Eleventh Guest

A.D. Chronicles #11

by Bodie Thoene, Brock Thoene

The lepers in the Valley of Mak’ob hear rumors that a miracle worker is walking the earth. Ten are chosen to search for him, knowing that outside the Valley lies almost certain death. Could this healer be the Messiah they long for? And will they find him in time? You will be touched by the stories of these broken, weary travelers searching for the Messiah.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Christian, Biblical Fiction, Inspirational, Religion

304 pages, Paperback

First published June 26, 2009

About the author

BODIE AND BROCK THOENE (pronounced Tay-nee) have written over 45 works of historical fiction. These best sellers have sold more than 10 million copies and won eight ECPA Gold Medallion Awards.

Bodie began her writing career as a teen journalist for her local newspaper. Eventually her byline appeared in prestigious periodicals such as U.S. News and World Report, The American West, and The Saturday Evening Post. She also worked for John Wayne’s Batjac Productions (she’s best known as author of The Fall Guy) and ABC Circle Films as a writer and researcher. John Wayne described her as “a writer with talent that captures the people and the times!” She has degrees in journalism and communications.

Bodie and Brock have four grown children—Rachel, Jake Thoene, Luke Thoene, and Ellie—and five grandchildren. Their sons, Jake and Luke, are carrying on the Thoene family talent as the next generation of writers, and Luke produces the Thoene audiobooks.

Bodie and Brock divide their time between London and Nevada.

Reviews

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten of the lepers of the Valley of the Lepers decide to leave in to search for Yeshua. As they travel they share their stories of the previous lives. It is a difficult journey as they search for the Messiah. They travel from town to town but He is nowhere to be found. When all hope is lost an Angel of Mercy brings them to the Healer.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about this book after finishing #10 in the series. That one was pretty disappointing for me; enough to make me think about not finishing the series (as of this review, I have not read #7-9, yet, or #12). When I read this was about the ten lepers who left the Valley, that nearly turned me away even further. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book and how some of the stories impacted me as strongly as they did. It's mostly new characters with some "cameos" of characters from prior books, so the character development is pretty good overall (not all of the "ten" get their stories told which seems a bit of a shame in some respects). It's a lot of walking and a lot of talking intermixed with a lot of sitting, so it's not like much "action" takes place.

Not that it matters, but I kept wondering who the couple was that was pictured on the cover. I have a pretty good idea of who the couple is, now, but it still really does not matter in terms of the book itself.

I did have a couple of "issues" with it. The first "issues" would be that it again starts in the "modern day" before "jumping back in time," but then the book just ends and never "finishes" what started in the "present-day." That was mildly annoying and tells me the "prologue" (or whatever you want to call it) might not really have been that necessary. It does have some beautiful discussions about images, imagery, and meaning inside a church that is about to be closed and sold, but I cannot quite decide how much of these descriptions are created for the story and how much are "real life." I have been able to find some pictures online, and the interior of this former church does look stunning. I realize the two men given the four stories are going to Jerusalem, but it would still have been nice to have some kind of closure for "their" part of the overall narrative.

The one thing that annoyed me the most about this book was the lack of "closure" at the end. It feels like the book just . . . ends. The ten lepers are healed and that is it. Not that their being healed is not enough, but book #10 also just ended with zero satisfying conclusion to that story. I would have loved to have read about Fisherman being reunited with his beloved children (even if his wife still did not love him; the scene where two of the sons discussing the stranger walking away possibly being their father was hard to read). I would also have loved to have read about Jesse being reunited with his brother Obed and Obed's wife and daughter after being healed. Or the father who joined the leper colony to be there with and for his son, their rejoining the family they had to leave behind. Even the Cabbage Sisters; I would have loved to have read their reunion with their family. I just . . . it was like the story's not over; the "most important part" after the healing (and thanking Yeshua) still has not taken place. They really needed to end the story.

I did love the character development over the course of the story. Each "main story" is heart-breaking in parts. It has some wonderful moments. There is also quite a bit of pain in the book as those who remained behind have to figure out how to live with the loss of a family member who is not truly dead (as far as they know) but has become dead to them because of leprosy. The author did a great job creating the characters, maintaining their individuality, and keeping them interesting and unique throughout the book.

This book also had more "spiritual discussions" in it that were enlightening in terms of Scripture and images when compared to the previous book and I enjoyed that as well. I found myself missing these discussions in volume #10, so it was good to "have them back" (even if not necessarily in as much detail as the first six books). As I am thinking about it, there were probably more "spiritual explanations" and "illustrations" in terms of some of the various plants/vegetation/crops that were discussed throughout the book, which was pretty cool. I should have realized by now that "everything" symbolizes "something" for the Jews (and not just the Jews in terms of "real life," but since this series focuses on the Jews, there you go).

In terms of "cameos" in the stories, I loved Obed's encounter with Zadok, the Chief Shepherd of Bethlehem/Jerusalem region. Obed was purchasing one of Zadok's pups from a new litter because he was going to branch out his family's farm and needed help taking care of the herd of goats after Jesse left the family farm behind him. Peniel also makes an appearance, briefly, which was cool.

I also "loved" the story of Yeshua overturning the tables in the temple and chasing out the moneychangers. I feel like what is described is truer true to "what really happened" than how it is sometimes presented. I find it hard to believe that Yeshua would have had a whip in His hand if He did not intend to use it. It was probably one of the "better moments" in the book for me. I also enjoyed the life of "The Fisherman" as was told in the book, as heart-breaking as it was when he had to leave his family behind.


This book was a bit of "fresh air" for me 'cuz I was really worried about how it might be after the disappointment of the prior book. It was fun; it was heart-warming and heart-breaking. The love some of these characters showed each other was strong and inspiring at times, and some of the characters were saints because of how poorly they were treated either by wives, husbands, or parents. I am glad I took a chance and read this book, especially because I was surprised and not disappointed by the time I finished the end.

For any who are interested, this website has some pictures of the artwork still in the former church: https://londonchurchbuildings.com/201...

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really not looking forward to this book because the series was getting good momentum and I thought this one would just slow me down. Which it did. In a good way. I loved getting a fictional imagining of the people's lives Jesus touched. We read those stories in the gospels where people were healed and that's exciting, but it doesn't give you a way to imagine into how that impacted their lives afterward. Or how their need for healing impacted their lives. This makes me read the scriptures with just a little more emotional connection to the people Jesus touched. And makes me gag much more driven to bring His kingdom here!

[Rachael Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

"No one will ever accuse Bodie Thoene of running out of ideas - but she seems to have lost her spark somehow. I was hoping this book would continue the story of Lono and Daniel, but it didn't. Instead, it picked up the story of the minyan of lepers who leave the Valley of Macob to seek Yeshua. As they travel, four of the ten tell their stories. Consequently the book is divided into quarters - each devoted to one person's story of how they became a leper. But we have already seen them in their travels several times in previous books, so the sotry line is repetitious and the healing by Jesus takes up less than a page. It doesn't reveal anything of how their family and relational woes are healed. And there is no mention of the one who turned back to give thanks - but was a Samaritan!
Her writing style remains strong and her stories unique - but this book lacks the final climax that makes her writing so wonderful. Rather disappointing."

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ten lepers -- four men, two women, and four boys who have not yet passed their Bar Mitzvah -- leave the Valley of Mak'ob on a quest to find the Healer, Yeshua the Messiah. Along the way, some of the members of the minyan share their stories of life before leprosy: their hopes, their dreams, their families -- all of the things that they lost when the dread disease turned them into the equivalent of the Walking Dead. They discover that Yeshua has already been to the Valley and healed all the lepers who remained there; now they wonder if they will ever find Him and be healed themselves, or if they will be the last remaining lepers in Judea ...

[Wendy Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series

In every series, whether movie trilogies or books,
there is one portion that takes a little more effort to read, but is needed to move the story forward. A more curious person than I am may have wondered about the stories of the lepers of Ma'Kob, and therefore appreciated reading their backstories. After a few, I fast-forwarded. But I am eagerly looking forward to the rest of the story.

[Mary Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book #11...Another great story of Yeshua’s love!

I loved the blending of each character’s story as the 10 leper’s walked many miles in ancient Israel, hoping to find Yeshua. They had courage & great faith during their search. A beautifully told weaving of stories of pain, great hurt, love yet rejection.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book of different stories with a main theme and characters tying it all together. This book takes the reader into different situations that could have occurred during Jesus' time. It gives the reader a glimpse into the life and times of that era. While there is some strife, the stories are redeeming.

[Jan Curry · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good

I have read each one of this series, yes one through eleven, and can say this was the best. I will begin the last one, number twelve tonight, but can't imagine it having better structure of story!

[Ann Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume was better than the last few. I'm sad there's only one left to read. I enjoy the way the characters in these books have become friends that reappear from different perspectives. This is good story telling.

[Theresa Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fictional account of the Ten Lepers who went looking for Christ/Yeshua. The Eleventh Guest, as the authors say, is Christ. He came to identify with their, and everyone's, suffering.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book fulfills the 2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge for a book by two authors.

[JL Salty · Rating 5 out of 5]

no offensive content: Xn historical fiction

[Julia Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another exceptional book that exemplifies the mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

[Patti R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so inspired and challenged by these incredible novels written about the life, work and time of Jesus.

[Grace Fabian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished the last two as soon as I could get my hands on them. Great writing.

[Becky Keeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This A.D. Chronicles book imagines the back stories of the ten lepers who are healed by Jesus. It is really a series of separate stories that each leper tells around the dinner fire on the journey to find Jesus. I just got attached to one character's story, and then it was on to another story. The author makes no mention of the rest of the story of the 10 lepers in the New Testament where Jesus tells them to go see the priest to get a "clean bill of health" and only one return to give thanks. I thought this was kind of weird because the author uses many scriptures. Upon reflection, everyone who is "healed" by Jesus in these books become "believers" so it seems an important part of this story wasn't covered. It is very human to focus on ourselves and forget to be grateful for "miracles" in our lives. Maybe these 10 lepers were another set of 10 lepers?

[Todd Coburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entire AD Chronicles series, starting with book 1, is some of the best writing I've encountered, both in the spiritual and secular realms. Bodie's insights into Scripture are consistently deep, often deeper than what I have seen from many pastors and teachers of God's Word. The fictional details that she creates to flesh out the details of the story not recorded in Scripture seem insightful and accurate to a surprising degree. I highly recommend this book and series as the pinnacle of Bodie and Brock's work, which has all been superb in my opinion. Each book of the series (I've read 1-12) is well written and hard to set down. There is romance, passion, action, and fun. At the same time one can learn Biblical truth and insight, without even being aware of it most of the time. Enjoy.

[Meadow Frisbie]

All ten Lepers from Mak'ob have ventured out to find the Messiah to heal them and thier people. Along the way, they share their life stories And stories of other that have been sricken with Lepresy.

I loved this book. The first few chapters were not that well written, but then the whe story took shape and it was Amazing. All of the stories were unique and heart wrenching. I just can't wait for the next book to come out.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book changes up the format, and is rather different than the first ten in the series.

I say: If it's not broke...don't fix it!

While still great for what it is, this is below par not only for this series, but for these authors in general. If they felt the series was getting tired, they should have pulled the plug on it and started another one.

This is the kind of moment in a series known as jumping the shark.

[Bradley Mcguffey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not quite to the quality of some of the earlier books in the series, but still very good. Also, some of the mini-stories were so good that I had hoped that would have just been the whole book, but the stories all seemed to end slightly lacking in a finish. This could have been a series of short stories and it might not have been as frustrating.

[Mdbeltrano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect example of "don't judge a book by its cover" I have an idea who the couple on the front is but the story isn't a love story at all, nor is it about a couple. Good story about 10 lepers who leave the valley where they have been exiled in search of Jesus in hopes of healing for them all. Ending is abrupt, but otherwise a pleasant read.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 11th book of the A.D. Chronicles did not fail to please. I have enjoyed this series more with each book. This one deals with the miracle of the ten lepers, telling each one's story separately as they search for the man they heard could heal them. It gave me a new appreciation for just how life ending a diagnosis of leprosy was in those days.

[Monica Emtman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story goes back to the ten lepers that left the Valley of MaKob in the second book. The authors interwieve the characters' backstories in with the present story making for an interesting read about what the lives of the ten lepers, whom Jesus healed, could have been like.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read as a novel set in the time period of Jesus, but not much more than that. Again, not the deep, educational while being enjoyable book I had hoped for, unlike the first several books, which were fantastic and worth reading several times.

[Melissa Yael Winston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series seems to have lost its steam, what with the changing timelines and characters, but the book itself was sad and good nonetheless.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very atypical for this series, but a very sweet story.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best series ever!!

[Deon Engelbrecht]

Great book once again

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say - it was great. Love the authenticity and the storylines in the Thoenes' books. Interesting accounts of the lepers' lives - something I'd not considered in much detail before now.