Review 102: The King, Father & Mother by Eric Rhodes

The King, Father, & Mother
by Eric L. Rhodes
Lulu
Copyright © 2009
$10.99 paperback
$ 3.99 E-Book
164 Pages

The King, Father, and Mother is reminiscent of Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons, not quite as good as the Davinci Code but still a compelling read. In Eric Rhodes’ book, we follow three men, separate in time but connected by an Irish hillside and a mysterious stone. The first is an ancient monk who inscribes the stone. The second is an injured knight who has risen through the ranks of the Hospitallers to lead the hospital ward in Ireland that contains the stone. The third is a modern-day stock broker, buffeted by the crash of the markets who has come to this place to find solace.

Most readers will find their common ground in Jonathon Silvernail, a commodities broker and head of a fledgling hedge fund. He is today, a man who had lost his way in the twists and turns of the stock market. His wife Christina is a yoga instructor, and together they delve deeper than the shallow, modern-day world. When a trade goes disastrously bad, Jonathon and Christina decide to go to Ireland to unwind. While they are there, they begin to trace the roots of mysterious symbols they find on a stone and are drawn into the worlds of the other two men.

The writing in this book is well constructed and moves along briskly. Descriptions such as this move us along with the characters:

Jonathon was up early once again, feeling compelled to go have another look at the ogham stone. It was as if the spirit of the Gnostic monk who carved the stone was calling him. If it was magic it must be incredibly powerful to work after nearly 1600 years, he thought.

From across the ages, the wisdom of Abba Ioannis is recorded on the ogham stone, and Jonathon’s obsession becomes deciphering what he finds there.

While most will find Jonathon to be the most approachable figure, the third man’s story is the most compelling in the book. Ian Sinclair becomes Christian Sinclair as he joins the order of the Hospitallers and is sent to the city of Acre to convert, and ultimately fight, the Muslims as part of the crusades. While he is there, he learns tolerance and, over time, appreciation for the Muslim religion, even finding commonalities in the beliefs and rituals. This tolerance for other religions is unusual during the crusades, but serves him well when he is sent to tend the hospital in Ireland. There he finds the rituals of the Druids and sets about to preserve their artifacts.

I enjoyed most when the book examines how the Christian faith has ‘borrowed’ from the religions is has absorbed. By looking at the world through the eyes of religious men of earlier times, we get to see how it has evolved. It is perhaps appropriate that the turmoil of the stock market requires the modern day character to forego the religion of money and go back to the basics.

In the end, Jonathon does decipher the ‘code’ of the stone and his newfound truth is simple but timeless, something from which all of us could benefit by taking it to heart. The King, Father and Mother would benefit from some rigorous editing and the ending was a bit abrupt, but it was enjoyable romp across the centuries and teaches as it entertains.

Tweet This Post Buzz This Post Delicious Digg This Post Facebook MySpace Reddit Stumble This Post