The Branch

by Mike Resnick

The Messiah of the Old Testament was no Prince of Peace. He was expected to come with sword and fire and raze the old kingdoms to the ground. There were four signs by which he would be known. Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled only one of the signs. That was more than a dozen other would-be Messiahs could boast. Until 2047 A.D., when a grifter named Jeremiah the B fulfills them all and puts the world in more jeopardy than it s been in since the comet hit 65 million years ago! Back in print after 15 years, complete and unabridged, here is Mike Resnick s controversial classic, The Branch. A stunner of a book. Barry N. Malzberg

Genres: Science Fiction, Ebooks, Fantasy

191 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Michael "Mike" Diamond Resnick, better known by his published name Mike Resnick, was a popular and prolific American science fiction author. He is, according to Locus, the all-time leading award winner, living or dead, for short science fiction. He was the winner of five Hugos, a Nebula, and other major awards in the United States, France, Spain, Japan, Croatia and Poland. and has been short-listed for major awards in England, Italy and Australia. He was the author of 68 novels, over 250 stories, and 2 screenplays, and was the editor of 41 anthologies. His work has been translated into 25 languages. He was the Guest of Honor at the 2012 Worldcon and can be found online as @ResnickMike on Twitter or at www.mikeresnick.com.

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you do when the Messiah comes ( and I mean the Jewish Messiah)? If you are Solomon Moore, head of a gangster empire ( based in Chicago, where else? ) in the year 2047, you fight back...but how do you stop the Messiah ( "the Branch" of the Davidic line) and thwart Jehovah's eternal plan? One of Mike Resnick's most thought-provoking books, published in 1984.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know Jesus only met one of the four conditions prophecied by Isaiah? Resnick takes that idea and runs with in.

In 2047, another descendent of the house of David is born, this one meeting all four conditions. He's Jeremiah and he's a two-bit con man. What will happen when the word gets behind him?

I read this on the tail end of a sacrilegous kick a few years ago, right after Christopher Moore's Lamb and the whole of Garth Ennis's Preacher saga. It's an entertaining read. Resnick's writing is really breezy and the plot is well researched. It's easy to see why it was controversial when it was written.

[Xabi1990 · Rating 2 out of 5]

5/10. Media de los 7 libros leídos del autor : 7/10

De los libros que he leído del autor, el que menos me ha gustado. Me quedaría con la Saga Starship o con "Santiago: un mito del lejano futuro"

[Leif · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paced like a great movie, this fun, sometimes silly, sometimes violent take on the Messiah is not what I thought reading Resnick would be like (this is only my second book of his). There is the humor I was expecting, but I didn't expect...this. I mean, it starts with a grifting beggar pissing off some sort of 21st century John Gotti and the story just keeps getting bigger.

I admit to being fascinated by religious systems (I am both repelled, and less often, admiring). If the scholarship in this SF book is correct, I learned some new stuff about Judaism. Should probably google that shit.

[Hien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Moore is an underworld kingpin. Jeremiah the B is a not so smart two-bit grifter. When Jeremiah tries to con Mr. Moore he gets a contract put out on him. But Mr. Moore finds that Jeremiah is exceedingly difficult to kill. Why is Jeremiah so hard to kill?? Thus begins an epic confrontation between the two men that can decide the fate of the world. This is a fun book with elements of science fiction and fantasy mixed together. It reminds me of something Zelazny would write.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe this relatively early novel remains one of Resnick's most thought-provoking. It's intentionally ironic in many ways, exploring religion from a future as well as philosophical perspective. It's a good story, too; approach it with an open mind.

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one surprised me as I found other works by Resnick irritating. It's quite good.

[Adrián · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro que en tono de “humor” muestra la llegada del Mesías a la Tierra… pero este mesías NO es el que la gente suponía que sería y es un ejemplo a no seguir lleno de defectos y vicios que no puede morir porque Dios está protegiéndole hasta que se cumpla la profecía escrita en el Antiguo Testamento… Jeremias el G (El Mesias) se enfrentará a Salomon Moody Moore (el capo de lo ilegal) para hacerse con el control de ese mercado tan beneficioso mientras persigue cumplir la profecía marcada para él…
Un libro que nos da una visión de ese mesías que no es como Jesús y que ni los judíos aceptan aún sabiendo que él es el Mesías prometido y como Cristianos, delincuentes y judíos se oponen a Jeremias y como él les demuestra que él es el elegido por Dios (aunque no el esperado).

[Kurazaybo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun book that paints a very different image of the christian messiah from what we are used to. Even though it has some defects (a somehow flat narrative and not many side stories) it manages to develop the story and characters with enough detail and a very adequate pacing. The arguments and speculation regarding this blasphemous savior are equally solid and entertaing. I recommend it.

[Keara Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this book for the third time ever, it's still my favorite book. A blend of fantasy, sci-fi, and religious undertones.

[Rock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book! It reminded me a lot of Alfred Bester’s writing. Good characters taken from an unexpected viewpoint and well developed.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, but it did not quite work for me! 9/10 I love Resnick's work, this was 1/10. The story seemed just a little silly, though I take it as a mockery of the jesus business. The good guy was a bad guy, the good guy (jebus) was a mediocre loser. Fast moving, but not up there with the "Widow Maker" et al.

[Lasturian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un sólido 4 estrellas.

La parte 1 es perfecta, la parte 2 es aceptable y el final es más o menos satisfactorio.

[David V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started 11-8-22, then suspended for awhile due to a computer scamming which required all new bank accounts, etc--what a pain in the tush!!!! Finished 11-17-22. What would a racketeer leader do if a "Messiah" tried to horn in on his business? What could you do to this Messiah if he couldn't be killed? Is he really a new BRANCH of the line of King David? What makes a Messiah, in light of all the false ones who have appeared over the centuries? That's the issue in this book written by one of my favorite sf authors.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was on a list of sci-fi must-reads. The Branch is product of 1980s sci-fi when authors were becoming less interested in the sci(ence) than the fi(ction) and when they explored subjects that were deemed untouchable in other genre. The book's thesis makes it a good story, although the way he tells it -- loaded with ironies such as making the protagonist a major crime boss and the antagonist someone who in other contexts would be the most heroic of heroes -- in the end is less than satisfying. I would not put it on my must-reads. Rather IMHO The Branch is a could read.

[Jeff Crosby · Rating 1 out of 5]

My least favorite Resnick novel.It is even worse than the Velvet Comet novels.

[De Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!
A must read for Zelazny fan.

[Jeff Yoak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really clever, little story!

[Jim Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't get into. Didn't like Resnick's version of 2047 to want to read about it. Never got to the religious stuff which might have made it more interesting - or not.

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahora en navidades, de tanto hablar de Dios siempre me acuerdo de este libro.

Qué pasaría si el mesías verdadero apareciera en un futuro cercano?

De los mejores libros que he leído jamás.

[Augusto Delgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been quite a while. The title is The Branch. Anyways this was a compelling story about that Messiah. Need to re read it.
Hace años, en una de esas incursiones a librerías al sur del trabajo encontré ésta traducción, llamada ''el Germen'' a Jeremías el G. el mesías venido. Merece una relectura.