Longinus: Book 1 of the Merlin Factor

Steven Maines
iUniverse (2006)
ISBN 9780595396177
Reviewed by Linda Benninghoff  for Reader Views (12/06)

Who was Longinus, the battle-toughened Roman Centurion who stabbed Jesus with his spear while he was being crucified, who thereby insured that Jesus die on the cross? Some legends say he went on to walk the earth indefinitely, never dying. Other legends tell he became a healer and holy man.

This novel purports to relate the story of what happened to Longinus after he stabbed Jesus. While on one level it is a fast-reading, action-packed adventure story, on another level it deals with spiritual awakening. The average person can identify with the concerns of this novel. Often the individual is deaf to inner callings and the workings of the soul. He or she turns his back on the divine and the spiritual that is interwoven in everyday life. Longinus hears Jesus talking to him through his blood-stained spear. He becomes a wiser, more compassionate man as a result, whereas, like the rest of us, he once was oblivious to the divine voice.

Longinus watches as a mare that has broken its ankle has to be killed to be put out of its misery. He feels saddened. "Some would say that I was attaching too much value to the horse. It was, after all, simply an animal. But I had come to believe all life was sacred." The novel traces Longinus’ transformation from a coarse, hardened man to a person with compassion.

As Longinus journeys to safety and searches for a true home, he is accompanied by people of various backgrounds, including a Jewish rabbi who has seen Christ, an Egyptian and a Celt. There is some depiction in the novel of other religions, including ancient Druidism, and a sense develops that all religions are one.

“Longinus: Book 1 of the Merlin Factor” will be of interest to those who want to delve into ancient religious history but also to others who may have experienced spiritual transformations. There are sections in the beginning of the book dealing with ancient Rome that contain graphic violence and sexuality, but as the book goes on, these passages disappear, and it is worth getting through them to find out what happens.

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