The End of the Magi

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The End of the Magi
Patrick W. Carr
Bethany House Publishers

Following his vision of the coming Messiah, the prophet Daniel creates a select group of men who will count down the calendar to the arrival of Israel’s promised king. Centuries later, as the day nears, Myrad, a young magi acolyte, flees for his life when his adoptive father and others are put to death by a ruthless Parthian queen.

Having grabbed only a few possessions, Myrad escapes the city, and searching for a way to hide from the soldiers scouring the trade routes, he tries to join the caravan of the merchant Walagash. The merchant senses that Myrad is hiding secrets, but when the young man proves himself a valuable traveler, an epic journey filled with peril, close escapes, and dangerous battles begins.

With every day that passes, the calendar creeps closer to the coming Messiah. And over everything shines the dream of a star that Myrad can’t forget and the promise that the world will never be the same.

I'm familiar with some of Patrick W. Carr's fantasy novels, so I was intrigued when I saw that his newest book would be Biblical fiction. From the start, The End of the Magi reminded me a lot of vintage-style boy's novels--you know, the type where the hero finds himself falling out of one adventure into another? If you've read any G.A. Henty, then you'll get what I'm talking about. After the opening prologue, we're thrown right into the action as Myrad narrowly escapes death and begins his journey, all while attempting to keep the calendar that supposedly foretells the Messiah's birth.

Personally, I did find it hard to connect with this book, especially as it encompassed a rather long time frame. There were many places where I felt some story opportunities sort of got shortchanged (for instance, there was a really intriguing and interesting set up for conflict/character development between Myrad and his love interest that just got smoothed over). Even things I thought would get more time spent on --such as the actual meeting of the Christ-child--ended up not being a large part of the book at all.

Though this book didn't hit all of the emotional notes I was hoping for, it does have some great action-packed scenes and despite the title, actually isn't very Christmas-y at all (I'd even say more time is spent on Holy Week, making it more of an Easter read, if anything!) so you wouldn't feel out of place reading it at any time of the year.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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