Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-opening, November 5, 2003
Though the book shows some of the deficiencies of self-publication, The Facade has to be one of the most perspective-changing stories I have ever read. If you can ignore the fact that ninety percent of the action takes the form of a meeting during which opposing viewpoints are bantered back and forth, the real scholarly work shines through and grabs you by the eyes. This book makes me want to go out and learn how to read Hebrew for myself; the concept of a divine council is new to me, and gives the scriptural text so much more credence when viewed in its proper perspective. I hope that Mr. Heiser has a sequel in the works; he certainly left it open for one.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
First novel I've used as reference book, August 29, 2005
Dr. Mike Heiser holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Hebrew and Ancient Semitic Languages, as well as masters degrees in Hebrew and Semitic Studies and Ancient History (Israel, Egypt). He's a Bible-believing Christian-and a believer in UFO phenomena.
That's the kicker. Mike is one of very few Christians who isn't afraid to fit ETs and UFOs into a Christian worldview.
The Facade is Mike's debut novel, written as "a break from my dissertation". The story follows Dr. Brian Scott, who, surprisingly (wink wink), is a scholar of biblical Hebrew and ancient Semitic languages. One evening after work, he's kidnapped and drugged by a couple of men in black, and awakens in an underground bunker beneath Area 51.
It seems that a virus of extraterrestrial origin has the potential to disrupt the Earth's climate with disastrous effect. A team of scientists, plus Brian and an elderly Jesuit priest, has been assembled by The Group, a shadow government within the government. Their mission is to figure out how to break the news to the public. Extra care is required because, you see, the virus is being spread artificially by its creators. In short, the UFOs are real.
It gradually becomes apparent, however, that Brian's research into the biblical bene elohim-the "sons of God"-may overturn The Group's plans. The alien entities that have forced The Group to disclose their presence may not be from outside our solar system, but from outside our three-dimensional existence.
He closes the book with a cliff-hanger that left me eagerly looking forward to the sequel, which, happily, he told me he's in the process of outlining now.
There are a couple of threads left loose, and a couple of the scenes feel a bit engineered so as to infuse the book with as much background as possible on the history of UFOs, cattle mutilation, Operation Paperclip (the smuggling of Nazi scientists into the US after WWII), underground bases, and black budget projects like the Aurora aircraft. I can forgive those scenes, however, because the information was so eye-opening that I keep The Facade at my desk for reference, the first work of fiction I've ever used for research. And even during the explanatory scenes, Mike avoids getting bogged down in minutiae, a trap that finally burned me out on Tom Clancy. (I only need to know the terrorists have a nuke, I don't need instructions for building one.)
For the reader interested in doing more research, Mike graciously filled an appendix with recommended books and websites. Unlike Dan Brown, whose Da Vinci Code is filled with errors that should be obvious to anyone who paid attention in Western Civ, Mike actually did his homework and then built his plot around the facts instead of twisting them to fit his worldview.
Mike Heiser is in demand as a speaker at UFO conferences. At first, it may have been for the novelty value; I'd guess that the words "Christian" and "UFO researcher" aren't often used in the same sentence. But Mike has shown, in public and in his novel, that he's not afraid to defend his conclusions based on the evidence. He has publicly offered to debate the leading proponents of the "aliens-created-us" theory anytime, anywhere.
I highly recommend The Facade to anyone with an interest in UFOs, alien abductions, and the like. Through fiction, Mike Heiser shows that it's not only possible, but essential, for Christians to understand the end times UFO deception.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Know Him and Love Him, August 7, 2004
Mike was a professor of mine in college. The Facade is not just a novel, it is actually a very theologically sound look into something most scholars care to pass over. Mike, with his expertise in ancient texts, is able to see clearly what most of us have not seen at all. This is not "out of left field" sort of hermeneutic - it is solid interpretation of the text and its very real implications. Modernists will have a hard time with this - that is putting it mildly. Yet, anyone who believes there is another dimension to life and we are not all there is - needs to at least consider the validity of this book. After saying that - I have to say - it is an easy read. Mike has really done a great job keeping the reader entertained as well as educated. I read it fast and then read it again. I have recommended it to all of my friends - and I highly recommend it to you.
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