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THE SCROLLS The Missing Eighteen Years James W Mercer 9780557973286 Books

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THE SCROLLS The Missing Eighteen Years James W Mercer 9780557973286 Books

I agree with the descriptions of the plot. It was inventive and a real page turner. As a female scientist, however, I found much of the dialogue to be stilted with an overuse of "as you know...". The male protagonist (a PhD geologist) often schools the female protagonist (also a PHD geologist) on basic geological principles. With all of the condescension to her, the woman still falls for the guy. Really?


Tags : THE SCROLLS: The Missing Eighteen Years [James W. Mercer] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. American geologist Mark Malloy enjoys using geology to explain Biblical stories, but when he and Israeli geologist Gilda Baer discover ancient scrolls near the Dead Sea,James W. Mercer,THE SCROLLS: The Missing Eighteen Years,lulu.com,0557973287,Crime & mystery,FICTION Mystery & Detective General,Fiction - Mystery Detective,Mystery & Detective - General

THE SCROLLS The Missing Eighteen Years James W Mercer 9780557973286 Books Reviews

I just finished the book a few days ago and I'm very sad that there is no more story to read! It was a nice read over the Holiday season while I had some time off. The characters and plot were thought provoking and intriguing. I would certainly welcome a sequel! written by - Mark A.
You'll find the truth hidden in this novel. Notovichs' discovery has been verified more than once, but it's a truth that many cannot accept. Enjoy.
very enjoyable and provocative. I liked the references to geology and hydrology along with some material from the Bible.
Although this book is a work of fiction I was very much interested in the missing years of Jesus life. Although I believe in God and Jesus I doubted the accuracy of the Bible and felt the Catholic church used the words as a tool to manipulate man and to gain greater power and advance their wealth. The story creates a possible scenario of what happened during the missing years. I still believe in Jesus but distrust organized religion even more. A very interesting read.
The Scrolls tells the story of an American geologist (Mark) and his Israeli counter part (Gilda), who, in the early chapters of the book, stumble onto one of the most significant archeological religious discoveries of all time - the Mount Sodom Scrolls. These two characters then travel the world in an attempt to validate the information in the scrolls, which describe the 18 years of Jesus Christ's life that are not accounted for in the Christian bible. The author, Dr. James Mercer, is a geologist by training, who has published extensively in the scientific literature, and this is his first forray into fiction. There are three levels on which to enjoy this book

1. A critique of organized religion This book should be required reading for anybody looking to broaden his or her understanding of Christianity. Dr. Mercer certainly makes no effort to hide his contempt of organized religion and the various charlatans who profit from religion and attempt to undermine science. Dr. Mercer clearly has a strong command of what the bible actually contains and points out the numerous areas where the alleged followers of the bible ignore its teachings. Moreover, Dr. Mercer also provides the reader with a history of how the bible came into existence and the various political factors that influenced what was and was not included in the bible. Interestingly, Dr. Mercer conveys a great deal of respect for the fundamental teachings of Jesus Christ (such as the notion that the poor and the meek are just as entitled to salvation, if not more so, than the rich man), but these teachings are often corrupted by those seeking to make money by trying to segregate Christians from others in an "us versus them" approach to the scripture. Regardless of whether you think organized religion has had a good or a bad influence in society, you will be forced to critically re-evaluate your views, which is a healthy exercise for anybody, and you will learn more about Christianity and the other world religions. Dr. Mercer has clearly done his homework, and we all benefit from it.

2. An education in geology. An author should play to his or her strengths, and Dr. Mercer has certainly done that. Dr. Mercer's vast knowledge of geology emanates from Mark, the protagonist, who educates the reader about a variety of geological phenomena and principles throughout the book. Each time, these "lessons," are very relevant to the story and advance the plot. For example, the reader learns about a method used to date an object based on sediment at a time when the characters need to find out how old an object is to validate its authenticity. While Gilda, at times, gets annoyed with Mark when he gets on his geological soapbox, I certainly found it enlightening and enjoyable. There were just enough of these geological tutorials to give me a broader understanding of geology and appreciation for its relevance and impact in our lives, but not too many that I thought I was reading a text book.

3. An action adventure story. I certainly enjoyed the story itself and was gripped by the characters' journey to the far East, but I do think character development is the one aspect of the book that led me to give it 4 rather than 5 stars. I will not go into depth about the action adventure story, because I hate it when people give away too much of a book's plot, but suffice to say it was interesting and takes you from Turkey through Iraq and into China. At each stop, it is clear that Dr. Mercer has done his homework and does an effective job of transporting the reader to that particular place in time. The only issue I really had was that I thought the characters could have been given a bit more complexity. For example, the chief antagonist, Chester Meeks, is an evangelical capitalist who has made millions peddling word of God. Dr. Mercer gives this man NO redeeming qualities and does not mask, at all, how horrible this man is or his motives. I thought it would have been more effective for Meeks' true nature and intentions to have emerged more gradually throughout the book. Also, there area a couple of characters who work for the Israeli government who play a pivotal role in the development of the plot, and I thought both characters could have been more developed, and the reader would have benefited from learning more about some of their internal struggles at various points in the book. As for Mark and Gilda, I thought Dr. Mercer did a great job of developing them and their dynamic. I just think the story would have benefited from developing some of the supporting characters as well as he did for the two protagonists.

Overall, I highly recommend this book. The story is fascinating, and the reader will walk away with a much stronger understanding of geology and will fundamentally evaluate his or her own religious views.
For a first novel, this was not a bad tale. I don't, however, believe it to be as good as Paul Maier's "The Skeleton in God's Closet." In "The Scrolls," much of the dialog seems stilted, perhaps even contrived. In quite a few places, the amount of description is unnecessary and slows down the pace of the novel for example, "'Exactly,' Mark responded with a smile so large it could be heard in his voice."

While the author's proposal about Jesus' life during the "missing 18 years" is plausible (and indeed, many comparisons have been made between Jesus' teaching and Buddhism), the supposition about what happened after the crucifixion is far-fetched to say the least and, I believe, detracts from the rest of the story.

The geology, however, is quite good.
James Mercer's trio of books are well written page-turners filled with historical and scientific facts. For anyone who enjoys the Dan Brown genre of stories, weaving in actual facts and suspense filled action, conspiracies, good guys and bad guys, these books are great. "Tsunami" is the latest of Mercer's three. The first one written--"The Scrolls The Missing Eighteen Years" is actually the second in the timeline of the protagonist, geologist Mark Malloy. The first book in time-sequence is actually "The Volcano that Changed the World." "Tsunami is based on right-wing extremists out to wreak havoc on President Obama and the east coast of the US. "The Scrolls" is a fictionalized account of the 18 years during which the life of Jesus finds no discussion in scripture (but has been the subject of both non-canonical works and scholarly speculation, upon which Mercer draws heavily). "Volcano" is based on the destruction of the Minoan island of Thera (Santorini) and the growing evidence that this was the basis for the Atlantis legend.. Having read many books on the Dead Sea scrolls, the Knights Templar, the non-canonical gospels and the historical Jesus, and Atlantis/Thera, I was able to recognize many of the well-documented facts that Mercer uses is these stories. Highly recommended.
I agree with the descriptions of the plot. It was inventive and a real page turner. As a female scientist, however, I found much of the dialogue to be stilted with an overuse of "as you know...". The male protagonist (a PhD geologist) often schools the female protagonist (also a PHD geologist) on basic geological principles. With all of the condescension to her, the woman still falls for the guy. Really?