ARA Review by Tim Stinson of The Scribe

[Tim Stinson]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, The Scribe.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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3 out of 5

The Scribe moves along well and keeps the reader interested. It's a little repetitive in places but Mullen intended the reader to read the same things repeatedly to make his point. Mullen is a good fictional history writer. His facts are well known, at least in The Scribe, and are utilized in a story setting that keeps the reader engaged. His liberality in referencing Luke as effeminate and his peers referring to him as Lucy was a hard pill to swallow as a conservative Christian.

The lists of the many missionaries Jesus commissioned and sent out to spread the Word were too long and didn't add to the story in any way. The names of those sent out are a hard read. A list such as that a reader would expect to find in Leviticus or Deuteronomy. A mention of the list and a few examples would suffice.

The trepidation he wrote Luke, Linus, Petros (Peter), and Paul had at times was riveting and edge-of-your-seat reading. The ship-at-sea scenes were captivating, much like the Bible scenes. It would have been nice if Mullen had described the ship’s crew as starving after throwing all the food and cargo off the ship to keep it from sinking. Alluding to Paul’s presence on the ship and the respect he had for God.

Escobar’s character and relationship with John is well thought out and Mullen’s ability to make the reader empathize with Escobar even though he was present at Christ’s crucifixion. Escobar was a member of the Sanhedrin and was eventually exiled from Rome because he believed in Christianity. His initial meeting with Petros pushes the reader into empathy for him. The entire scene is both kind and remorseful.

The island scenes were too short, and Mullen could have represented Paul as a god the way the islanders perceived him, just for the reader's sake. For instance, when Paul threw a rattlesnake off his arm after he'd been bitten the venom did not affect him and the islanders thought he was a god. Paul went on to teach about Christ and heal many sick while on the island.

Paul's time in Corinth and Ephesus is well documented in the Bible but short lived in The Scribe. Luke wrote about many facets of Paul's life and Mullen only touches on a few. The book of course is about Luke but one cannot write about Luke without using Christ and Paul as sources of inspiration and as main characters and expect the book to be inspiring.

All in all The Scribe is a good read, but not a great read. It's intriguing in places and rarely dull. If you like to read fictional history read The Scribe and learn a little about Luke, a little about Paul, a little about Petros, and a little about Christ and enjoy the biblical history journey Mullen takes you on.

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