Michel Benoît (1940–)

Del siglo I al siglo XX, de Judea a una abadía del norte de Francia y el Vaticano, una vorágine de muertes, mentiras y manipulaciones: todos los que han intentado desvelar el enigma del decimotercer apóstol no deben vivir para contarlo. ¿Sabía algo que había que acallar a cualquier precio? ¿Por qué su testimonio sigue siendo tan peligroso en la actualidad? Michel Benoît, ex benedictino y especialista en los orígenes del cristianismo, desvela en este inquietante thriller histórico la existencia de un apóstol que fue misteriosamente silenciado en los textos sagrados y borrado de la memoria de Occidente.… (meer)

The basic concept of this book - challenging the very basis of the three main religions - is one that greatly appeals to me as an atheist. The idea that somewhere there may be proof that Jesus was just a charismatic guy, whose body was removed and buried, and not some God who 'rose from the dead' is more than plausible; from that perspective, then, I enjoyed reading this book.

However, the book overall does disappoint. The writing can be clunky in places, and, though at 360 pages, it seems quite a long book, it is also quite slow-moving at times. I liked the process of investigation and deciphering that the lead character goes through, but it all seems a little too quick and easy at times. Meanwhile, the ending seems a little drawn out, I would have preferred more on the process of investigation. It feels like the author got bored and just wanted to wrap up the book as quickly as possible.… (meer)

Yet another contender in the now very tired Da Vinci Code genre, AKA "The Catholic church brutally suppresses terrible secret that could destroy it." While the basic premise isn't the worst I've ever seen, it's rather poorly executed, and the prose is clunky. We could perhaps blame some of this on the translation into English, but I suspect not much. The plot is weak and the characters are two-dimensional. It does pick up a little in the second half, but by then it's too little, too late, and the weak climax is somewhat anticlimactic.… (meer)