Blank Slate Press | 2015

Excerpt

Drew lifted his chin to indicate the bike-messenger’s bag in Zafer’s lap. “What’s in there?”
“Photographs.”
“Of the Dead Sea Scroll?”
“Both scrolls.”
Drew took another hit of the apple tobacco, hoping the sweetish smoke would calm him. “Let me see the photos at least.” Howard Carter must felt the same short-circuiting of nerves before diggers broke the seal on King Tut’s tomb. Kadir had no idea—nor did he care—he was holding something that could rewrite the history of Judaism or even of early Christianity. The possibility was remote—Kadir probably had a copy of a scroll scholars had already studied, translated, and published—but it what if he didn’t? What if this was a scroll no one had ever seen before? Or had seen only as fragments? “I have to see the photos.”
“What for? Can you read languages from antique times?”
“Yes,” Drew lied. He had taken a single semester of Ancient Middle Eastern Languages—not remotely enough to achieve anything like fluency in any of them. And that was better than a decade ago. “I’ll tell you what you have.”
Looking at Zafer, Kadir tipped his head toward Drew. “Show to him.”
Zafer opened the leather bag and took two eight-by-ten photographs out of an envelope.
One photograph looked professionally done. The scroll had been laid out on a smooth, flat surface. The source of illumination wasn’t apparent but it could’ve been daylight: Every letter was perfectly defined. The scroll itself was sepia, the color that gathered in the corners of old photographs like chemical twilight. Since there were no fibers visible, Drew assumed it was parchment, not papyrus.
The other photo was a black-and-white haunted by the ghostly blue of unwiped plums. It’d been taken by an amateur. The lighting was uneven, and the photographer, who clearly knew nothing about scroll preservation, had used a flash. But the resolution was good enough to make out the letters.
Drew was certain of one thing: the scrolls had been written in either Hebrew or Aramaic. The neat rows didn’t have the flow of script. Closer to incisions, the strokes were short and intricate, almost machine-like. Which made sense because Hebrew wasn’t originally written; it was etched into stone or metal. Not quite as beautiful as the natural calligraphy of Arabic, the writing had a certain gravity to it, as if the words it comprised were meant to impose God’s laws on the universe.
Since he wasn’t well acquainted with Aramaic or Hebrew, and he assumed Aramaic could be written in Hebrew script, Drew couldn’t tell them apart without hitting on a familiar word—and there it was: sh’mow, the contraction for his name in Hebrew. One of the most common. In Aramaic it would have been sh'may.
“It’s Hebrew,” he announced.
Kadir nodded. “Tariq told me this already. Read more.”
“I can’t. And since you’re showing the photos to me, you don’t know anyone who can.” Drew puffed on the narghile. “But I do.”

Reviews

"Vincent Czyz's THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC is unique: it somehow manages to include genuine, radical biblical scholarship in a beautifully rendered adventure full of unforgettable characters, set in exotic locales vividly and poetically described. There are very many "Lost Gospel" novels in which the biblical background is fudged, and badly. Not this one! Both sides of this author's fertile brain were working full tilt! And the result is superb."
— Robert M. Price, author of Deconstructing Jesus

“Often, the best novels are difficult to categorize. Perhaps more often, novels that try to do too many things don’t succeed at doing any of them particularly well. Fortunately, every now and then, a novel comes along that is both hard to define, yet exceptional at juggling multiple genres whose sum is even greater than its individual parts. Such a novel is THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC, which melds historical fiction with contemporary adventure and produces a compelling mystery that is as educational as it is entertaining.”
— US Review of Books

“A brilliant, deftly crafted, inherently absorbing novel from beginning to end, THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC by Vincent Czyz is one of those truly extraordinary stories that will linger in the mind and memory long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf. Very highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections.”
— Midwest Book Review

“Vincent Czyz’s THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC accomplishes the rare trick of having it both ways, delivering a fast-paced, action-packed storyline that challenges the mind rather than epileptically dazzling it with portentous piffle. This novel turns out to be the rare adventure story that rewards the reader’s attention by being as diverting as it is rigorously encyclopedic."
— Matt Hanson, The Arts Fuse

“I can't come up with enough superlatives to express how thoroughly?completely ?hugely?immensely?I enjoyed reading this novel. It's everything I could have wished for and much more. It must be read by as many people worldwide as possible. I have a gut feeling that it could effect a sea-change in the common understanding of Christianity. It's a masterful synthesis of solid scholarship and adventure.”
— the late Paul Palmer, former assistant editor, American Atheist magazine

“… Christos puts the reader on Istanbul’s every street corner—the cafés, bars and apartments—awash in the sights, sounds and even the smells of the city, and the colorful language and mannerisms of its inhabitants. […] Ultimately … THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC is more than a novel; it is an impeccably framed thriller that will hopefully spark new discussions and provide insight into the future of Christian thought and study for the new century.”
— James Campion, Aquarian Weekly

“THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC is part Orhan Pamuk, part Elaine Pagels, and part Dan Brown. But it is mostly Vincent Czyz, an irrepressible fiction writer who has the good sense to realize that scholarship is the friend of great stories--and the talent to put that friendship to good use. I must confess that I turned to the novel for fun, and it is fun from first page to last. What surprised me was how very much I learned about the past. A wonderful novel.”
— James Goodman, Pulitzer Prize finalist & author of But Where is the Lamb?

“[THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC] has all the important benchmarks of a thrilling adventure: global conspiracy, shocking revelations, thrilling shootouts, and multiple betrayals. The story is well written with strong plotting and vivacious characters ... a fascinating read.”
— John M. Murray, ForeWord Reviews

“THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC is the most fun I’ve had with an encyclopedic novel since Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum?and a lot more headlong, colorful, and seat-of-the pants exciting. It careens through Istanbul, Cairo, and Alexandria in pursuit of answers to a historical mystery that turns on the unraveling of a theological conspiracy that is deeply meaningful for us today.”
— Samuel R. Delany, author of Dhalgren

“Like Dan Brown’s plot, there is violence, narrow escapes from danger, hidden clues, and exotic locations. Unlike The Da Vinci Code, there are no nearly pure characters ... From Istanbul to Cairo to a gunfight at sea ... Czyz creates an exciting thriller, more eloquently written than most, but one which challenges the traditional religious faith of not only the Catholic church, but all Christian sects.”
— D. R. Meredith, New York Journal of Books

“There are people who can write ripping yarns. And there are people who can write fine, risk-taking prose. Not that many can do both. In this exciting novel, Vincent Czyz pulls off that daring double-feat with style and verve. Don't miss it.”
— Peter Blauner, author of Slow Motion Riot and Slipping Into Darkness