Having been broken in by the last book, I was all braced for a first century soap opera...and got it. Yet this time, it was less painful and more fun a transition.
Still not a huge fan of these ancient history books. Avel takes the place of the young Arab boy from the first 3 books, so far as emotional searcher goes. The accounts of Jesus's miracles in the gospels are nicely brought to life and woven into a wonderful story with fictional characters. I highly recommend reading one of the gospels before reading this book, that way you can know which account's they're alluding to.
One cannot accuse Miryam of being a flat character at least in book 4...the changes wrought in book 4 were deep, and she proves it in this book. Now she's slightly skewed as the do-gooder, but the point - that the changes wrought by her encounter with Jesus were radical - is well made.
I'm not sure what certain words Jesus spoke to Marcus ended...the book just sort of ended before they were fulfilled. Odd. Anyway, a nice summer read.

It's amazing how these writers continue to create a piece of work that is so incredible. The story of Marcus and Miryam continues as more of Jesus and his story unfolds. In this edtion more fascinating characters are introduced to help in creating a picture of what life was like for those who witnessed Jesus and his miricales. As I read along, I felt like I wanted to be in their shoes. I wanted to witness these miracles for myself as I never before have. In this way, the Thoene's really outdid themselves in producting a quite memorable book.