The Christos Mosaic Book Review

Book Review by Arlene.

The Christos Mosaic Review

After turning the last page of this book I thought to myself “How do I write this review and give this novel the justice it deserves?” So, I just let my thoughts come to me as they may.

I then realized this is certainly an interesting place in time to be reading The Christos Mosaic. If you believe in Christianity, you are observing Lent right now and are looking forward to celebrating Easter on March 27th.

Lent is a time of self- sacrifice if you choose to do so, and a time of reflection on what you believe to be true. It could be a time you might ask yourself, “Do you live on blind faith and follow the traditions tied to that belief or do you question what you were taught to believe all of your life?”

The Christos Mosaic will take you on a journey through all of that contemplation. It is a truly compelling story full of adventure, a host of characters you will feel you come to know, and appreciate, who are all searching for the final truth.

At this time as an aside, I would like to preface my review by saying it is interesting to me to realize during this time of Lent, the last 2 books our book club has chosen to read have to do with Jesus. We certainly did not purposely plan it that way.

It just happened that these 2 books, Killing Jesus by Bill O’Reilly and The Christos Mosaic by Vincent Czyz fell into our reading selection rotation which we try to plan ahead of our announcements so we base our decisions on our availability of the books and our schedules.

Vincent Czyz is a very talented and gifted writer who will hold your attention and captivate your thoughts. The Christos Mosaic is an intriguing, thought provoking, extensively researched novel.

In this novel he pens a story that will take you to the lands of ancient ancestors who claim to have experienced spiritual events, who have written down on ancient scrolls, in their languages of their countries, their perceptions of these events that are now being sought after by dealers in antiquities, various religious leaders, scholars and by the Vatican itself.

The answers being sought to the questions are “Did Jesus Christ of Nazareth really exist and live as a man on this earth that we live in? Was he crucified on a cross and rise again on the third day as written in the Christian Bibles? Was he the actual Messiah as foretold all those years ago?”

The novel brings together three unlikely people on a search and adventure to find two ancient scrolls, which they believe to be authentic and hold the answers to all our questions about Jesus Christ of Nazareth. “Did he really exist as a man who preached and walked this earth or was he divine as stated in ancient scripture?” “Was he the awaited Messiah or was he just a man?”

The Christos Mosaic touches on the beliefs of all the major religions of our modern world. As you keep reading and get deeper and deeper into the quest of the  three predominant characters, you will feel along with them, the anxiety driven desire to at last know the truth if it actually exists in these ancient scrolls.

You will not only enjoy sharing their experiences and travels along the way, but you will also be educated beyond your expectations before reading the book.

To borrow the opening statement from the book jacket “These ancient scrolls hold the key to the origins of Christianity. But some will stop at nothing to hide the truth.”

So come along with Drew Korchula, a 32 year old American expat, Kadir, a Turkish Dwarf who deals in old books and Zafer, a Special Forces washout. They will take you through the streets and alleys of Istanbul, Cairo and Alexandria.

You will also meet Jasmine and Jesse, the two women in Drew Korchula’s life who play a big role in the decisions he makes along the way. These two women will surprise you until the very end of the novel.

Vincent Czyz provides you with a list of the Cast of Historical  Characters mentioned, and a Historical Timeline BC in the opening pages of the book to guide you along your way. I really appreciated having this point of information to be very helpful in following the storyline.

This novel, in my opinion, is not meant to persuade you in any way. As you read along you will be presented with many theories, many mysteries and various beliefs that make sense to some and not to others.

It will make you think but will not try to sway your beliefs or non-beliefs.  I do think though, it will leave you asking once again, “How do you live your life? Do you believe in blind faith and do you believe what you think is real or do you need proof and does the real truth exist?”

So the novel ends as the author says on the last page:  “We didn’t get certainties -no matter how much we wanted them. We got  possibilities. Probabilities.The  kind that mystified  philosophers and stumped quantum physicists.”

I believe Vincent Czyz believes as I do that everyone has free will to believe or not to believe. That being said, I believe no one can tell you what to think or how to feel about anything.

We all have our own thoughts every day flowing in and out of our minds and lives and our own beliefs coinciding with our thoughts.

Czyz’s descriptive narrative of the places mentioned in their quest of the scrolls allowed me to feel like I was there; feeling the cold, the heat, the sun, the rain, the architecture, the roads and alleys and the caves.

I could picture the appearance of the characters in my mind and the action taking place. This action packed novel will take you there.

Thank you Vincent Czyz!!!

Read this book!!  It will make you think and affect your emotions like no other.

If you have ever wanted to know what drives a talented writer to the conclusion of an idea, please read our in-depth interview with Vincent Czyz. You will thoroughly enjoy how open and candid his answers are to our questions. It is an informative and entertaining exchange.

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