Customer Reviews

The Expected One: A Novel (The Magdalene Line)

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(35)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(30)

 

 

I found this book to be somewhat mediocre.. I almost felt as if it was a "Da Vinci Code" wannabe. It was good at some parts, very interesting and does make you wonder, but just wasn't convincing enough. After Da Vinci Code, I found myself actually thinking about things I would read, or looking closely at pictures of the Last Supper and reflecting back on what I read in the book.. This book did not enthrall or bind me in the same way. It's worth the read if you would like to expand your ideas about religion, but if you loved Da Vinci code, you might be disappointed as it is far from being as captivating as that.

This book has a bit of personal history. We were in Michigan, at a Borders, when I overhead a couple of women talking about it. The reason they were buying it? Their church told them not to. That piqued my interest, as well as the "50% off" sticker that was affixed to the cover.

The Expected One, by Kathleen McGowan, begins with a woman writing a passage in "The Gospel of Mary Magdalene" in the year 72 AD. It flashes forward nineteen hundred years to a murder and a woman experiencing visions. It is the woman with the visions, Maureen Paschal, that this novel centers. Maureen is researching a new book on Mary Magdalene, and her travels take her from Jerusalem to the south of France. It is in France that she learns that she could the The Expected One, the one that will locate the lost gospel of Mary. These lost writings will reveal Mary's love affair with Jesus, her role in early Christianity, details on her children (some from her marriage to Jesus), and a first person account of the crucifixion. As you might expect, there are those that do not want the gospel found and want to stop Maureen and her associates.

There is a lot of background in this novel, as McGowan weaves in passages from "The Gospel of Mary Magdalene" and Maureen's visions. The early portions of the book seemed to unfold slowly (thus, it took a few starts and stops to get me back to reading) but the second half of the book really picked up. I thought that there were quite a few loose ends, but I now see that this book is intended to be the first part of a trilogy. Good thing. I didn't understand why McGowan introduced some fanatical elements, only to discard them midway through the book. Perhaps they were there as placeholders for what is to come. Also, some other loose ends were neatly wrapped up at the end, which didn't really make sense after the build-up. Again, I expect that McGowan will expand upon those parts in a later novel.

Take the time to read the Afterword, as it provides the reader with additional information on McGowan's extensive research, and thoughts, that ended in the writing of this book. And it isn't everyday that you read the Acknowledgements and find a "Thank You" to Jackson Browne.

Overall, if it wasn't that it was 50% off and some people were told not to read it, I never would have picked it up. And the fact that it took me so long to get through it, tells me that it is a book that I wouldn't recommend. However, now that I have started her trilogy, I will have to find out how it all ends. So, McGowan has pulled me into her orbit. But the next books will come from the library.

This book brings forth some interesting questions, but I can't help wonder if it would get as much attention if it wasn't in that 'Da Vinci Code' mode, throwing intrigue, mystery, secret societies, and oh, yeah, for added spice, a chosen woman to unlock the gospel of Mary Magdalene.
It's OK, but without the potential for controversy I doubt it would get as much attention.
Finding out it was originally self-published kind of throws a wrench into the machinery.
The writing isn't that great, and the author seems, to me, to have trouble finding her voice, and just tosses in details to explain stuff, instead of revealing them or showing them to the reader via actual storytelling, and the added adverbs bug me personally, where she'd write, 'she smelled the gloriously rich red roses,' which is too fiction 101 for me, it's like she's telling you you're there, instead of transporting you there via good prose.
Also, she'll mention something happening, then throw in a sentence right after it to explain those details even more, like a sentence and then a footnote sentence following it. I won't get into whether it's right or wrong to write that way, but I don't care for it myself.

Don't read on if you don't want spoilers:

In the framework of the story, the main character, Maureen Paschal, who is a writer, is fascinated by historical women like Marie Antoinette and Mary Magdalene. Maureen ends up being invited to the home of this wealthy Scotsman, Sinclair Berenger, in France. Berenger is the head of this secret Magdalene society, and they have hopes of Maureen being 'the expected one,' to unlock the key to get to the Magdalene gospel. Maureen is special because she has visions of Mary Magdalene, and is of Jesus-Mary's bloodline. Of course they find the book-gospel, and Maureen's cousin Peter, conveniently versed in Greek, does a rough translation of it, and Magdalene's story unfolds. Other complications ensue, but it's not really that climactic, as far as I'm concerned, and it seems to lack the dramatic arc most stories have.
McGowan has Mary Magdalene marry John the Baptist, though she is originally betrothed to Jesus. But politicking basically throws a monkey wrench into the arrangements. John then he gets beheaded, and due to misunderstandings, Mary and Salome get trashed in history, but of course this discovered gospel of Magdalene reveals her side of the story. After John is beheaded, Mary marries Jesus and they have a couple of kids, and then she is chosen to be his first disciple, to carry on his word after he is crucified. The gospels are revealed and some mysteries unraveled. Then when it seems like it's resolved (sort of -- there are a few complications via the church), Maureen has a dream of Jesus and is instructed to find his 'Book of Love,' and it's set up for a sequel.
The research seems pretty solid: There are a few theories (let's just stick to that word) that Magdalene was married to John, and eventually to Jesus, and that Jesus presumably cured Mary Magdalene of 'seven devils' is given a different take here -- using his healing powers to cure her of a deadly eastern poison. You get a bit of Pontius Pilate's story, Salome's and other biblical/historical characters' sides of the story. I'm no bible expert, but I went and looked some stuff up as I was reading this, and she's mostly working on theories that are out there, and building on them. It's good food for thought, but again, I wish the story contained a bit more drama, and was better written. Maybe the sequel will be more showing, less telling.

An early, yet seminal moment in Kathleen McGowan's "The Expected One" is depicted as the protagonist, Maureen Paschal, leads her class of university students, hands raised solemnly, in an oath "to remember at all times that all words committed to paper have been written by human beings. And, as all human beings are ruled by their emotions, opinions, and political and religious affiliations, subsequently all history is comprised of as much opinion as fact and, in many cases, has been entirely fabricated for the furthering of the author's personal ambitions or secret agenda."

To the degree that this may or may not be an entirely accurate or fair assessment of all recorded history, by this statement McGowan ably demonstrates that the same maxim may be applied to the historical novel.

From her literary agency's website, we learn that McGowan's first novel (though not her first published book) "is the result of the author's twenty years of research on four continents and her privileged access to secret societies. Filled with previously unreleased information concerning the lives of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, McGowan's first book of The Magdalene Line Trilogy reveals secrets kept in blood and faith for 2000 years, startling information that has been closely guarded since the time of the Crucifixion."

Yet there does not appear to be a single "historical" detail revealed in this work that had not been published previously in the last two decades by diverse authors such as Laurence Gardner, Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln, Lynn Picknett, Clive Prince, Margaret Starbird, and most recently, Dan Brown. Only the self-aggrandizing embellishments appear to be unique to this author. From the novel's afterword, McGowan states, "In my need to protect the sacred nature of this information and those who hold it, I had no choice but to write this, and the subsequent books in the series, as fiction. However, many of my protagonist's adventures and virtually all of her supernatural encounters are based on my own life experiences." Experiences, it would appear, that included carefully selective culling of theoretical and hypothetical details from previously published mass market titles, presented for her self-serving purposes as proven fact. The protagonist Maureen Paschal, we are told by McGowan, is the author herself - "The Expected One", the direct bloodline descendant of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, chosen to reveal their hitherto unknown "true" story to the world in fictional form. The problem for McGowan is that the "truth" onto which she clumsily grafts herself has been told countless times by more credible authors who have resisted the temptation to cast themselves as children of the Holy Grail.

A colleague of mine recently summed up the current craze for revisionist history masquerading as fiction (and vice-versa) in a succinct way that, though not addressing this work specifically, I find entirely applicable to McGowan's debut novel: "Where we stand now is there is a popular and highly deceptive genre that caters to the undiscerning. Every speculation can be spun into a series of books. One can call such speculations fiction, and promulgate even more bizarre notions. A large percentage seem to believe the fiction, and there is a lively market of sub genre books and media that debunk the more idiotic ideas, or even worse, try to implant some theological substitute <....> Take speculation, add inspiration, promulgate revelation. The revisionists <....> formulate their mindwarp on an endlessly renewing audience of the naive."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Readers are advised to raise their hands and recite the solemn oath to remember that novels, like historical accounts, can be entirely fabricated to further an author's personal ambitions.

Don't get me wrong, the continued cat fights, favorable fake reviews, and law suits threatened, are extremely amusing, but here's a fact: this book is terribly written. Period. Most of the books sold were sold because of this absurd controversy. Take my word, if in fact a second or even third book is completed, the sales will continue to plummet. I don't care if McGowan's a descendent of the Magdalene or the actual platter that John the Baptist's head was served up on...bad writing is bad writing.

The fly leaf sounded good and that was the only good thing about this book. No characters, no plot, no consistent point of view. If it was fiction, it was bad fiction. If it was supposed to be fact, then where are the footnotes and research notes.Thouroughly disappointing and I wish I could get my money back.

This book is absolutely wonderful in this new age of bringing hidden truths into the open. For someone who likes a good novel, simply for a good read, its great. For those whom like to consider alternative truths, its great. An all around great read, whatever your personal truth is. I picked it up and absolutely could not put it down.

After reading 'THE DAVINCI CODE' a few years ago I became very interested in the various theories surrounding the relationship between Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. However, with the emergence of so many religious thrillers I was a bit wary when I received 'THE EXPECTED ONE'in the mail. I did not want to read a 'DAVINCI CODE' clone, but the premise sounded interesting so I decided to go ahead and read it, and to my surprise the only similarity between 'THE EXPECTED ONE' and 'THE DAVINCI CODE' was that both stories centered around Jesus and Mary Magdalene but that is certainly where they end. As a non-practicing Christian I credited 'THE DAVINCI CODE' with introducing me to theories and ideas that I never knew existed and after having read 'THE EXPECTED ONE' I can now credit Kathleen McGowan with something much more important...increasing my faith. Granted, that is a bold statement when referring to a work of fiction, however, McGowen does a remarkable job at humanizing Jesus, Mary Magdalene, The Virgin Mary and his disciples.

'THE EXPECTED ONE' centers around Maureen Pashal, a scholar who is also the prophesied "expected one", the one who will finally uncover the much coveted and feared Mary Magdalene gospel. Maureen journeys from Jerusalem, a small Virginian town with strong ties to Mary Magdalene, Louisiana and finally France to find her true destiny and a truth about her family that has been hidden from her since she was a child. While most of the story centers around Maureen's journey it is the passages that focus on the life of Jesus that really put this book a step ahead of many religious thrillers.

McGownan, while taking a huge risk, does an exceptional job at retelling one of histories oldest stories by focusing more on Jesus the man instead of the messiah. She tells a story that we all know inside and out from a new perspective and giving motives for the actions of those who surrounded Jesus such as Peter, Judas, Pontius Pilate and many others, she showed the conflict that these people felt at the choices they had to make. She also shows how everything in life is not always black and white, not even 2,000 years ago. She also offers the reader a twist on this centuries old story that is quite unexpected but also quite believable in her telling. However, the most amazing thing she has done in this story is keeping away from placing blame on the Catholic Church as many felt 'THE DAVINCI CODE' did. It is clear that Kathleen McGowAn has very strong beliefs about what happened all those years ago but her faith is also very apparent in this novel.

While this is clearly a work of fiction McGowan's retelling of the story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene did serve to increase my faith and made me want to look further into their lives by not only reading various other non-fiction books about Jesus and Mary, but it also made me want to read the only true account of Jesus' life, The Bible. For anyone who's interest was piqued by 'THE DAVINCI CODE, 'THE EXPECTED ONE' is highly recommended!

1] This woman can't write.
2] This is a ripoff of the Da Vinci code.
3] Considering #2, it's a ripoff of the dumbest part of the da Vinci code, the alleged relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. What made DVC interesting was the CODE, the puzzles and mystery, the fast moving plot, the secret societies, the cool settings and the claim that the research was real. None of that is here, just the controversial allegation that has nothing interesting develop from it.
4] ICK
5] Save your money
6] I hope this is her last book as well as her first.

I was very curious to read this book because of all the hype.
While I support the author's message, I found two mayor flaws in her writing.
The first being that her ego pervades the whole book, dominates and deludes the message. The whole point of the power of the sacred feminine and the path of truth, is that you surrender your ego, look outside yourself by going deeply within, and realize the universal power of the Goddess that lies within all women, and is half of the force which drives men, and provides the connective glue of the universe.
By flagrantly violating narrative intrusion, making it obvious to the reader and by claiming that she believes herself to be an actual blood descendant of Mary Magdalene and that this is all some fictionalized recounting of events that she alleges have happened to her, she shows that she just doesn't get it.
It's not all about ME!
Secondly, I found myself distracted by the ham-handed writing quality. I could forgive it if like Dan Brown or some similar lesser talented Romance novelists; she had made up for it by mastering pacing and suspense.
But the Oh, my gosh! factor was crippled by giving away too much too soon. I'd easily figured out what the puzzle was before turning the page. As in the scene where they puzzle over the meaning of the Scorpion in the painting. I wanted to scream, It's a zodiac sign for Scorpio you dolts!

If you want to read a novel that truly empowers women and clearly states the path that celebrates the power of the Goddess, I suggest R. Douglas Weber's Solomon's Key: The CODIS Project.
It pulls no punches regarding the demonizing of the sacred feminine, and tells a tale of how even the true rituals of Goddess empowerment have been corrupted by men, who like Ms. McGowan, have fallen into the ego trap.

From Solomon's Key: They believed that sex, the sacred chemical wedding is the key or bridge to God or the cosmos. The Old Testament's Song of Solomon is a path working guide to the hidden corridor. Mary Magdalene, like all women, was the opener of the way, the sexual initiatrix.
To female readers I say that Within each of us is the power of the Divine Mother.
Goddess Power is about coming into that power, owning that power and learning how to use that power by an unselfish surrender of oneself, not by ego.

SOLOMON'S KEY THE CODIS PROJECT: A CONSPIRACY THRILLER