Description
Summer, 2012. After five years on the run from perilous government assassins, Joshua Christiansen—the purported clone of Jesus Christ—has taken refuge in a monastery, but skeptical religious authorities still fear he may become the Biblical antichrist. Stalked by cultists who believe he’s a long-awaited prophet and struggling to control his growing psychic abilities, he and his best friend Rachel must cross the globe to uncover the true source of his creation.
Is he really the clone of Jesus, or is he part of a diabolical hoax foisted upon the world? Can he learn to control his formidable powers without turning into the very thing he dreads? Or is his destiny inevitable—to trigger the End of Days and the final battle between Evil and Good?
In this sequel to the groundbreaking thriller Incarnate, Joshua will face enemies both old and new, but the battle with the highest stakes still rages inside his own soul.
Maggie Rosario –
Anthony Barone Kolenc has outdone himself in this second installment of his Incarnate series. The frightening premise of a possible cloning of our Lord’s own Body and Blood was alarming in the first novel, but the developments of the second novel verge on morally disturbing. If Kolenc’s goal is to shake his reader with difficult moral questions, he has done very well!
What I found most challenging and fascinating in Begotten was the shift in Joshua Christiansen’s approach to his own nature. In the five years between the first and second novel, Joshua changes from a bewildered teenager to an adult who is grappling with the huge questions surrounding his life. Something about the novel that both enriches it and made it difficult to read was Joshua’s straying from self-control and away from faith the true God. No longer is the boy avoiding the odd things attached to his nature – he delves into them and flexes disturbing psychic powers.
The way the narrative is arranged makes it difficult to decipher whether you are supposed to side with Joshua when his moral compass seems crooked. And if Joshua and all the friends surrounding him have gone astray, where is the moral “north pole” in such a confused world? I was on edge through much of the novel, which is an uncomfortable but not necessarily a negative attribute for a book!
This novel is absolutely a thriller – but one that strikes dangerously close to the heart of the Faith. It will not be for everyone because of the subject matter and the way of approaching it, but it is worth the read and ample food for a hearty book discussion!