Customer Reviews

ISSA: The Greatest Story Never Told

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In her first published novel, ISSA: The Greatest Story Never Told, Lois Drake has created a work of religious historical fiction worthy to grace any spiritually-minded person's bedside table.

While it's inspired by Elizabeth Clare Prophet's research presented in The Lost Years of Jesus, the author has gone beyond the bare bones of the documented information to imagine an entire story of Jesus' youth - the so-called "missing years" of the Bible.

In doing so she manages to weave in an abundance of spiritual teachings and truths as they are encountered and understood by the characters in the novel - Jesus (Issa) and his family, the young Prince Vima Kadphises and his father King Taktu, the prince's friend Sanum, Joseph of Arimathea and his servant Awa, the wealthy warlord Panum Sri Bashir, and many others.

Against the backdrop of warfare and the expansion of the Kushan empire in the East, and under the watchful protection of the ancient Order of Melchizedek, Jesus and his friends make their way across India and the Himalayas on a quest of spiritual learning as they seek the guru - Maitreya, "the Coming Buddha". Throughout ISSA, spiritual teachings are touched upon in a way that enhances the flow of the novel, and are more often than not an integral part of the plot.

I noted the presence of karma, twin flames, spiritual testing, dharma (mission), Hinduism, Buddhism, inner attunement, heart-centeredness, handling emotions, black magic (focused misuse of energy), miracles, conquering our own dark side, sacrifice, and discerning/following God's Will.

The story flows almost seamlessly from one event to another, somehow covering a period of many years in 218 pages without making me feel lost. I was completely absorbed into the characters' lives and world, and was pleasantly surprised to find myself at the end of the story without having had any desire to put the book down during reading.

I have seen the book referred to as young adult fiction, probably because of the ages of the main characters, and while I'm sure teens and young adults would enjoy it, I'd lean more towards the categorisation on the back cover of the book - inspirational fiction - as I believe any spiritually-inclinded or open-minded person has a lot to gain from it.

As a novel, ISSA has all the right pieces and it's gripping enough to keep you riding the waves. As a spiritually inspiring book, it's thought-provoking enough to allow you to tune into a time and place where the people are God-focused and striving to better oneself is the norm. For that "tap on the shoulder" reminder alone, I am personally grateful.

Little, if anything, is known of the life of Jesus as a teenager or young adult. Issa gives the reader insight into the possible challenges and inspirations of Jesus in his early years.
The reader should remember that the book is historical fiction thus is designed to be thought-provoking rather than taken as gospel.
Read the book and decide. Did Jesus have similar challenges as we have today? I say, yes he did. Issa brings the early life of Jesus closer to us and makes us appreciate our Lord even more. Any book that accomplishes bringing us closer and knowing Him in some way better than we did before is a very beneficial read.

Doesn't quite live up to it's tag line of "The Greatest Story Never Told", but kudos for the clever line.

The story starts out fast and furious, but flat lines in the second half while the characters flounder about in angst as to what is to come. Overall a solid effort that kept me reading to the end.

The spirituality is a combination of ancient Asian and Middle Eastern practices, and it is seamlessly integrated into the book. I did not come away with any profound insights, but I did enjoy the speculation on what Jesus might have been like as a teen. The portrayal was a bit flawed for me, Jesus, aka Issa, was a bit too somber, serene, sacred, and serious. I would picture someone with that kind of connection to the divine to be more playful, happy, and joyful.

Entertainment: 4 stars
Enlightenment: 4 stars

This was a fun read! I didn't want to put the book down and I didn't want it to end. It's action oriented and the description of the people, places and philosophies seem so real. It stirs the soul to something greater. It makes me wonder why a story like this has not been told before in the mainstream and why there is seemingly such a gulf between Eastern and Western philosophies. It's said that the Vatican has tons of information they have never released to the public. I wonder if the Vatican really has evidence of Jesus' travel to the East during his teen years. But no matter what you believe, whether you're a Christian, buddhist, agnostic or whatever this fictional tale is fun to read. Looking forward to the next one.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found the premise, Jesus' adolescence in India entirely believable and full of interest. The fact that there is actual evidence to support the premise is just icing on the cake. The descriptions of what life in India was like at that time were fantastic. The author has such a fantastic descriptive style that I found it effortless to imagine the elaborate scenes.

The characters were great, both ones you loved to hate, and hated to love. I found the villains very engaging, and Jesus' companions were awesome. Ms. Drake sets Jesus up as the eye of a storm. Jesus comes across as such a down to earth, real character, that I really felt like I was getting to know him. Instead of being a mythical, larger than life icon, I finally feel like I understand how Jesus became so awesome, and where his thoughts were while he was a youth.

I felt the book was missing some things to be a truly great novel. It didn't read as engagingly as what I'm used to, political thrillers. The level of urgency and danger wasn't there. Also the story didn't delve as deeply into the characters and their emotions as I would have liked. I desperately wanted to be privy to the characters' thought process, with so many characters that were bound to have fantastic swings of emotion and internal conflict. These issues are great to have in a young adult novel, though, and I think its perfect for younger readers.

The story is beautifully laid out, with wonderful and evil characters, fantastic scenes in amazingly described locales, and a great plot. Give me more!

I have read several novelizations of Jesus' life, including Deepak Chopra's Jesus: A Story of Enlightenment, The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis, Mary, Called Magdalene by Margaret George, and more. ISSA is a great addition to this body of literature, because it focuses in on Jesus' teens and young 20s, the 'lost years' not covered in the Bible.

As other reviewers have covered, it is largely based on Elizabeth Clare Prophet's writings on the subject, which are themselves based on the writings of Nicholas Notovitch, a 19th century Russian who claimed to have visited a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Ladakh that had manuscripts telling stories of a saint named Issa, who they believed to be Jesus. Although the existence of these manuscripts has been hotly debated over the years, the story remains a compelling one.

ISSA depicts Jesus during the years when he travels to the East to study with a mystic teacher in the Buddhist/yogic vein, although that isn't specifically stated. He studies with several other young people, both men and women, from various backgrounds in the area, some of whom are based on Biblical figures, others that are entirely fictional but based on other history of the period. There is a compelling political back story involving a kingdom that one of the other students will eventually inherit.

Those interested in Buddhist and other Eastern teachings will probably appreciate this book the most, because the storyline explores themes common to both Christianity and Buddhism, as well as other mystic themes not so commonly found in contemporary mainstream Christianity.

I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 because on a purely storytelling level, it can be confusing at times, with gaps in time covered rapidly, and dialogue between characters not really seeming fully developed in certain scenes. This is the author's first novel, so some of that is to be expected. But overall, I think it is a fine piece of spiritual fiction.

This was an interesting story. Jesus (Issa) as a teenager is taken by Joseph of Arimathea to India out of the view of the Romans. There they join with other members of The Order of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20; Hebrews 6:20; 7:1-3), one the wisemen Casper, a King and a teacher; and 3 other teenagers. It is decided that the 4 teenagers will travel across India and Tibet with the teacher and learn about Buddhism and Hinduism. The story is about their travels and what they learn about spirituality and themselves. I learned quite a bit about how the different religions lined up with Judaism. A neat idea incorporated by the author was Jesus learning to meld the stories and tell them to the poor people so that they could understand them ~ a precursor to the parables. Very interesting, easy to read.

Issa was gripping from start to finish! I recommend it to all who love the Di Vinci Code! Fantastic combination of a look in history for missing links in Jesus life and interplay between possible characters!!! One of the best historical fictions I have ever read.

What a silly book - I could not even wrap my mind around the idea that Jesus would be seeking Bhudda for enlightment.