The Eighth Scroll

Book Review: The Eighth Scroll by Dr. Laurence B BrownReviewed by J Bryden LloydWriting Style - 5.0/5.0 (Outstanding)In what has to be one of the better works I have read in recent months, the writing here I engaging and impressive. Dr Brown writes a considered and eloquent descriptive and realistic dialogue throughout, which pulls the action along beautifully.Character Development - 5.0/5.0 (Outstanding)One of the really outstanding features of this work, is the authors skill in endearing the reader to a group of characters, even the bad guys are given certain relatable qualities, despite the fact you know you need to dislike them.Each character is definitive and unique and the story winds around each one with an intricate quality.Descriptive - 5.0/5.0 (Outstanding)Like the characters, the scenes, locations and feelings are conveyed expertly. Even sounds, tastes and smells are described in exceptional detail. The ancient scenes at the start of the book really do lay down the background to the key elements of the plot, and the hops through to the present are well plotted and carefully develop all the remaining characters and sub-plots.Language & Grammar - 5.0/5.0 (Outstanding)From the opening line, the level of language, editing and grammar is thoroughly professional and brilliantly executed. Any aspiring writers out there should consider this as a first-class example of how to get the finished article right.Plot - 5.0/5.0 (Outstanding) - NO SPOILERSThis is a strong storyline and with the interwoven sub-plots working hard to keep the reader on their toes, I can't recommend this book enough. The interaction between the characters makes the story run smoothly and, where necessary, violently through its motions. The back-plot of `the scroll' and its location inexorably links every character and as conclusions are drawn, the reader is taken on an awesome roller-coaster ride.General - 5.0/5.0 (Outstanding)I guess you can see where this is going by now... This was an excellent book, one I thoroughly enjoyed and will undoubtedly read again. I picked this up last September, and it only got to the top of my reading pile a few days ago.Needless to say, the content pulled me along to the point where I read into three consecutive nights in my search for the conclusion, and I was not disappointed.FIVE stars. A quite exceptional book! Very, very highly recommended.

Well I stumbled on this book while looking for something to give me a break from my regular genre which is apocalyptic in nature and thought at .99 cents I'd give it a try. Wow, I really enjoyed it.This has great action and although this is a fiction book, the history within the story has peaked my interest a great deal. I plan to go back and do a lot of research and pleasure reading regarding the Dead Sea Scrolls.I don't give stories away in my reviews but I did enjoy the excitement, history, fast-packed action, character development and the story development.I'd say if you are Christian or Jewish and don't feel comfortable having your traditional thoughts and teachings provoked, you might not care for this book or find it offensive as a few other reviewers indicated by their ratings and reviews. Me? Well although I am Christian, I always like thought provoking readings and challenges but lets be honest here. This is a fiction book. Any good fiction book in my opinion will present as much factual information as possible along with the fiction in the book. It makes things more plausible and simply put, part of the fun of fiction is for it to seem as though it could be possible even if it isn't. To me the author did a great job with this. Corruption in government, religious organizations and secrete agencies is completely believable and history has shown us it has always existed but again folks, this is Fiction even if much of it is based on facts as we know them.If the authors intent was to create an exciting read and provide thought-provoking information, for me the goal was accomplished. I really enjoyed this book. So why the four stars instead of five then? Well for me I might have different rating system. I reserve 5 stars for what I consider "knock 'em out of the park" books which of course is subjective to the reader, their likes and dislikes. This was a very good book.

I read this novel on 3 occasions, 100 pages at time. It is absolutely FASCINATING !! a mixture of advanture, theology, and drama. Dr Brown did a great job mixing these three together, and the product is a novel that is hard to let go unless you get a headache from reading or it gets late a night and there is work the next day..What I liked most in this novel is the way the author describes the events, the details, and the characters. You can actually "see" the events in the story going on and you feel like you are watching a movie that plays in you head. Another great point is the satisfying amount of "smart humor" that runs in the story line. The author must be a highly intelligble man to be able to come up with that. Most of the jokes are really creative with a small twist. you have to read the book to get what i mean. Dr Brown also describes the main character, the way he thinks and feels, in details that makes it both easy and enjoyable to understand and digest him. The story spreads among two generations and different countries, and there is enough action, and just where it is supposed to be and in the amount needed. There is also a very interesting touch of shy and innocent romance toward the last third of the book-something really missed in most of the novels and movies nowadays. Anybody interested in theology and questioning the origin of faith will also like this story, and it is noteworthy that the religious quotes and interpretations are actually not fictional.I highly recommend this book and i guarantee you will enjoy it and wont have second thaughts not even a single time.

Dr. Brown provides an intense read through a historically based adventure with many unique quirks and arcs. It's lovely that the book isn't driven forward by clichés and stereotypes but a fresh real story! Absolutely fabulous work! I am moving onto his other works because his ideas are brilliant and interesting to go through! A great read I've recommended to my friends and family many times already!

As the heading says First Time , 1st book I have read buy this Author, good flowing story , easy to keep you going, not to shabby, wont tell you the story , just ruin it for you!!

Excellent! Very exciting and thought-provoking. I hope he writes more like it, I couldn't put it down. Better than Dan Brown.

This book so nearly got 5 stars with me that I'm almost disappointed that it didn't. The reason I felt I couldn't give it 5 stars is because the first chapter is really hard going, I really struggled to get through the opening of The Eighth Scroll and was slightly wary that if the whole book was written in the same way then I wouldn't make it through, I shouldn't have worried, once it hit the modern day it was engaging and I was completely immersed in the storyline.When I was asked to review this I was told that Dr Laurence Brown was being referred to as "the other Brown" in reference to the likeness of this storyline to those books produced by Dan Brown, I loved The Da Vinci Code and have actually read all of the Dan Brown novels so if there was another author on the market who wrote a similar style of novel then I was definitely interested. I didn't really know anything about the Dead Sea Scrolls other than they were something to do with religion but I figured that religion always provided an interesting backdrop to a novel and it backed up the theory that Dr Brown was heading down a similar route to Dan Brown.The actual storyline of The Eighth Scroll was brilliant and I felt that I could relate to all of the characters. One of the things that I liked is that Dr Brown has a strong belief in God but also has a very specific view of religion. Some of the things that he writes may be considered controversial to a number of people who have strong beliefs but, having studied religion as a teenager, I was thrilled that he highlighted areas of the bible which contradict other areas, something that has always frustrated me. I also liked that I felt I was being educated on a number of things concerning religion without actually being lectured to, something which is quite difficult to achieve when tackling such a complex subject.In conclusion I thought that The Eighth Scroll was a brilliant book and I hope that Dr Brown enjoys the same success as Dan Brown has as he definitely deserves it and I can't wait to read whatever he publishes next.

Dr. Laurence B. Brown has produced a good thriller but, alas, one in the Dan Brown tradition.I enjoyed the thriller aspect - the `derring-do' of the main character, Michael Hansen - with a `photographic memory (does this exist in adults outside fiction?) and a strange taste in women - as he battles his way to acquiring the `final answer' about Jesus. Of course, the scroll had to have been produced by the Essenes and I wonder when thriller writers will cease plundering the archive of those ill-digested materials. It leads to a dramatically different view of the life and purpose of Jesus. Michael wins through in the end despite the efforts of the would-be suppressing agencies - the CIA (incompetent), the Vatican (using the menacing Mafia) and Israel (using the murderous Mossad). I was puzzled by the choice of villains until I read that Dr. Brown is a convert to Islam and his `official site' includes Catholics among `idol-worshippers'. So it's no surprise that the dramatic revelations fit so tidily in with Islamic beliefs.Just like Dan Brown, the author uses fiction as propaganda to further his cause. I use the word `propaganda' because, like all propagandists, Dr. Brown is rather selective in his references. Here are but four , coming from non-Pauline sources, I don't recall him mentioning: Matthew 3:17; Luke 23:42-3, Luke 24:25-27 and John 10:30-38. Why `non-Pauline? Read the book and you'll find out - and, I must admit, many Christians might give some support to many of the author's comments about St. Paul. Anyway , when dealing with religion, proof isn't readily available. It is all a question of faith, as in the case of the Quran.So, enjoy the thrill of the chase but don't devour without question the food for thought the book supplies.