Book Review: The Third Testament

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I do not know whether to thank John Eklund or not for introducing me to his novel.  I gave up reading fiction during Lent. Yet, when I received this book and saw the beautiful cover with the stained glassed pictures of saints, I took a sneak peak. Before I knew it, I finished the book. Oh well...

The Third Testament is a book of fiction by the author's own account. It could also be categorized as historical fiction for it is filled with interesting bits of Catholic history and world history.  Many of the historical people and events have piqued my interest.  I would now like to learn more about them. The Miracle of Dunkirk is just one such example.

The novel's story is of a college professor employed at a small Catholic college somewhere in Illinois. The book starts off with his telling of an interesting tale out of Norse Mythology. As a fan of mythology, though I prefer Greek or Roman myths, I enjoyed the story very much.  The story is narrated by the professor himself. He is a widower, the father of a grown daughter whom he loves very much.

The story is an interesting tale of a spiritually inspired directive via dreams where the professor is chosen to write the third part of the Holy Bible, hence the Third Testament. I had expected to read a tale of the third testament via stories of fiction. Instead, the third testament itself started off with the persecution of the early Christians and continued onto the present time in history.   I was intrigued by the juxtapositioning of the professor's quest to complete this monumental writing task while bearing some heavy crosses in his own life.

There is also a strong element of good vs. evil in this book.

As usual with a good book, I was sorry that the story ended.  As I mentioned above, the writer has made reference to certain events in history which I would like to learn more about.  Another example I would choose would be that of the evil of communism.  It is no wonder that Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who also hailed from Illinois, inexhaustibly combated communism during his adult lifetime.

I highly recommend The Third Testament as it is not only enjoyable to read but hopefully you will learn one or two new things like I did.

To learn more about The Third Testament or its author and/or to order the book, please visit The Third Testament. You will also find interesting photos of places mentioned in the book, Q & A, etc.

BTW, I was just kidding. I really want to thank Mr. Eklund for the privilege of reading and reviewing his wonderful first novel.