Customer Reviews

The Silver Chalice

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
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This book was given to me over the summer by my mother who read it when she was young. From the moment I opened it, I couldn't put it down. The story of Basil's journey from Antioch to Jerusalem is one of great courage and faith. The fictional characters are well developed, and the historical ones are portrayed quite uniquely with qualities of real people one seldoms sees in Paul and Luke. This book has led me to read more of this genre, including Taylor Caldwell's "Dear and Glorious Physician". The awkward situation Basil finds himself in between Helena and Deborra is a believable situation, and it provides great insight into the mind of an intelligent, and proud young man. I recommend this book to those who are fascinated with history, the Christian religion and excellent writing.

I am a prolific reader and The Silver Chalice is one of my all time favorite books. It has suspense, history, greed, romance, love, longing, spirituality - the list of in depth emotions that the main character experiences is amazing. Basil is adopted by a wealthy family at a young age and upon his adopted father's death he is sold into slavery. The story of how he meets Luke, the great physician, Joseph of Arimathea, and many other bibical characters and their influence on his life is astounding. This is a must read book that you will want to read many times.

Thomas B. Costain's "The Black Rose" enthralled me during the Christmas 2006 season. I found a copy of his 1952 novel "The Silver Chalice" @ a friends of the library sale and snapped it up with glee. While it sat on my reading table almost a year until Christmas 2007, it was well worth the wait.

Costain weaves his tale, set with a backdrop of the early Christian struggle in the years immediately after the crucifixion. Paul is a major character as is the physician Luke, who of course is credited with writing one of the Biblical gospels. I found it interesting that while The Urantia Book speaks of the Apostle John living until age 101 and dying in the heart of Africa, Costain's novel finds him hiding in caves near Rome.

The fictional story is gripping. Beginning in Antioch, it follows a boy named Ambrose who is sold by his father to a wealthy merchant Ignatius who adopts him and changes his name to Basil. The story follows Basil's artistic talents and temperament until his father's death. Rather than his adoptive son inheriting Ignatius' wealth, his greedy brother Linus disputes the adoption, bribes judge & witnesses, and sells Basil into slavery. Virtually imprisoned, Basic creates lovely jewelry until Luke steps in and pays off his owner and takes Basil to Jerusalem to Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy Christian merchant. Joseph who is elderly and failing wants Basil to create a frame that has the faces of the apostles to hold the silver chalice that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. Costain weaves in romance, as Basil is attracted to Joseph's granddaughter Deborah. The plot takes off from there. In 533 pages, Basil travels to Rome and is entangled in Nero's court.

I found the tale to spark many spiritual feelings in me, the love of Jesus, the appreciation of loyalty in the face of peril and the sweet sense of brotherhood between the early Christians. Costain concludes his novel with Luke envisioning modern times and how Jesus will be as important to later generations. The story is replete with many vivid characters, the giants who defend the camel train for example. I found myself not wanting to turn the light out at night and thinking the extra time reading was worth the experience the next day. This is another charming tale from Costain. I'm so glad I discovered it! Enjoy!

This book gives you an inside view of the Luke and Paul and the other apostles as they struggle to give Jesus' church life. It talks about the danger they were in and the predjudice they faced. I read it before an exam in religion to help me understand the new testament better...it worked! The story follows a young man who was illegally enslaved and then had his freedom purchased by Luke so that he could produce a silver chalice with the likeness of all of the prophets. In order to do so he has to travel around to their lectures and speeches, stay in their homes and become friends with them. It is very insightful. A nice long book, that should keep you busy for quite a few hours of reading time.

I loved this book!!!! It was one of the few of the many, many, books I've read that I could'nt put down. It is completely fiction, and I love reading bibical fiction because it makes the old stories come alive with new meaning. The story of Basil a poor boy who was adopted by a rich, notable, family in Palestine is one rich with hidden meaning and it also, amidst the plot of the story, contains a beautiful love story. One of the best books I've read. A MUST!!!!

The Silver Chalice" is wonderful for many reasons. The history is accurate and interesting. The characters are wonderfully developed. The story is romantic. But most of all "The Silver Chalice" is incredible because of the faith and devotion that it illustrates and promotes.

I love historical fiction (the kind with a real story, not the smutty kind) and no one does it better than Thomas Costain.

The Silver Chalice is a fascinating story of the East in the century after Christ and offers a glimpse into the lives of historical figures as viewed by the fictional main characters.

This book was originally published in 1952 and was the year's best seller. The book is just as good today. Costain is a researcher that writes this novel with good background in church history. It was our book club book of this month.

This is a great book; both my teenage sons enjoyed it - enough to read it several times!

I read The Silver Chalice for the first time when I was about thirteen years old. The book totally absorbed me, and I could not put it down until I finished. Not being one to re-read any books, I read The Silver Chalice again when I was in my thirties. Now in my fifties, I'm ready to read it again. I'm sure that I have never read a book three times; therefore, I believe this must be my all-time favorite book! The plot is so realistic that, as I read this clever and suspenseful novel, I feel as if I am living in the early years of Christianity, with all of the intrigue of slaves, apostles, and Roman oppression.