The Inquest

De: Stephen Dando-Collins

Narrado por: Roger Davis

In the time of Vespasian, just after Rome has crushed the Jewish Revolt, Julius Varro, a Roman Questor (an investigating magistrate ) is commissioned to investigate the story that a Jew rose from the dead after being crucified in Jerusalem.

Because the fast-growing Nazarene sect founded by the martyr's followers is becoming a threat to the stability of the region, there is much riding on debunking the story. Questor Varro has to deal with the evidence that goes back 40 years, with most witnesses long dead and the living ones lying to protect themselves. But he is intent on producing a report that will demolish the claims of these religious fanatics. His investigation stirs intrigue, religious passion, and violence, to say nothing of an attraction to a beautiful Jewish slave girl. Questor Varro's report methodically destroys the myth fueling the newborn Christian movement. But then an extraordinary event occurs that changes everything.

©2005 2005 by Stephen Dando-Collins, This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Flawed novel well worth listening to

Would you listen to The Inquest again? Why?

No, I would get little out of listening again to a novel that is not a literary masterpiece.

What did you like best about this story?

It presents an alternative version of the beginning of Christianity that is, to be sure, entirely fictional, yet stimulating and on the level of speculation, plausible.

Furthermore, it gives a good sense of the brutality of the times and of the hatred between Romans and Jews in the first century AD and thereafter. As in Britain with the revolt of Boudicca, it was the egregious behavior of a Roman official that set off the uprising, but the behavior of the rebels was so atrocious that it is impossible to maintain one's sympathy for them. From a modern perspective, no doubt people generally behaved in shockingly bad ways and few had second thoughts (though behavior today is hardly better when there is armed conflict); the novel evokes this vividly.

Most of us have no direct experience with war. I think we should make up for this by exposing ourselves to historical account and to historical fiction so as not to live in rosy illusion in regard to what human beings are capable of; this gives more substance to our personal morality and to our social and political stances.

Have you listened to any of Roger Davis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. He is a good reader.

Any additional comments?

As a novel, this work is less than satisfying, especially the ending. However, I did enjoy the novel and for the reasons stated above, would recommend it notwithstanding its failings.

What?

I don't really get it... I really like the authors other works, but this one missed. A lot happens without anything actually happening. Parts are really good, but on the whole it's really not worth it. I don't really think if you're religious or atheist, that the book is worth the full read.

His take on how the crucifixion would've been/ could've been logically carried out to allow "resurrection" was very interesting.

None of the characters really have any growth and at the end none of what happened mattered. The book, to sum it up, had me finish it to feel like "Did I really listen to all of that for that ending? Well.... I got screwed..."