Reviews for A Skeleton in God's Closet

The average rating for A Skeleton in God's Closet based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-12-06 00:00:00 Andy Riley With the exception of the final 50 pages, this book was tedious to read. But I had to finish it, as family members loved it and love Dr. Maier and have been asking me to read it forever. So, what is wrong here? The writing is absolutely atrocious. Let me count the ways: * The narration constantly engages in the flaw of telling instead of showing. * Dialogue is wooden and sprinkled with dull humor that annoys rather than amuses. * Character development is weak, forced and, in the case of our hero, even distasteful. Given the fact that Dr. Maier is a well known Bible scholar and leader in the conservative Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, his choice of a middle age male protagonist lusting after a much younger woman, with whom he eventually engages in a relationship that is not clearly chaste, is surprising, not to mention a bit disgusting. One has to wonder what this character reveals about it's author. Is he simply bowing to the societal norm to spice up the story or engaging in a bit of voyeurism? Either thought is disturbing. As a woman, I also found the "modern woman" character of whats-her-name annoying. * The plot is painfully slow. The ordering is good, but it takes laboriously long to get to what we know is coming (Jesus' bones discovered!) and the climax comes too late in the book. * The narration is full of self-important hubris. If someone even mentions in conversation over the next year that the world would radically, seismically, unalterably, change! if Jesus' bones were found, I think I might... I don't know... but it would be bad. * The book has not aged well. Written prior to 9/11/2001, I found some of the passages referencing terrorists or extremists down right angering. I think world events have caused most readers, and I would say probably even Dr. Maier himself, to view many of these concepts differently. Why even 2 stars? I know, I was surprised myself! Here is what I came up with after some time to think about it: * The idea of a discovery of Jesus' bones is unique. * The science of archeology is intriguingly presented and explained. I cannot say I understand it, but I liked learning about it - also something not commonly found. * The press conferences (which appear regularly) were well-written. The protagonist shined and the writing seemed tighter. * The final showdown between the books opponents was compelling. While still suffering from Maier's trademark verbosity, it addressed many of the thorny issues of both the merits of Christianity and why people reject it. * I'm always a fan of MacGyver (google it if you're too young for this reference) plot twists. If you love someone who loves this book, or are interested in archeology, or love Christian fiction, this book will fill your need to read. Ultimately, I wish Dr. Maier would have worked with a writer, like Jerry Jenkins (I know, not a literary pinnacle, but someone with more fiction experience), to develop the book. Pity really, it could have been amazing.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-07-27 00:00:00 Jeff Stanley I have very mixed feelings about this book, so I'm going to have to break down my review in multiple parts. The Author: Paul Maier is a great scholar, and I have greatly appreciated his translations of Eusebius and Josephus. They are highly readable and widely acclaimed. I also read and enjoyed his historical novel Pontius Pilate, though it was a bit on the dry and scholarly side for a work of fiction. I think, however, in the case of this book, Maier would have benefited from the presence of a co-writer who could help shape his prose and make it more readable. The Pros: The premise for the book is brilliant; a tomb is discovered at the site of ancient Arimathea that contains what appear to be Jesus' bones, a conclusion supported by a huge amount of airtight evidence. As the shockwaves of this discovery ripple through the Christian world, a coalition of scholars is created to comb through and verify the evidence. The way the plot unfolds is gripping, the stuff of a great thriller. If I were judging the book on plot alone, it would rate 4 or 5 stars. The Cons: However, there were some serious problems that kept me from enjoying the book. Chief among these was the fact that the characters never seemed real. Almost all of them came across as cardboard cutouts, and many of the characters were awkward stereotypes. The Irish scholar talks with a brogue that might better fit Lucky the Leprechaun, and the British leader of the expedition is full of "Cheerio"s, "Simply splendid old boy"s, and "right-o chap". I've never met someone from England that talked remotely like someone who walked out of an Agatha Christie novel from the 1930s. Second, Maier finds that he wants to include a lot of information for his readers, but can't seem to find a good way to do a believable info dump. I found myself reading through the book and being confronted with multiple situations in which two Ph.D. level archaeologists are talking and one turns to the other and says something along the lines of, "Silly question I know, but could you just explain to me how carbon dating works once again?" These painfully clumsy moments jerked me out of the story every time. Likewise whenever a character makes a quotation in a foreign language, they always self translate, even if they're speaking to colleagues who know the language. So a character, talking to a Frenchman might say something like "Bonne chance, mon ami. Good luck, my friend." I'm of the opinion that, in situations like this, authors should simply leave the phrase untranslated, and if readers don't know French, then they can look it up. Finally, the romantic subplot in the story is awful. I feel like it's being told by a 12 year old. It is awkward and unrealistic at every moment. I know that the author is married with children, so he presumably knows how men and women talk, but I wouldn't know that by reading this book. So in conclusion, A Skeleton in God's Closet has a stellar plot with a brilliant denouement, but the author really needed someone to help him with his storytelling and characterization techniques. I don't regret reading the book, but I don't think I could ever recommend it as a fun read for anyone else. If you're interested in Maier, get his book on Pontius Pilate, or check out his translation work.