The Chiron Confession by Thomas Greanias (Book Review)

About the Book

From New York Times bestselling author Thomas Greanias comes a magnificent new epic conspiracy of biblical proportions. Welcome to a world where there is only one government and one religion, before which all must bow or die in the Games. Welcome to the New World Order. Welcome to Rome at the end of the first century. No one from slave to senator can escape the Reign of Terror under Emperor Domitian, who has declared himself Lord and God of the Universe. No one, that is, until an innocent playwright and hedonist, Athanasius, is wrongly accused of being the master assassin Chiron, the general of a secret organization known as Dominium Dei—the “Rule of God.” Facing certain death in the arena, Athanasius discovers an imperial conspiracy to destroy the fledgling Christian threat and extend the rule of Rome forever. The plot to reestablish the Roman Empire in the 21st century starts here.

My Review (4 / 5 stars)

A great historical fiction read. It's also a fairly decent Christian fiction one.

It takes place in Rome in AD 96. All of the original apostles are dead, save for John, the author of the Revelation, who is in prison on Patmos. There's this clandestine Christian organisation going around murdering high-profile Romans in the name of Christ.

As far as I know my history, it seems to be quite accurate, although some liberties are obviously taken. I think the author's a Christian, but I get the idea that he has a big bias against the Orthodox and Catholic denominations. It's subtle, but if you understand a little bit about the idiosyncrasies of Orthodox and Catholic beliefs as opposed to Protestant ones, it's pretty obvious. There's also a lot of poking fun at Christianity - especially as a religion - which most Christians in the story assert that it is not. But Rome doesn't believe it is either, preferring to simply call it a "superstition".

It's definitely a good read, and if you're Christian, it will force you to seriously consider a few things, and your gut reaction might be to get offended at certain parts. But I think that's the intention.

Ignoring the Christian aspect for a moment, it's a good thriller. Our hero is accused of being Chiron, the notorious leader of this fanatical Christian organisation, and sentenced to death. He escapes and spends the rest of the book trying to find out who the real Chiron is. It's gripping and keeps you guessing, and the pacing is just fine.

One caveat on the pacing: in the beginning, the chapters are quite long - easily fifteen or twenty minutes each to read. As the story progresses, though, they get shorter, to the point where I was 75% done and only on Chapter 30 (There are 50 in all), and I wondered whether I actually had the whole book!

If you like historical fiction, thrillers, mysteries, or Christian fiction, I don't think you'll have an issue with this book.

Click here to find out where you can get a copy.