Fotografía de autor

Richard Beard (1) (1967–)

Autor de Lazarus Is Dead

Para otros autores llamados Richard Beard, ver la página de desambiguación.

11+ Obras 294 Miembros 14 Reseñas

Sobre El Autor

Richard Beard is the author of five critically acclaimed novels: X20, Damascus, The Cartoonist, Dry Bones, and Lazarus Is Dead, and three works of non-fiction: Muddied Oafs, How To Beat the Australians and Becoming Drusilla. He is Director of the National Academy of Writing in London. He also made mostrar más the shortlist for the Goldsmiths Prize 2015 with his title Acts of the Assassins. His book, The Day That Went Missing (Vintage), has been awarded the 2018 PEN/Ackerley Prize for a work of memoir or autobiography. (Bowker Author Biography) mostrar menos

Obras de Richard Beard

Lazarus Is Dead (2011) 86 copias
X20 (1996) 67 copias
Acts of the Assassins (2015) 33 copias
Damascus (1998) 32 copias
Dry Bones (2004) 16 copias
The Apostle Killer (2016) 16 copias
Muddied Oafs (2003) 11 copias
The Cartoonist (2000) 8 copias
Manly Pursuits (2006) 5 copias

Obras relacionadas

Granta 88: Mothers (2004) — Contribuidor — 163 copias

Etiquetado

Conocimiento común

Fecha de nacimiento
1967-01-12
Género
male
Nacionalidad
UK

Miembros

Reseñas

The Apostle Killer by Richard Beard is a mystery about finding the body of Jesus after his crucifixion. What makes this novel unusual, is that it takes place in the present. Each of the disciples of Christ are murdered or commit suicide as the book progresses. It’s hard to categorize the book. Doesn’t fall into a the religious of mythological realm. Beard is an excellent writer but the unique premise and time frame wears thin for the last third.
 
Denunciada
GordonPrescottWiener | Aug 24, 2023 |
This was a compelling read; I was hooked within two pages. Superficially it's a (very engaging) police procedural set in a Roman Empire brought into the 21st century, complete with the internet, airport lounges and lock-up garages. Added to that, there's a fantsy element: many of the key events bleed through time, happening almost simultaneously in the 1st and 21st centuries, both real-time and with effects reverberating 2000 years later.

The real story, though, offers a much deeper reflection on the nature of terrorism and religion, leadership and loyalty. It's this that stayed with me well after finishing the book. You won't look at early Christian history quite the same again.
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SuzieD | otra reseña | Jan 3, 2023 |
I don't know how to express how impressive this book is. Intelligent, inventive, funny and different is how I'd describe it. Richard Beard takes on the story of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead and draws a picture of a man who is Jesus' only real friend and who needs to die. Lazarus is not a particularly sympathetic character but is precisely what this story needs, a sort of anti-Christ. It is well written and thoughtfully put together, especially the quotes and themes he draws in from other novels, plays, and artwork. The only Biblical mistake I found was a mention of King Samuel trying to talk to the dead Saul at the witch's house - it was actually King Saul trying to reach out to the dead prophet Samuel.

* I received this book for free from Goodreads First Reads.
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Denunciada
carliwi | 6 reseñas más. | Sep 23, 2019 |
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

After Blood of a Stone, this was my second Jesus-related book I incidentally read during the Easter weekend. Although I really hadn't guessed it from the blurb. I mean, would you?


"Gallio does counter-insurgency. But the theft of a body he's supposed to be guarding ruins his career. Bizarre rumours of the walking dead are swirling, there is panic in the air, and it’s his job to straighten out the conspiracy. He blows the case.
Years later, the file is reopened when a second body appears. Gallio is called back by headquarters and ordered to track down everyone involved the first time round. The only problem is they keep dying, in ever more grotesque and violent ways. How can Gallio stay ahead of the game when the game keeps changing?
Acts of the Assassins is about one man’s struggle to confront forces beyond his understanding. And about how lonely a turbulent world can be."

I won't explain too much about it, because it is so weird I think you should find out most of it by yourself. But, being set in some kind of mash-up between the Roman Empire and modern times. Imagine gladiators, centurions and also mobile phones and aeroplanes. This book really deserves a place between the weirdest books (of at least 2015; possibly of all time) and I've been reading some weird book lately.


However, I did really enjoy it. It read very fast and was a decent detective story and besides I also thought it was quite funny from time to time. The terrible arrangement made by his organization forces to Gallio to always fly with a stop in Schiphol (the Netherlands; possibly made a deal with a Dutch airline) made me smile. Schadenfreude of course, especially since most flights are between places in the Middle East, but I thought it was a nice twist.


If you're ready to set everything you know about Roman times aside and would like to read about it as if it were modern times (It does take some imagination, especially in the beginning), then I think this is a very good book for you. It's definitely something completely different from what I (and I think most people) usually read.


Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
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Denunciada
Floratina | otra reseña | May 26, 2016 |

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Estadísticas

Obras
11
También por
1
Miembros
294
Popularidad
#79,674
Valoración
½ 3.6
Reseñas
14
ISBNs
61
Idiomas
1

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