I realize, given the tone of many reviews for this novel, that this book is intended more for a Christian crowd. I was raised Christian, but I am of the agnostic bend of atheism; i.e., I believe that if there is a 'Greater Power', then no religion has managed to properly describe it.That being said, I approached this novel with an open mind, knowing real well that a book about the clone of Jesus Christ would have a, shall we say, specifically Christian worldview. This is my biggest advice to any non-Christian picking up this book: take it as a fantasy with its own, fundamentalist Christian internal logic. Don't expect revelations about other religions.Even with that in mind, some aspects of the book shocked me a little. For instance, there is quite a lot of wishful thinking on the part of the author when he describes a Rabbi converting to Jesus Christ from a passage in the Torah. It's also somewhat amusing to see how inoffensive USA is in the events that unfold, when compared to the omnious role the UN seems poised to undertake; it feels right out of a right-wing conspiracy theory. Finally, the distribution of people 'saved' by the Rapture (i.e., a lot of rural US, very few in Europe, a very low number in Israel) made me chuckle by how unabashedly it sticks to fundamentalist cliches. Oh, and did I mention that one of the 'bad guys' is French and most likely homosexual? (This was hinted at in a very subtle manner near the end of the book.)But past all this, I found a lot to enjoy in this book. For starters, it's very well-researched. The expedition to Turin at the beginning of the book was gripping because it stuck so close to real events, and kept me reading when the book became less plausible. There's a lot of footnotes in this book, meant to underline Bible passages in many parts, that I didn't care about; they seemed to get in the way of the story. And the author's insistence in footnotes about reminding us not to assume characters say the truth when they contradict a statement from the Bible took a lot away from the suspense by making me guess, halfway through, what is supposed to be a big shock in Book 2.All in all, In His Image was enjoyable for its strong premise and its deep research, but I needed to remind myself than the author and his target readership took things for granted than were a bit irritating to me. That's fine, I'm sure it's the same problem for Christians who read books more aligned with my worldview. I could have done with better writing all around, as BeauSeigneur tends to enumerate instead of describing, which made the whole book sound like a very amateur endeavor.If you're a firm believer in Christ and find nothing offensive in a fantasy where Jews convert massively to Jesus when they read the proper passage from the Torah, then pick this book, the story and tone will please you. If you're atheist, you might enjoy it as a Christian fantasy, like I have. If you're Jewish or Buddhist or into New Age, don't pick up this book unless you have a strong sense of humor. Not as bad as the Left Behind series, surprisingly, but Lord not good. Living dermal cells from the Shroud of Turin are used to clone Jesus and the events of Revelations ensure. The politics of the book are -far- more believable than the politics of Left Behind, the events are presented in a much better way, and BeauSeigneur is a much better writer than LeHaye and Jenkins. But, at the same time, the Ark of the Covenant is a stasis chamber? Pleeeeeeeeeeease.
What do You think about In His Image (1997)?
Very good fiction, but I warn you only read if you are going to read all three of the trilogy.
—omezag
It is an amazing fiction story. I did enjoy it a lot. The trilogy must be read complete.
—Percy
Interesting theory. A lot of politics to try to keep track of. Not all that religious.
—nsmerillo32
