Jeffrey SmallReseñas

While it contained more aspects of a thrill ride than I originally expected, this book put me in mind of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon. As scholars seek truth and history, there are spiritual aspects of their findings that can never be fully or adequately explained for everyone. Growing up between the Jewish and Catholic faiths, I naturally found the overlapping commonalities and took great comfort in them. This book presents an expansion of these commonalities to Eastern religions that I find thrilling and personally enlightening. This perspective speaks directly to my sensibilities. Well written and not in any way preachy, I thoroughly enjoyed each moment of the main characters' journey.

The back of my copy of this book asks, “What if you controlled the power to see God?” That idea, that tantalizing premise, is why I chose this book. That question was never answered, or even addressed, though, because this book has little to do with any religious miracles or experiences, really, and is much more of a standard hero/heroine running away from the bad guys type thriller.

And it’s a LONG thriller. The dramatic tension is barely maintained – as I neared the end – I picked the book up three nights in a row thinking that I would finally get to the dramatic climax and finish it – only to set it down again with heavy lids and pages still to go.

At the very end of the book, there is a passage that echoes what I thought this book could have been about. A nun who is a test subject for “Logos” (the program/machine that simulates a religious experience) writes a letter to one of the creators of the machine. “I have spent a lifetime of contemplation searching for a connection to the Father. I tasted brief experiences of the Divine during times of quiet prayer or solitary walks through our gardens, but your Logos opened my mind in a way I’d never imagined possible.”…”I’m joyous that I can now see the infinite nature of God, a nature that encompasses all that I am and was, an infinite nature that I participate in”.

Instead of glimpses of the Divine, the reader gets, “She reacted on instinct. Without knowing what or who she saw, she dropped the tweezers and slammed the bathroom door closed. A howl of pain pierced through the wood panels. Four male fingers twitched inside the doorframe at the level of her nose. They blazed an angry red. The door shook violently.”

I wish “The Jericho Deception” was more awe-inspiring, was more eye opening to the reader. I wish that instead of conspiracies, lumbering villains, heroes and heroines that connect to one another far too fast – that the reader was left with a sense of wonder, a sense of an amazing experience just beyond our grasp.

Jeffrey Small takes an intriguing idea, that stimulation of a certain area of the brain produces mystical sensations, and provides a thrilling read. From an Ivy League research lab to a CIA black op in the Middle East; from a sad, boring, research professor to Indiana Jones; this fast-paced story raises thought-provoking questions regarding the basis of religious thought, morality limits in fighting terrorism, and fundamentally how one handles and manages research on brain control.

I received a free copy of The Jericho Deception through Goodreads First-reads.

This is a fast paced, action packed book that is hard to put down. There are so many twist and turns, we get a different perspective on a young Jesus and his thoughts. I like any book that makes you think and this one does that. I also like that it is an easier read than the DaVinci Code and a far better read. I received this from LibraryThing Members Giveaway and I recommend this book.

Jeffrey Small’s new novel the Jericho Deception is a fascinating story of neuroscience research into the effects of a machine called the Logos that might potentially turn religious zealots into pliable individuals. Unfortunately the machine falls into evil hands. Ethan Lightman, a physician researcher, has developed the machine with his mentor who is murdered and the machine stolen. This leads Ethan away from Yale to the desert near the Nile river. This is an exciting story of intrigue, love, and violence. I would recommend this book to all interested in mystery, action and thriller categories. I also look forward to reading Mr. Small’s debut novel the Breath of God.½

This was a page turner! From the very first sentence to very last word this book kept me captivated. It's a combination of religious/mystery/historical/modern day thriller and I found it to be just about unputdownable. The premise of the tale, that Jesus traveled to India and Tibet during the 18 years unaccounted for in the Bible, was first postulated by Nicolas Notovitch. Known there as St. Issa His teachings are remarkably similar to what He taught in Jerusalem.

I had read previously and in passing just recently about this time in Jesus' life so it was very interesting to have a second book with this information as a topic. In this tale the revelation of the existence of the Issa journals would, of course, cause a crisis of faith and its publication must be stopped at all costs.

Grant Matthews, our hero, is searching for the manuscripts to complete his dissertation. No one believes in him or the journals. But he has absolute faith. He finds himself pitched against an unknown enemy determined to discredit him and keep him from revealing the truth he has found.
At any cost. The secondary force behind that enemy comes as shock to both Grant and the reader.

The descriptions of place are so well written I almost felt like I was actually there. The thriller aspect had me racing through the pages to find out what was going to happen next. Overall this was a fascinating tale of what can lurk behind blind faith and what is possible if you open your mind.½