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The Second Son
When a young construction worker from the Bronx survives a twenty-four-story fall and then takes part in a series of "miracles" the world thinks the milennium is at hand
374 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
January 29, 2012
I read this book when I was still in highschool. I love it when books make you think about possibilities and your own beliefs. This book left it's mark on me and it became one of my favorite books of all time and after having read a lot of books since highschool, it remains as one of my favorites until now...
November 16, 2011
Read this quite a few years ago, but I can remember thinking it was a stunning book. A modern outlook on the second coming of Christ. Not a religious book, a great story well told
March 23, 2013
I loved the premise. Who is Joseph Turner and what was happening to him? Was it real or all a dream? Joseph was a great hero - strong of heart and mind, generous, open, kind, and non-judgemental. I really wanted to know what would become of him.
But, as much as I liked the premise and first half of the book, I was equally disappointed with the rest. It became so glaringly obvious in its intent that it turned me off. It became very heavy handed and the author’s problem with religion and authority was on display.
I thought the first half was original and fresh and the perfect set-up. I was caught up in the excitement and the questions, but the second half was all over the place. It completely lost its focus with its wide range of politics, hit men, the Catholic Church, healings, betrayals, the message of personal healing. It lost the heart of Joseph’s story, which is what I cared about.
there's more on my blog http://stacybuckeye.wordpress.com/200...
But, as much as I liked the premise and first half of the book, I was equally disappointed with the rest. It became so glaringly obvious in its intent that it turned me off. It became very heavy handed and the author’s problem with religion and authority was on display.
I thought the first half was original and fresh and the perfect set-up. I was caught up in the excitement and the questions, but the second half was all over the place. It completely lost its focus with its wide range of politics, hit men, the Catholic Church, healings, betrayals, the message of personal healing. It lost the heart of Joseph’s story, which is what I cared about.
there's more on my blog http://stacybuckeye.wordpress.com/200...
October 4, 2008
This is a freakin really good book. It really makes you think. I don't know anyone who has read it who has not loved it, you can't put it down. It has not been in print for a long time...the church bought the rights to the book and movie they were making to stop people from reading it...I have heard. If you can find it in a second hand bookstore...snap it up. Very hard to find.
February 16, 2010
While not a religous person, I do find religous fiction often entertaining. Charles Sailor's "Second Son" is well written and thought-provoking. A very good read.
January 7, 2011
It's out of print, but if you can find a copy I LOVE this book. How the world, the Catholic Church, and toy companies would react if God's Second Son really came down among us.
April 4, 2013
I would have to re-read this book to give a detailed review of it, which I may, at some point, do. But for right now, I'll offer an over-reaching opinion of the book in general that has been so strong in the imprint of it that it has remained unchanged from the time I originally read it, as a teenager, to now: This book is profound. It changed me in the reading of it, and is one of the handful of books to which I credit my ignition as a writer.
Many, many books have influenced me over the years, but only a few of them are embedded so deeply into the fabric of my very self that to remove them would be to remove me. This is one of them.
I cannot say, for certain, that this book would have the same effect on me now as it had then, when I originally read it. In fact, I can almost guarantee you that it wouldn't. I am worlds and decades away from the person I was then, and influence -- particularly marrow-deep influence -- is a specific synergy of the person you are as introduced to the catalyst of change that will make of you who you become.
And who I have become, both as a writer and a person, is due in no small measure to the catalyst The Second Son was to me when I originally read it. So what it would be to me now? Is unknown. But what it was to me then will never be forgotten.
Many, many books have influenced me over the years, but only a few of them are embedded so deeply into the fabric of my very self that to remove them would be to remove me. This is one of them.
I cannot say, for certain, that this book would have the same effect on me now as it had then, when I originally read it. In fact, I can almost guarantee you that it wouldn't. I am worlds and decades away from the person I was then, and influence -- particularly marrow-deep influence -- is a specific synergy of the person you are as introduced to the catalyst of change that will make of you who you become.
And who I have become, both as a writer and a person, is due in no small measure to the catalyst The Second Son was to me when I originally read it. So what it would be to me now? Is unknown. But what it was to me then will never be forgotten.
September 24, 2012
I'm pretty sure Joseph Turner is my new crush. But don't worry to all you guys out there; this book will appeal to you too, since it is an action/thriller with tons of suspense that constantly builds. I basically couldn't put it down. The book is an easy and intriguing read, with an interesting premise. There was one night when I only slept for about four hours because I was so glued to the pages. Needless to say, I strongly recommend "The Second Son" to pretty much anyone who looking for an entertaining read by another best selling author.
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April 16, 2008Excellent and beautiful story of man who has to find himself and through quite a few trials discovers that he the second son. Doesn't quite come out and say it, but that he is Jesus coming again. Even though it is fiction, it makes one realize what Jesus might have went through being a man, and finding out who he really was. A really beaufitul story and one of the best books I ever wrote. I lent in to someone and am sorry I never got it back.
June 12, 2009
I read this as a teen when it was first published and found the story very thought provoking then but now it seems even more relevant with how blatantly & efficiently the evangelicals are marketing their propaganda. The strident and deliberate obfuscations they use in presenting their views to promote ingroup solidarity are worse that anything Sailor used in his book.
September 5, 2011
Great story and at one time was going to be made into a movie but its regilious plot points were too controversial.
FYI: I found a great web link (see below) that will tell you all you need to know about this book.
http://www.mondo-video.com/books-that...
FYI: I found a great web link (see below) that will tell you all you need to know about this book.
http://www.mondo-video.com/books-that...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 19, 2011
I fell in love with this novel when it was published! Still memorable today. Wonder if it was ever mafe into a movie. Worth reading even today.
March 27, 2012
A book that stays with you. Makes you think, what would really happen to a person in this situation. It's on Kindle now, so reread and still a very good book.
November 29, 2025
I first read this book back when it came out. It was memorable enough that I remembered it a decade or two ago as something worth rereading and have kept an eye out for it ever since. I just found it over Thanksgiving travels.
The cover flap gives away the basic story, although it’s hardly a spoiler that politicians will try to co-opt him and then destroy him. Joseph Turner is an ironworker; he falls twenty-four stories while saving the life of a coworker, and survives. This is followed by a handful of accidental healings, culminating in a Vatican announcement that he is the Second Son of God.
There is one coincidence in the book with modern times. The last Pope Leo served until 1903. When the kindly and spiritual pope dies in this book he’s replaced with a Pope Leo! Hopefully our Chicago Pope is not a fan of this book. Not because it’s not a good book but because (and this is well-telegraphed) that particular pope is not a role model for spiritual leaders. He’s no different than any of the other politicians in the book.
Sailor writes with short sentences; this may be the first book of that style I encountered, being generally a fan of long-winded science fiction. And there is certainly a sense of the science fiction here. Joseph Turner’s healing ability is treated as much as a power as a gift. So is his invulnerability. This is a thriller more than it is a Christian novel.
Sailor is clearly well-versed in Catholicism. He also does not explain practically any of it. It’s just there. At one point the Vatican has to assure people that this is not a sign of the end times: Turner is not the second coming of Jesus, but a second Son of God.
And there’s really little leeway on that. Sailor has constructed the prophecy to be clearly and unequivocally part of Catholicism. There is no question about that, from the symbolism around Joseph Turner’s life to the specifics of the prophecy itself, given to a long-ago Pope and handed down through the years. Turner did not spring from a generic divine nor a universal deity nor even a pan-christianity. He was foretold by the God of the Catholic Church.
This specificity is oddly never addressed, even by Turner. Admittedly, Turner is frightened of the implications both of his divinity and how it was foretold. But that is not only never resolved, Turner’s own teachings tend to turn people away from it.
And I suspect that Sailor recognized this, because the prophecy includes a way to verify that Turner is real and not an anti-Second Son (a part of the prophecy that was never dealt with; it was there solely to assure us that Turner is real).
Sailor even seems to recognize that Turner’s teaching to people to look within themselves for answers would (as teachers such as Dennis Prager would tell you about that false wisdom) lead to division and even violence. Or maybe he didn’t realize that connection; if there is any disappointment with the book it is that Turner teaches a standard seventies we-are-our-own-divinity universalism.
Despite him being a clear proof of life everlasting, Turner refuses the guidance of the good Pope to look toward it.
There’s also a seventies misunderstanding of what nuclear waste is, though it doesn’t seriously detract from the book—unless, I suspect, you’re an expert in the field. I will only point out that if nuclear waste were as dangerous as it was portrayed in this book, it wouldn’t be waste. It would be fuel.
I have a suspicion that Sailor had plans for a second book to tie up the loose ends, from the anti-Son to the discrepancy between Turner’s origins and his teachings. But that when the motion picture fell through—he apparently tried filming it himself, and then got backing from MGM—he abandoned it.
Leaving us with a wonderful and very thought-provoking thriller that leaves the reader with as many questions as surprising revelations.
The cover flap gives away the basic story, although it’s hardly a spoiler that politicians will try to co-opt him and then destroy him. Joseph Turner is an ironworker; he falls twenty-four stories while saving the life of a coworker, and survives. This is followed by a handful of accidental healings, culminating in a Vatican announcement that he is the Second Son of God.
There is one coincidence in the book with modern times. The last Pope Leo served until 1903. When the kindly and spiritual pope dies in this book he’s replaced with a Pope Leo! Hopefully our Chicago Pope is not a fan of this book. Not because it’s not a good book but because (and this is well-telegraphed) that particular pope is not a role model for spiritual leaders. He’s no different than any of the other politicians in the book.
Sailor writes with short sentences; this may be the first book of that style I encountered, being generally a fan of long-winded science fiction. And there is certainly a sense of the science fiction here. Joseph Turner’s healing ability is treated as much as a power as a gift. So is his invulnerability. This is a thriller more than it is a Christian novel.
Sailor is clearly well-versed in Catholicism. He also does not explain practically any of it. It’s just there. At one point the Vatican has to assure people that this is not a sign of the end times: Turner is not the second coming of Jesus, but a second Son of God.
And there’s really little leeway on that. Sailor has constructed the prophecy to be clearly and unequivocally part of Catholicism. There is no question about that, from the symbolism around Joseph Turner’s life to the specifics of the prophecy itself, given to a long-ago Pope and handed down through the years. Turner did not spring from a generic divine nor a universal deity nor even a pan-christianity. He was foretold by the God of the Catholic Church.
This specificity is oddly never addressed, even by Turner. Admittedly, Turner is frightened of the implications both of his divinity and how it was foretold. But that is not only never resolved, Turner’s own teachings tend to turn people away from it.
And I suspect that Sailor recognized this, because the prophecy includes a way to verify that Turner is real and not an anti-Second Son (a part of the prophecy that was never dealt with; it was there solely to assure us that Turner is real).
Sailor even seems to recognize that Turner’s teaching to people to look within themselves for answers would (as teachers such as Dennis Prager would tell you about that false wisdom) lead to division and even violence. Or maybe he didn’t realize that connection; if there is any disappointment with the book it is that Turner teaches a standard seventies we-are-our-own-divinity universalism.
Despite him being a clear proof of life everlasting, Turner refuses the guidance of the good Pope to look toward it.
“Everything you do here, everything you stand for, is to prepare people for the happiness of their souls in the hereafter, when what they need is for someone to help them find happiness now, while they live.”
It was Pope Alexander’s turn to feel confused… As far as he could tell, this Blessed Ironworker had no theology. It was an alienation of spirit and purpose and understanding of what God’s work among men necessitated.
There’s also a seventies misunderstanding of what nuclear waste is, though it doesn’t seriously detract from the book—unless, I suspect, you’re an expert in the field. I will only point out that if nuclear waste were as dangerous as it was portrayed in this book, it wouldn’t be waste. It would be fuel.
I have a suspicion that Sailor had plans for a second book to tie up the loose ends, from the anti-Son to the discrepancy between Turner’s origins and his teachings. But that when the motion picture fell through—he apparently tried filming it himself, and then got backing from MGM—he abandoned it.
Leaving us with a wonderful and very thought-provoking thriller that leaves the reader with as many questions as surprising revelations.
“Sure, but you know I’m not a gambler, Quince. I never do anything risky.”
March 19, 2023
I read this back in high school and wanted to read it again to see if it stood the test of time. It wasn’t quite as outstanding as I recall thinking it was at the time, but still a pretty good book overall.
December 10, 2020
41 years ago I first read this book. I never forgot it and had to read it again...
I read the first press of this book when it came out in 1979 and I still have it. It was read many times then put aside for almost 40 years, but never forgotten. I started to look for it a few months ago.and couldnt find it. Suddenly, I looked again the other day and there it was, so I knew it was time to re-read it and found it, but looking at it... saving my 41 year old paperback first press for posterity. In truth there are not a lot of books that stick in my mind for 40 years. The foundation trilogy did that. Soldier Ask Not by Gordon Dickinson did that. The Lord of the Rings and The Earthsea Trilogy did it too. But The Second Son is the First book that made modern religion, philosophy, politics, etc., stand out and made me take notice. I made made me think. I made me question dogma. It made me ask why I place my trust in institutions, and urged me to read more and learn... and to that end it was very successful. I read, and read, and read, and never looked back. So thank you Charles Sailor for making a 22 year old in 1979 open his eyes.
I read the first press of this book when it came out in 1979 and I still have it. It was read many times then put aside for almost 40 years, but never forgotten. I started to look for it a few months ago.and couldnt find it. Suddenly, I looked again the other day and there it was, so I knew it was time to re-read it and found it, but looking at it... saving my 41 year old paperback first press for posterity. In truth there are not a lot of books that stick in my mind for 40 years. The foundation trilogy did that. Soldier Ask Not by Gordon Dickinson did that. The Lord of the Rings and The Earthsea Trilogy did it too. But The Second Son is the First book that made modern religion, philosophy, politics, etc., stand out and made me take notice. I made made me think. I made me question dogma. It made me ask why I place my trust in institutions, and urged me to read more and learn... and to that end it was very successful. I read, and read, and read, and never looked back. So thank you Charles Sailor for making a 22 year old in 1979 open his eyes.
November 10, 2018
This book is one of my 'WOW' books! I remember reading is a young teen and the story has stayed with me for all of these years, to the point that when I realised that my copy was missing (after moving countries, towns etc), my hubby track down a copy of it (which he presented to me on my birthday - best gift ever!) - even though it's out of print!
Although it is considered a 'religious' book, it is much more than that. It is a book of endurance, kindness, friendship, a man dealing with the quandary of life and all of his beliefs. Joseph Turner is an ordinary man, who ends up surviving and living an extraordinary life, but not a life he asked for. His needs are simple and yet, once the Catholic Church steps in, everything changes for him.
I won't say anymore, but if you've never read this book, read it - you won't be disappointed!
Although it is considered a 'religious' book, it is much more than that. It is a book of endurance, kindness, friendship, a man dealing with the quandary of life and all of his beliefs. Joseph Turner is an ordinary man, who ends up surviving and living an extraordinary life, but not a life he asked for. His needs are simple and yet, once the Catholic Church steps in, everything changes for him.
I won't say anymore, but if you've never read this book, read it - you won't be disappointed!
May 5, 2019
I never read a book twice. I read 'The Second Son' by Charles Sailor when it was first release in 1979. The book was epic. Over the years the book would pop up in my mind. So I tried to find it again. I'm sure I hit every 2nd hand store from Sudbury Ontario to Vancouver BC and couldn't find it. It was republished in 2011 I think. My daughter bought the book for me as a Christmas gift, and oh what a gift it was. The book is EPIC it holds you from the 1 st line all the way to the last.
I don't want to spoil the plot by giving anything way but it's the story of an ironworkers life after he falls from the 24th floor of high rise they were building to save the life of his best friend.
Thanks Charles Sailor for the reprint. You wrote one amazing book. I hope you see this to know that your work was appreciated and I also hope that this will inspire others to read it.
Cheers
Lynn🇨🇦
I don't want to spoil the plot by giving anything way but it's the story of an ironworkers life after he falls from the 24th floor of high rise they were building to save the life of his best friend.
Thanks Charles Sailor for the reprint. You wrote one amazing book. I hope you see this to know that your work was appreciated and I also hope that this will inspire others to read it.
Cheers
Lynn🇨🇦
March 23, 2015
I loved the first part of this book, Joseph is such a nice guy, down to earth, someone anyone would be honoured to call friend. Then outside interests got involved and turned something innocent and beautiful into something corrupt and evil. I felt disgusted by this turn of events and all enjoyment for the story was lost to me. It seemed like the author had an agenda, and some strong beliefs, and rather than gently encouraging his reader to come to his same conclusions, he tried to ram his point home, pulling out every trick he could think of to accomplish his goal. He took something beautiful and destroyed it.
July 17, 2021
I read this decades ago and still remember it. I had read that the film rights were bought by Stallone and it still hasn't been made. The paperback edition I had read boasted "soon to be a major motion picture" and it was at least 10 years old then. It is about a construction worker who falls from a building and survives causing a phenomena. He ends up being hunted by the Catholic Church among others and the realization that surviving the fall was only the beginning of the problem.
May 27, 2017
I read this book many years ago and loved it. This is the third copy I have purchased because I keep giving them away--and not getting them back. This one holds up very well, starting with the brilliant opening paragraph. Prepare to have your assumptions about God challenged. Well-written and engaging.
July 10, 2017
I read this book just this past week after hearing about it on the Beautiful Writers Podcast. I. Loved. It. This book had so much to say about humanity, spirituality, and faith without being preachy and legalistic. It showed all the ways religion gets it wrong, and how everything points back to love. This is definitely going on my re-read list.
February 1, 2019
I read this book a long time ago, I think it was some kind of Book Club choice.
A warm hearted, good man has miracles happen to him and around him. Turns out he's the man the Vatican has been waiting for to fulfill a prophecy. But Joseph is too hands on for the establishment's liking... at least until his third lease on life is over.
A warm hearted, good man has miracles happen to him and around him. Turns out he's the man the Vatican has been waiting for to fulfill a prophecy. But Joseph is too hands on for the establishment's liking... at least until his third lease on life is over.
July 20, 2014
I read "The Second Son" by Charles Sailor for the first time in 1980. Best book I had read in a while! I was amazed this was only his debut novel, his writing and concept were that good.
By the way,the book has 374 pages in this written edition.
By the way,the book has 374 pages in this written edition.
August 10, 2018
I was intrigued with the premise and skeptical of the delivery.
Found at the city Recycling Ctr. book shack. paperback with some wear, water spots along the top & minor chewing of a corner. Pages yellowed on the 1979 edition.
I ate it up. It's not quite 5 stars but close enough.
Found at the city Recycling Ctr. book shack. paperback with some wear, water spots along the top & minor chewing of a corner. Pages yellowed on the 1979 edition.
I ate it up. It's not quite 5 stars but close enough.
October 12, 2011
One of my favorite Speculative Fiction books to date. An excellent read!
February 9, 2017
Really enjoyed this!! A very interesting interpretation of what the second coming would look like in the modern world.
September 11, 2018
Read this book many years ago but the story has stayed with me. Thought provoking and cleaverly written. Great read.
July 30, 2020
Read in 1980. Dramatic thriller.
July 27, 2021
I really liked this book, it took me longer than I thought it would because I started the book over twice to get all the characters straight. Even in doing that I liked the book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews