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Published February 5th 2013 by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster

Iscariot

by

Tosca Lee

To be familiar with the story of Judas Iscariot is to assume that the Judas who betrayed Jesus Christ for thirty pieces of silver is the true mark of the man. However, in Iscariot, Tosca Lee has taken the fragments of the biblical story and has formed a credible and enlightening account of Judas’s life, which is rich in historical atmosphere and strong on culpability. The historical narrative is quite compelling with strong emphasis on the early life of Judas, and his quest to find answers for a particularly tragic set of circumstances. In attaching himself to Jesus, the Nazarene, Judas hopes he will find the salvation he so desperately seeks.

The story works well on several levels. As a straightforward historical novel, the writing is strong and captures perfectly the atmosphere of living in the oppressive shadow of Roman occupation. The detailed imagery as the story unfolds is instructive without getting too caught up with religious fervour and the humanising of biblical characters adds credence to the story.

Overall, I thought that the book was really good read with a strong and impressive story line.

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an e-copy of this book.