Wine of Morning

Joel’s heart beat fast. Here was the opportunity to do something worthwhile. His impulsive temperament, his love for adventure, his passionate patriotism—all these answered “Yes” to Omah’s invitation. He got up, tall for his years, vigorous muscular body fired with youthful enthusiasm. He extended his hand to Omah.
“You can count me in,” he said. “When do I start?”

Wine of Morning

Wine of Morning is another addition to my recent series of Christian fiction, and it’s one of the best yet. The book completely changed my perception of the possibilities in the Biblical fiction genre.

Plot

You’ve heard of Barabbas, of Jesus, and maybe even of Prince Manaen. But have you heard their story told like this?

Enter Joel, a young revolutionary from Nazareth. Having grown up a witness to the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders and the oppression of the Romans, he’s on fire with hatred against the evil authorities.

When he befriends another with similar sentiments, he quickly becomes caught up in an entirely new world. He discovers an underground network of patriots working to overthrow their oppressors.

He becomes known as Barabbas, scourge of the Romans and enemy of the priests. No countryside traveler or pilgrim is safe from him. With secret societies, murders, and uprisings, Joel is in for a ride.

Wine of Morning’s plot is straightforward, but expertly done. The suspense, especially near the beginning, will keep you reading all the way through.

Characters

As the book goes on, Joel becomes more of a villain than a hero, and yet you empathize with his motivations. This is the very essence of a memorable character. I only wish the author could have spent more time in his head.

It seems that many times Joel is more of an emotionless observer—almost like a camera. At times his personality shines, but I never really felt his emotion.

All the characters of this book are well-crafted. Everyone has a distinguishing characteristic, keeping them interesting and unique.

Theme & Content Warnings

The primary focus of the story is Joel’s conversion to Christianity. Another heavy theme is that no sin is too great for God to forgive.

The real point of this story is not to explore a theme, but to make a Bible account come to life. Through Joel’s eyes, you see the unrest preceding the coming of Jesus. You see the righteousness of Jesus and the irrational cruelty against him. You see the early church and its simple passion for the Gospel.

While this is fiction, it’s plausible and built upon extensive research. You’ll read the Gospels differently after experiencing this narrative.

The book contains enough warning-worthy scenes for me to recommend it to more mature readers. Mentions of immorality, some brutal violence, and Joel’s occasionally dark thoughts are all present but not prominent. They are only included to provide an accurate representation of the time and culture.

Overall

While I really enjoyed this book, there are a few things I wish were better.

The story lacks much emotion. Because the author more often explains what Joel is feeling, instead of showing it, you don’t connect with him emotionally.

The narrator seems to not be Joel. It’s an omniscient narrator that knows things the character could not possibly know, breaking the immersion. It reads more like a modern narrator telling an old tale, for the use of the words “teen” and “atheist.”

In one sense, I admire how the author brings together so many Biblical events into the book, but at other times it seems forced. Joel sees things that have no relevance to him, but seem to just be the author including as much of the Bible as he could.

Despite some of the missed opportunities with more deeply connecting to Joel, this book is worthy of any hungry imagination. The story pleasantly surprised me several times with its twists.

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Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of the day!