Book Review: In His Image

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

In His Image     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
James BeauSeigneur
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Science Fiction   Thriller   Religious Fiction
Series: Christ Clone Trilogy # 1
Warner, Feb 2003, $18.95, 416 pp.

In 1978 a group of American scientists conducted tests on the Shroud of Turin to determine its authenticity and (in terms of age among other analysis) whether the icon could have been the burial cloth of Christ. Ten years later, one member of the team, Dr. Harry Goodman, using advanced technology, reexamines some of the samples he still has from the shroud. He informs a Shroud teammate, reporter Decker Hawthorne of an incredible find that will shake the world once he proves his theory about Christ.

Harry has discovered live body cells attached to the Shroud that are not of this earth. These cells seem invincible surviving two millennium without harm. Harry believes these cells could cure humanity of many diseases. However, a pandemic plague decimates much of the world including Harry leaving Decker to raise Harry’s "nephew" Christopher, cloned from the non-human Shroud of Turin cells.

The first book in James Beauseigneur "The Christ Clone" trilogy is a tremendous allegorical thriller that uses real events, biblical references and predictions, and modern science and technology to provide readers with a superb novel that asks numerous questions. The story line occurs over five decades, but never misses a beat even when chapters transition in time. The use of footnotes adds a feel of realism, making the plot even more haunting. The omen for this tremendous thriller is that the apocalypse crowd will treasure this Second Coming from a test tube and like this reviewer will not want to be left behind seeking the other two novels.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner