Customer Reviews

The Shroud Codex

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Pope John-Paul Peter I has a serious headache. Fr. Paul Bartholomew, a parish priest in New York City, has just resumed his duties after spending three years recovering from a near-fatal accident. Since his return, Bartholomew claims to talk to Jesus directly and has quickly gained a reputation for being able to heal people in the confessional. He has also started to look very much like the image of the man in the famous Shroud of Turin. While celebrating mass one day, Bartholomew begins screaming in agony and blood starts pouring from his wrists, until he collapses on the church floor in front of the altar. Those in the pews immediately start taking photos and videos which quickly spread via the internet. The Pontiff is concerned both for the health of this priest as well as for the health of the Church. He directs the Archbishop of New York to bring in Dr. Stephen Castle, a well-known surgeon and psychiatrist, to take the case. Perhaps most importantly, Castle is an atheist, someone certain not to look for a religious explanation.

In "The Shroud Codex," New York Times bestselling author Jerome Corsi, Ph.D. has woven an incredible tale of science and faith. This is a "DaVinci Code" for believers. It is important to note that this is a novel, but it is based heavily on solid research. Corsi does provide his sources at the end of the book for those who wish to study further. The book features many photographs of the Shroud of Turin taken in 1978 by Barrie Schwortz who edits the [...] website.

Dr. Castle plays the devil's advocate in this book, the scientific mind always searching for the logical explanation. As Fr. Bartholomew continues to suffer injuries consistent with the man on the Shroud, a team of experts struggles to make sense of it all. Not only are they attempting to discover what is causing the wounds, they are also attempting to understand all the evidence surrounding the Shroud. Is it actually the burial cloth of Jesus Christ or a brilliant medieval forgery? Does it, as Fr. Bartholomew maintains, hold a great secret for humanity? Will the whole experience cause Dr. Castle to question his atheistic beliefs?

"The Shroud Codex" has the potential to raise many questions and will no doubt encourage debate about the famous Shroud and what it means. The publication of this book coincides with the first public display of The Shroud of Turin in 12 years. For anyone interested in the Shroud, the mystery of the Resurrection, or simply looking for a good scientific mystery, "The Shroud Codex" is the must-read novel of 2010.

The scientific evidence which supports the authenticity of the shroud continues to grow. Literally hundreds of thousands of hours of scientific study and scrutiny have been poured into discovering the mystery of the shroud, yet there has never been any credible evidence which debunks its veracity except for the carbon 14 dating in the 1980's. This book covers such evidences and even has an anti-hero which tries to demonstrate that the shroud is but a masterful hoax. It covers a plausible explanation about why the carbon 14 dating shows a medieval date as well. Mr. Corsi is a catholic man and, as a result, he gives proper respect to the Catholic Church and its leaders. Even as a protestant, I was in harmony with his doctrines and beliefs woven throughout his storyline. This is a work of fiction, however, and all of its content cannot be taken as pure gospel. I do recommend this book. Not only does it have an intriguing plot but I also learned even more about the shroud, especially as it relates to quantum and particle physics.

I must admit I knew very littled about the Shroud before reading this book. I knew it was an ancient relic that some believed to be the burial shroud of Jesus. I also thought this belief had been debunked by scientists years ago. The Shroud Codex is a fascinating and informative book that I couldn't put down once I'd started it. It was filled with information, both pro and con regarding the authenticity of the Shroud all "woven" together through the story's main character, a psychiatrist hired by the Vatican to investigate a priest who had recently exhibited signs of stigmata. Dr. Castle happens to be an avowed atheist who assumes that a logical explanation exists for the stigmata and the priest's subsequent exhibition of the passion suffered by Christ and visible on the Shroud. This books is a must read for anyone who loves historical fiction because it is that in it's best and purest form.

Mr. Corsi has done a good job with an intriguing topic. Anyone wishing to get a grounding in Shroud history, science and lore will find this to be an entertaining, interesting and painless way to do so.

Many characters in the novel are actual participants in Shroud science, not made up. Mr. Corsi's writing is at points excellent and at others a bit uneven. No slam on Mr. Corsi but a skillful, sympathetic editor and a careful proofreader would have been helpful. All said, definitely worth your time and money. You'll like it.

The Shroud Codex is a novel, but a novel you can learn from. Just as you can learn a great deal of history from well-written historical novels, you can learn a great deal about the Shroud of Turin from The Shroud Codex. If you know everything there is to know about the Shroud, it is still a wonderfully gripping, enjoyable novel. Read it for fun. You will be glad you did.

I read this book over the course of 3 days. It was a fairly easy read, and although the author doesn't end his chapters on cliffhangers, the subject matter itself kept me interested enough to continue reading. I will leave plot summary to other reviewers. I have 4 primary criticisms of this book, and it is why I only give the work 3 stars:

(1) The author CLEARLY needs an editor. He frequently overuses words - many times in the same passages - that the novel reads more like a rough draft than a finished manuscript. One of the most overused words was "appreciate"... as in Castle appreciated what Father Morelli said, or Castle appreciated what Archibishop Duncan felt, etc.

(2) The author sometimes confused his own characters, which again underscores the sentiment that this novel needed some serious proofreading. For example, in one passage, Father Morelli was noted as bringing Father Morelli to a location. The author intended the passage to read as Father Morelli bringing Father Bartholomew to the location.

(3) There is no climax. For the non-Christian/Catholic reader that may not grasp the deeper meaning of Christ's resurrection to believers, the novel's "highest" point of conflict is perhaps even anti-climatic. There is no suspense build-up; the sequence of events follow a very predicatable path... especially to one familiar with the passion and death of Christ. I hate to even draw a comparison to a Dan Brown novel because he is often guilty of the same pitfall. However, Mr. Brown does an adequate job of detailing WHY a set of events can significantly impact his characters.

(4) The resolution of the novel was very weak. While I'll try to avoid any spoilers here, much of the resolution (if one can call it that) is diluted by the very weak character development. The reader never truly feels vested in the protagonist. Most of the descriptions of Dr. Castle come off as declarations, and seem very superficial. They don't really give any insight into why Castle feels the way he does. Instead, it seems like we, as readers, are simply told that the protagonist feels this way because that's the way a psychiatrist is supposed to feel.

With that said, I realize that this novel is meant to entertain... and in that right, it does accomplish this satisfactorily. Anyone who has some interest in religious phenomena (or perhaps the paranormal) will find some value in Corsi's book. Reading some of the preliminary reviews on Amazon, I feel much of the "acclaim" has been given simply because of the pro-theist / Catholic undertones of the novel. Whether a reader shares the same set of beliefs with the author or not is irrelevant. As a stand-alone piece of literature, The Shroud Codex lacks substance. Thriller fans should look elsewhere.

Answered my questions about the Shroud of Turin. Placing the Shroud in a novel helped. What's important is this is true and the science explains how so. I loved the path the main character took towards life and death. You don't have to be Catholic to enjoy this!

The Shroud Codex is an amazing story about the power of faith and the mystery of miracles. It is also a fairly good overview on the history and science behind the Shroud of Turin. For the story alone, I'd give this book five stars, or more, if I could.

However, the writing is tremendously poor...with so many issues it made me wonder if this book was never touched by an editor. The the writing itself is very stiff and repetitive as has been stated in other reviews.

Even so, the story is such that this can be overlooked. This is not a book to read for its writing or for enjoyment. It is a journey of faith, that everyone should experience...a good metaphor is to imagine what it would be like to read The Passion of the Christ.

The debate in whether ir not the Shroud goes back and forth so much that many people don't pay attention to it. But here Corsi weaves the facts of the Shroud into a fast-paced tale. There is a current fascination with religious thrillers and this fits right in. It all started with The DaVinci Code and its laughable claims of being full of history. It started a trend of poorly-researched books that often took shots at religion. This book is well-researched, though the writing is not as polished as those others. Corsi does show both sides of the Shroud debate and those familiar with it and related religious issues will recogonize that some of the fictional characters in this book are closely pattered after real individuals. Some will be surprised about the parts about the physics that confirm the supernatural. Corsi references a few physics works, but would have done better to review astronomer Hugh Ross' Beyond the Cosmos : The Extra-Dimensionality of God : What Recent Discoveries in Astrophysics Reveal About the Glory and Love of God which is the best on this subject and its implications for religion. Corsi's novel is actually a good place to start a study on the Shroud. For another good religious thriller, see A Skeleton in God's Closet. For more on the shroud see The Truth About the Shroud of Turin: Solving the Mystery.

I seldom have the time to read fiction, but this one caught my attention. Warning: you will not be able to put this one down. Much of the story is told in dialog, making for a lively read.

The masterful blend of science and religion makes this book one that will spark inner soul searching as well as lots of conversation.

Well researched and informative as well as entertaining. You'll be thinking about this book long after you finish reading.

Hope to see this one in film someday.Obamanutz: A Cult Leader Takes the White House