the characters and reader empathy for the characters flows throughout. Praise to Ms. Lankford for gradually building the feeling of suspense in the story and for keeping the scientific technicalities to a level that most readers can easily negotiate.
Rating: 
Summary: Chrismas Story Redux -- Semi-Spoiler
Review: The cloning of Christ has seen many resurrections in recent popular fiction ranging from the purely suspenseful with John Case's Genesis Code to the apocalyptic with Beauseigneur's Christ Clone Trilogy. The "Jesus Thief" crosses the thriller boundary with a predictable story line where the emphasis is on faith and sacrifice rather than dodging the bullets created by a temporarily mad scientist's desire to vanquish the guilt of the Jews with regard to the killing of Christ.
Felix Rossi is the angst-ridden microbiologist and member of a team of international scientists commissioned to study the Shroud of Turin. When he discovers that his late beloved parents were actually Jews who had renounced their heritage to escape Hitler's Europe, Felix runs emotionally amok. Although, he debates the ethical consequences of his actions, he, nevertheless, steals threads from the Shroud, harvests the DNA from dried blood and implants it within the willing body of his loyal yet out-spoken New York maid.
In this regard, Lankford seems to know her stuff, and if all the details are simply imagined, she does a thorough job of specifying procedures and examinations, so much so that I found myself wincing and cringing more than once. However, if Lankford intended her story to be primarily a thriller, this necessity for technical perfection, at times muddles the pace of the book, as do the exacting manifestations of the devout faith all the main characters possess. Felix, his sister and cohort, Frances and Maggie, the modern-day Mary enviably begin each activity however mundane with communications with the Almighty, causing me to wonder whether the story line was meant to convey the power of such simple yet perfect faith rather than masquerade as a vehicle that has possibilities of becoming a feature film or a television movie.
If so, the real strength of Lankford's power as a storyteller does not lie in recreating a Christmas story for the 21st century with themes of racial acceptance (Maggie as an African American contributes a percentage of her gene material to the holy clone), identity crisis (Felix's uncomfortable feelings about his unknown heritage) and scientific ethics (the cloning question is looked at from a variety of aspects in general), but in her uncanny ability to demonstrate love between two unlikely people. The scenes between Sam, the Irish doorman, and Maggie sparkle with honesty, affection and mutual respect yet are infused with so much sexual heat, their passion glows from the page into the reader's soul as if by magic. Brava and encore, Ms. Lankford!
Because the story does border on perfection in these instances, the reader is ultimately let down by the events of the story, revolving around the sacrifice necessary to preserve the life of the great experiment at the expense of all four of the main characters. Instead of triggering an uplifting sense of the future where the knowledge of Christ's 'second coming' should exact some jubilation, the reader empathizes with the resigned attitudes of all the major players. A feeling of doom presages a repeat performance of the first coming 2000 years earlier, as augured by the symbolic usage of the thorns and dogwood cited in the very last paragraph.
The novel's villain, a King Herod-wannabe outwitted by Joseph (Sam the doorman) and guided by a magi of his own fears the birth of the child foretold in an astrological chart, remains a viable threat. Although trounced, he seems ready play a big part in a sequel perhaps currently in the workings where further confrontations with the growing child will prove challenging in a sort of reverse Omen type trilogy.
Recommended to all those who love a retelling of the Nativity story. Subtract a star if you dislike too many pages devoted to medical how-to or if you are a romantic at heart and would have liked a happier ending involving two of the most deserving characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay . . . at times.
Review: We have to commend J.R. Lankford for having a creative imagination, when she thought of writing a book of the cloning of Jesus Christ! Who would have thought about the possibility of stealing two threads from The Shroud of Turin, extract blood from it, culture the cells found in the blood, extract unfertilized eggs from a donor, remove the nucleus from the eggs, replace each nucleus with a cultured Shroud cell to produce "fertilized eggs," grow the eggs in a suitable culture, and finally transfer a blastocyst to the donor womb? Incidentally, The Shroud was not just any shroud, but rather the most famous winding sheet in the world, in which the face imbedded on the ancient linen was supposedly that of Jesus Christ. Sounds like a great story. However, one of the problems with the book is that there are so many themes going in so many directions, that we loose sight of the original plot. There are also scenes that are somewhat akin to becoming "slapsticky." One of which comes to mind is the gathering of 10 Jewish men to form a minion in order to recite the Jewish memorial prayer, or "Kaddish," in a church. This is really stretching one's imagination! However, one of the major shortcomings of the book is the author did not recognize that there comes a time where you must know when to cut and where his or her interests lie. An author may think that all of the book's themes are necessary; however, sometimes too much is included, leading to a dizzying effect. In the case of The Jesus Thief the author seems to have lost sight of focusing on the principal theme, and what exactly she was trying to achieve. Which themes are expendable and which effectively move the drama along. You can't afford to indulge and when presenting a theme, the author must ask himself or herself, is this really necessary or will it distract from the principal business at hand. If the main objective of the book was to examine the ethics of human cloning, then don't try and bring in all kinds of extraneous ideas and thoughts that overwhelm the reader. Sometimes it may be painful to have to cut a pet idea or thought, however, in order to have a stronger more focused book, it is essential to cut the umbilical chord. This review first appeared on the reviewer's own site
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written, waaaaay too predictable.
Review: And so is the story. The first thing that struck me is a sense of warmth, a loving spirit, that runs through the novel. The tone is positive but solid. It gives the sense of uniqueness. Flesh and blood characters inhabit settings so aptly described the reader can step into them. Felix, his sister Frances, Maggie the maid, Sam the doorman and others who populate this book are not the stereotypical characters one often meets in novels or on the screen. We see their weaknesses, but we also see their strengths, their maturity, their largeness of spirit, and that's what makes them real. They act like people I know. The story is compelling, with surprising twists and plenty of drama as we explore the cloning of Christ and its meaning for humanity. For all the story's adventure, it's also an intelligent read. Impressive research adds authenticity and depth, whether scientific, religious, historical, or geographic. Much of it comes across in an uplifting way, such as learning how Italy helped the Jews during WWII. The story is thought provoking in its daring use of symbolism, parallels, and contrasts. For example, we are shown a contrast and a comparison of the holy and the profane. That is, attitude determines what is holy and what is profane, and people often will confuse one for the other. Sex, religion, or science can be holy or profane, depending on how they are used. We also see how people can accept or explain away miracles, thereby choosing to receive or reject blessing. I was hooked by the excitement, but what brought tears to my eyes were the miracles. I can believe the author understands spirituality and knows it goes beyond religion. We see the characters grow in that direction. The story is well balanced. All the elements work together to provide action, characterization, background, and provocative concepts without resorting to negativity, sappiness, or preachiness. A ripping good adventure. I eagerly await the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Reviewers either love it or hate it.
Review: I read a review of this book in a local newspaper and was intrigued by the premise - cloning Jesus from the Shroud of Turin. From the reviews on Amazon it appears that readers gave it either a 5 star or a 1. I settled on a 4. This book is very interesting and a nice quick read. Probably some of the reviewers wanted to put a lot more into the story. Heck, its a novel, it's fantasy. Read in that light, I enjoyed it and found it well done. I did, however, feel that the first half of the book was better written than the last half and as it relates to Sam's character, I felt I was left hanging.
I also felt that the end kind of got bogged down and conjectured that I would have ended the story a little differently, all in all its a great summer read. Pay no attention to those critics. I can't understand why this book is not on the best sellor list. It's a heck of a lot better than some of the books that are selling like crazy.
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