I, Saul - Jerry Jenkins with James MacDonald

Dear Readers,

I really did not expect to like I, Saul by Jerry Jenkins and James MacDonald nearly as much as I did.  I forgot what a great story teller that Jerry is.  He has written several novels including the Left Behind series with Tim LaHaye.  In fact most people know him from that series, but know this is not a “Left Behind” book.  

What if we would find a manuscript written in Paul’s own hand about his life as a child leading to when he is an adult?  That is what the idea is behind this book.  It is a completely fictional story of Paul’s writing and even his stay in prison before his execution.  History isn’t completely sure of how he died, but there is much agreement that he was beheaded after a lengthy stay in prison.  After saying that, it is still a very compelling part of the book. 

The modern part of the story is what if the manuscript was stolen before anyone got a chance to know what they had found.  Dr. Augie Knox is going about his life at Arlington Theological Seminary. He is looking to marry the love of his life and continue on in a life that was chosen for him by his name and who his father was.   He receives a call from a long time friend in Greece that the friend’s life is in danger and he need Augie’s help as soon as possible.

I don’t want to go into too many details as the adventure/mystery part of the story is also a fun read.  I kept thinking the historical part was the best part and then I would start reading the contemporary side of the story and start thinking that was the best part.  So you can see that I was engaged in the story and wanted to find out what was going to happen next.

I think part of what I like the most about Augie and his friends was they were completely normal when they were on the run.  They didn’t suddenly turn into super spies.  They didn’t own all kinds of spy gadgets or drive the perfect cars.  They made some good choices and bad choices as they tried to stay one step ahead of the bad guys.  It made the story much more believable. 

It also gave me a good peek into what Saul’s life might have been liked as he was growing up.  It is a small snap shot of what may have caused him to be such a tormentor of the new Christians of his time.  The story will continue in I, Paul in 2014.  I was wondering how they were going to keep this story going, but it sets up very well to the next book and I look forward to a chance to read it.

Happy Reading