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The Last Page: a novel
Archaeologist Christopher Jordan and ancient manuscript expert Kathryn Ferguson are brought together by famed New Testament scholar Andrew Stewart of Edinburgh, Scotland. On a research expedition to Maaloula, Syria, Stewart stumbles across an ancient scroll, a truncated rough draft of the gospel of Mark. All evidence indicates John Mark is the author. The completed autograph scroll, the archaeological find of the millennium, is believed to be in a cave in Maaloula. Amid the Syrian revolt, Chris and Kate travel to Maaloula. Time is of the essence. The obstacles are overwhelming. Paralleling their perilous quest is John Mark's escape with the manuscript from the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, his journey to Damascus where he can complete his gospel and make copies for distribution throughout the empire. A major theme threading the work is the resurrection. Is the last page of the gospel of Mark missing? Or did the author intend to leave the resurrection dangling, shrouded in mystery? The answer is in the last page.
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 30, 2015
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 29, 2015
An Entertaining Novel Laced with Deeper Meaning
In The Last Page Joe Edd Morris takes the reader on two memorable and evocative journeys, one ancient, the other hopelessly current. The present-day quest of archaeologist Christopher Jordan and manuscript expert Kathryn Ferguson carries a search for biblical scrolls into the turbulence of war-torn Syria. That journey takes on greater gravity as Morris parallels this exploration with the original flight of the gospel writer Mark from a broken and burning Jerusalem across Galilee onto Damascus. Separated by two thousand years, Mark and Christopher are united by an intellectual and spiritual quest for meaning. Given the heady material, The Last Page has no right to be so entertaining. Morris deeply roots the reader in times and situations that should feel remote, but his characters are so committed in their search for truth and the author is so determined to create rich, specific, historically and culturally accurate scenes that the reader becomes fully invested.
In other words, the search for understanding and meaning embraced by disparate characters distanced by millennia became my own. Sure the plot hooked me and I took great pleasure in Morris’s ability to transport a reader to other realms. But what makes The Last Page memorable is how the engaging storytelling presses the reader to contemplate what he truly cares about.
In The Last Page Joe Edd Morris takes the reader on two memorable and evocative journeys, one ancient, the other hopelessly current. The present-day quest of archaeologist Christopher Jordan and manuscript expert Kathryn Ferguson carries a search for biblical scrolls into the turbulence of war-torn Syria. That journey takes on greater gravity as Morris parallels this exploration with the original flight of the gospel writer Mark from a broken and burning Jerusalem across Galilee onto Damascus. Separated by two thousand years, Mark and Christopher are united by an intellectual and spiritual quest for meaning. Given the heady material, The Last Page has no right to be so entertaining. Morris deeply roots the reader in times and situations that should feel remote, but his characters are so committed in their search for truth and the author is so determined to create rich, specific, historically and culturally accurate scenes that the reader becomes fully invested.
In other words, the search for understanding and meaning embraced by disparate characters distanced by millennia became my own. Sure the plot hooked me and I took great pleasure in Morris’s ability to transport a reader to other realms. But what makes The Last Page memorable is how the engaging storytelling presses the reader to contemplate what he truly cares about.
Displaying 1 of 1 review