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The Keeper's Crown
~Quintus~
As a boy, he dared to fight Nero. Worse, he won.
Stripped of his family, the love of his life, and his self-respect, he sets out on a quest to win a victor's crown, rescue his parents, and restore his family's honor. But his path to glory in the restless province of Judaea is threatened by the corrupt governor Felix, the murderous priest Melechi, and most of all by the rabble-rousing Paul of Tarsus.
When Quintus finds himself in Rome chained to Paul all hope of a crown seems lost, but Paul's example makes him question the true meaning of success. And why does Jael, the mysterious young Jewess who once saved his life, now respond with barely restrained flashes of hate?
~Jael~
The Romans took her father and her brother from her.
Now Jael vows to fight for her father's faith, fulfill her brother's oath, and avenge their deaths. But the further she travels with Paul and Quintus the more she feels torn. Can she follow her heart and still keep her vow?
~Paul~
He turned the world upside down.
Paul never expected to end his ministry in chains, but even still, he is determined to carry the gospel to Rome and the Emperor Nero himself. But what if those who need the gospel most are those closest to him?
As the Great Fire strikes Rome, fanning Nero's persecution of the Christians to a white-hot fury, murderous secrets, impossible choices, and steadfast faith will lead to tragedy and triumph.
As a boy, he dared to fight Nero. Worse, he won.
Stripped of his family, the love of his life, and his self-respect, he sets out on a quest to win a victor's crown, rescue his parents, and restore his family's honor. But his path to glory in the restless province of Judaea is threatened by the corrupt governor Felix, the murderous priest Melechi, and most of all by the rabble-rousing Paul of Tarsus.
When Quintus finds himself in Rome chained to Paul all hope of a crown seems lost, but Paul's example makes him question the true meaning of success. And why does Jael, the mysterious young Jewess who once saved his life, now respond with barely restrained flashes of hate?
~Jael~
The Romans took her father and her brother from her.
Now Jael vows to fight for her father's faith, fulfill her brother's oath, and avenge their deaths. But the further she travels with Paul and Quintus the more she feels torn. Can she follow her heart and still keep her vow?
~Paul~
He turned the world upside down.
Paul never expected to end his ministry in chains, but even still, he is determined to carry the gospel to Rome and the Emperor Nero himself. But what if those who need the gospel most are those closest to him?
As the Great Fire strikes Rome, fanning Nero's persecution of the Christians to a white-hot fury, murderous secrets, impossible choices, and steadfast faith will lead to tragedy and triumph.
540 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2018
25 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
About the author
Nathan D. Maki
5 books16 followersI live in Prescott, Ontario, with my beautiful wife Rachel, my rambunctious son Xander, and our two fun-loving but very lazy pugs Pandora and Portia. I graduated with Highest Honors from Ottawa's Carleton University with a double major in Journalism and History. Writing has always been one of my passions and I write in my sparse spare time when not doing pastoral work or managing and operating my own business. I like to say I pastor a church to touch souls, write books to touch hearts, and mow lawns, well, to keep food on the table.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 8, 2018
The story of the biblical, Paul of Tarsus, particularly his final years as a prisoner of Rome waiting to be seen by Nero and the fictional account of the soldier who guarded him, in this case a Roman called Quintus whose family has fallen from favor due to a childhood incident involving a younger Nero and Quintus.
I totally loved this book! It was very well written and engaging. The author certainly did his homework. It's funny too, because I just watched the movie, "Paul, the Apostle of Christ", so it was easy to picture what was going on.
Wonderful story of redemption, courage, and faith in a time when being a Christian was a death sentence. Highly recommended! Keeping this author in my "must read" list.
5 stars and a favorite
I totally loved this book! It was very well written and engaging. The author certainly did his homework. It's funny too, because I just watched the movie, "Paul, the Apostle of Christ", so it was easy to picture what was going on.
Wonderful story of redemption, courage, and faith in a time when being a Christian was a death sentence. Highly recommended! Keeping this author in my "must read" list.
5 stars and a favorite
March 7, 2018
Those who are fans of Francine Rivers “Mark of the Lion” trilogy will enjoy Nate Maki’s immersive “The Keeper’s Crown.” This novel, which is a fictional account of the Roman guard chained to the Apostle Paul, will plunge you into the political and religious intrigue surrounding Paul’s trial and eventual execution. Maki’s novel unfolds like a movie and draws you into the sights, sounds and smells of first century Palestine leaving the reader with the “you were there” experience. 4.5 Stars
June 1, 2018
Paul, Nero, and Roman soldiers don't make up the hero/villain lists of most novels I read. In fact, I wasn't sure I wanted to read The Keeper's Crown at first, but I'm glad I did.
We know a good bit about Paul from the New Testament. Yet it's easy sometimes to see Biblical characters as flat figures -- names and dates in history. The Keeper's Crown takes what we know and gives it flesh and blood. This is fiction, and the author understandably took certain liberties in order to help us imagine what might have been.
However, if you use this novel as a starting point, it just might help your Bible reading come alive as you visualize what was happening. What would Paul's life have truly been like? And if you were the guard chained to him, would you have believed his incredible testimony?
If first-century Rome is not your usual cup of tea, I challenge you to stretch your reading a bit and give The Keeper's Crown a try. (Note: As the main character is a Roman soldier, there is quite a bit of fighting. It is handled with care. While not gory, realistic violence is still included in the story.)
(This review was first published on my blog -- sarahruut.com.)
We know a good bit about Paul from the New Testament. Yet it's easy sometimes to see Biblical characters as flat figures -- names and dates in history. The Keeper's Crown takes what we know and gives it flesh and blood. This is fiction, and the author understandably took certain liberties in order to help us imagine what might have been.
However, if you use this novel as a starting point, it just might help your Bible reading come alive as you visualize what was happening. What would Paul's life have truly been like? And if you were the guard chained to him, would you have believed his incredible testimony?
If first-century Rome is not your usual cup of tea, I challenge you to stretch your reading a bit and give The Keeper's Crown a try. (Note: As the main character is a Roman soldier, there is quite a bit of fighting. It is handled with care. While not gory, realistic violence is still included in the story.)
(This review was first published on my blog -- sarahruut.com.)
April 19, 2018
The Keeper's Crown takes you to the very heart of Paul's ministry. Quintus a young soldier who as a young boy was bulled by Nero fought back and won. But Quintus realizes that besting Nero sends his life in directions he never wanted to travel. His goal is to aquire a victor's crown but becomes the soldier chained to the rabble-rousing Paul of Tarus. Jael, a young Jewish girl, looses both her father and brother killed by the Romans.She wants to avenage their deaths by killing Quintus. Quintus and Jael will face many choices when their lives becomes intwined with Paul of Tarus. This is my first book to read by Nathan but it will not be my last!!!
April 27, 2023
I've had this book on my Kindle for more than 4 years, and I am glad I finally got around to reading it. Took me a while to get into it at first, since Christ fic set in ancient Rome isn't really my thing but I loved this one towards the end, where it reminded me of the movie Paul: Apostle of Christ starring James Faulkner.
This brings in some fascinating historical events, and includes some well-drawn characters. Quintus and Jael were human characters: I was concerned that everything would come to them too easily or quickly and they would just do whatever the plot required but that is not *usually* the case. Jael can be quite spunky: (although at times she’s kind of inexplicably weak as well.)
Quintus developed a lot in the course of the story, especially through some of his adverse experiences. The scope of the novel and the way it followed the fortunes (and misfortunes) of a Roman soldier at a pivotal time in Church History, who had an unfortunate connection with a Roman noble reminded me of Ben Hur.
The only thing I didn’t like was some of the accents by the audiobook narrator. One of the Roman Centurions sounded like Sean Connery: which resulted in me picturing him as Sean Connery in centurion garb every time he spoke. The Jewish characters all had New York/East Coast accents (or something approximating them) which were distinctive but sometimes sounded… just really odd.
It’s an enjoyable read which captures the spirit of the time and the author tried to keep everything historically accurate, and even explained some of his more controversial choices about events or details. Including the religious references.
The only mistake I stopped was the capital of Malta. The capital of Malta is called Valetta today, but it would not have been called that 2000 years ago. It’s been years since I visited Malta, but from what I remember, Valetta is named after a 16th century Hospitaller.
That’s only a minor niggle in a very good book though. I might make a start on some more of the novels set in ancient Rome I have on my Kindle now, starting with Bryan Litfin’s The Conqueror.
This brings in some fascinating historical events, and includes some well-drawn characters. Quintus and Jael were human characters: I was concerned that everything would come to them too easily or quickly and they would just do whatever the plot required but that is not *usually* the case. Jael can be quite spunky: (although at times she’s kind of inexplicably weak as well.)
Quintus developed a lot in the course of the story, especially through some of his adverse experiences. The scope of the novel and the way it followed the fortunes (and misfortunes) of a Roman soldier at a pivotal time in Church History, who had an unfortunate connection with a Roman noble reminded me of Ben Hur.
The only thing I didn’t like was some of the accents by the audiobook narrator. One of the Roman Centurions sounded like Sean Connery: which resulted in me picturing him as Sean Connery in centurion garb every time he spoke. The Jewish characters all had New York/East Coast accents (or something approximating them) which were distinctive but sometimes sounded… just really odd.
It’s an enjoyable read which captures the spirit of the time and the author tried to keep everything historically accurate, and even explained some of his more controversial choices about events or details. Including the religious references.
The only mistake I stopped was the capital of Malta. The capital of Malta is called Valetta today, but it would not have been called that 2000 years ago. It’s been years since I visited Malta, but from what I remember, Valetta is named after a 16th century Hospitaller.
That’s only a minor niggle in a very good book though. I might make a start on some more of the novels set in ancient Rome I have on my Kindle now, starting with Bryan Litfin’s The Conqueror.
April 22, 2018
Life changing? Maybe so. This book reached me on a level that I had not anticipated.
In the story, we meet Quintas, an excitable youth who grows into a reluctant but practiced warrior; he's a man who is determined to reach heroic heights, but life conspires to reduce him to mediocrity and then to despicable depths. Through him, we meet Saul of Tarsus.
Make no mistake, the book is not about Saul or Paul, about his life or his ministry; I would never have picked up such a book.
As a woman, I have long harbored ill-will toward this disciple, if you call him that, this man who urged that all women should remain silent in church. Paul said he wished that all men could remain unhindered and unencumbered by women or marriage. Most of the books in the New Testament that have been attributed to Paul continue to beat the drum of sexism, discrimination and downright mysogeny. I know he was an apostle; chosen and set aside by God, and who am I to judge? Still, I felt that Paul and I would have very little to talk about in the afterlife; he, on one side of heaven, and me on another. I was pretty sure that he didn't want to get into it with me, because if he did, I was determined to set him straight. How dare he color thousands of years of history with his anti-female acidic soundbytes and hateful vitriol!
Still, through this book, The Keeper's Crown, I came to glimpse a part of Paul; the merest sliver of his life, a tiny shadow of his suffering and patience, his humility. It's a book about Quintas, who spent years with Paul, chained. Quintas was both guard and fellow prisoner, an active pawn, a passive defender, and an eventual murderer. In the end it was Quintas who changed my perspective. May I never be the same.
In the story, we meet Quintas, an excitable youth who grows into a reluctant but practiced warrior; he's a man who is determined to reach heroic heights, but life conspires to reduce him to mediocrity and then to despicable depths. Through him, we meet Saul of Tarsus.
Make no mistake, the book is not about Saul or Paul, about his life or his ministry; I would never have picked up such a book.
As a woman, I have long harbored ill-will toward this disciple, if you call him that, this man who urged that all women should remain silent in church. Paul said he wished that all men could remain unhindered and unencumbered by women or marriage. Most of the books in the New Testament that have been attributed to Paul continue to beat the drum of sexism, discrimination and downright mysogeny. I know he was an apostle; chosen and set aside by God, and who am I to judge? Still, I felt that Paul and I would have very little to talk about in the afterlife; he, on one side of heaven, and me on another. I was pretty sure that he didn't want to get into it with me, because if he did, I was determined to set him straight. How dare he color thousands of years of history with his anti-female acidic soundbytes and hateful vitriol!
Still, through this book, The Keeper's Crown, I came to glimpse a part of Paul; the merest sliver of his life, a tiny shadow of his suffering and patience, his humility. It's a book about Quintas, who spent years with Paul, chained. Quintas was both guard and fellow prisoner, an active pawn, a passive defender, and an eventual murderer. In the end it was Quintas who changed my perspective. May I never be the same.
May 26, 2018
I've mentioned a time or two (or maybe a million) that I love a good Biblical novel. This one is close to the top in that category, so I'm giving it 5 stars.
A teeny bit about the book: Quintus's father insists that he learn the art of battle, so he trains--even though he'd much rather be an architect. Nero, the adopted son of Caesar Augustus, bullies him unmercifully, but one day it's Quintus who wins. You'd think that would be great, but it isn't long until Caesar dies, and Nero is now the ruler of the land. He comes after Quintus, but Quintus's father sends him with a message to a friend in Jerusalem, getting him out of danger. However, Nero takes Quintus's family's land in retribution. He's determined to win back their honor and possessions, but he falls from grace in Jerusalem too.
There's a woman he can't get off his mind, Jael, the Jewess who helps him escape the cross her brother put him on. He's on her mind, too, but definitely not the way he wants.
Danger lurks at every turn during this stormy part of the Bible when Paul gains in popularity among the believers. Great research, great writing, great book! Available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
I was given a free copy of this book by the author, but the opinions and evaluations are mine.
A teeny bit about the book: Quintus's father insists that he learn the art of battle, so he trains--even though he'd much rather be an architect. Nero, the adopted son of Caesar Augustus, bullies him unmercifully, but one day it's Quintus who wins. You'd think that would be great, but it isn't long until Caesar dies, and Nero is now the ruler of the land. He comes after Quintus, but Quintus's father sends him with a message to a friend in Jerusalem, getting him out of danger. However, Nero takes Quintus's family's land in retribution. He's determined to win back their honor and possessions, but he falls from grace in Jerusalem too.
There's a woman he can't get off his mind, Jael, the Jewess who helps him escape the cross her brother put him on. He's on her mind, too, but definitely not the way he wants.
Danger lurks at every turn during this stormy part of the Bible when Paul gains in popularity among the believers. Great research, great writing, great book! Available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
I was given a free copy of this book by the author, but the opinions and evaluations are mine.
April 1, 2018
The Keeper’s Crown, by Nathan D. Maki, is a powerful example of engaging storytelling. The ability of the author to draw an audience to a place of rapt attention in just a few sentences is a feat indeed!
The malevolence of Melechi is quite honestly scorching. If you love to hate the bad guy, this character is for you!
Well-polished, The Keeper’s Crown will leave you with highs and lows of emotion, and an inner seeking of what the story means to you, and to your family.
How will the crown be placed? You HAVE to read for yourself!
The malevolence of Melechi is quite honestly scorching. If you love to hate the bad guy, this character is for you!
Well-polished, The Keeper’s Crown will leave you with highs and lows of emotion, and an inner seeking of what the story means to you, and to your family.
How will the crown be placed? You HAVE to read for yourself!
April 12, 2018
4.5 stars
A monumental work of much power. Excellent the whole way.
One of the best parts about this book was that it realistic. The main character suffers one failure after another. Most of them outside his power to avoid. Yet, in the end he discovers true success.
I love too, his portrayal of Paul.
For lovers of historical fiction in the vein of 'Francine River's Voice in the Wind or Tessa Afshar's - Land of Silence.
An excellent book for teenage boys as much more action than romance.
A monumental work of much power. Excellent the whole way.
One of the best parts about this book was that it realistic. The main character suffers one failure after another. Most of them outside his power to avoid. Yet, in the end he discovers true success.
I love too, his portrayal of Paul.
For lovers of historical fiction in the vein of 'Francine River's Voice in the Wind or Tessa Afshar's - Land of Silence.
An excellent book for teenage boys as much more action than romance.
April 25, 2018
The compelling story of Quintus and his journey of ambition and change of perspective, particularly as he's assigned to guard an unusual prisoner--the apostle Paul. A vivid reconstruction of Biblical events, true to history, that really brings the apostle to life as a man. I enjoyed Maki's depiction of events, including the fictional characters he brings to life. A thoughtful read for any lover of the New Testament.
June 6, 2018
Nathan Maki tells a compelling fictionalized account of events leading up to and including the execution of the Apostle Paul. His great storytelling strengths open the pages of the Bible and of history books, uniting the two and bringing both alive. Highly recommended.
May 29, 2018
Excellent book!
This is truly a book that held my interest. I love the apostle Paul and he was well portrayed in this book!!
This is truly a book that held my interest. I love the apostle Paul and he was well portrayed in this book!!
September 6, 2019
Excellent writing. Excellent job weaving in history. I'm looking forward to reading more of his books.
March 19, 2018
This thrilling tale of one Roman’s adventure from aristocracy to the back side of the empire and back again really has it all. History, war, politics, religion, spirituality, love, deceit, and intrigue. Impeccably researched, this tale is difficult to put down and is sure to be a favorite of fans of Roman era historical fiction and the story of early Christianity.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews