Maximus by Richard L. Black

The Synopsis:

Maximus has never known peace. In command of one of Rome’s finest legions, he and his closest friend, Androcles, have fought side by side to uphold the glory of the empire.
But at the end of a long and bloody campaign, Maximus begins to question his purpose, his past, and the gods he has been taught to believe in.
When word reaches Rome of a man named Jesus who is causing a stir in faraway Judaea, Maximus and Androcles are sent, disguised as Jews, to ascertain the truth of the situation: Is this Jesus merely a radical preacher, or is he instigating a revolution against Rome?
As Maximus immerses himself in Jewish culture, he must confront questions that could change his life: Is it possible this carpenter from Nazareth is the Son of God? Is it possible for a man of war to live a life of peace?

I received this book via NetGalley for the purpose of this review. All comments and opinions are entirely my own.

Review:

Maximus is a neat story that demonstrates the heart of it’s author.

In reading Maximus, one can definitely see the author’s desire to spread the Gospel in his own special way, and that is exactly what he did! The story was well researched and I was pleased with how well the characters were made and how each one had his/her own special part in the story.

However, in reading this book, I could tell that this was Black’s first book. The writing was kind of choppy and he switched in between point of views far too often, making the characters seem too vulnerable. In books like this, it would have been better to keep the story in only 2 or 3 different characters’ point of view so that the book would not have been so predictable. There were also several glitches in the grammar of the e-book version that I read.

But overall, I loved the story as well as the mission that the author gave it, so I do recommend it as an entertaining read and give it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.