A review of THE LAST GOSPEL by DAVID GIBBINS, the international bestselling author of ATLANTIS.
The wind is easing, and it has just started to snow. That’s the Blue Mountains for you! After a few days of almost spring-like weather, winter is telling us it’s far from over. No matter, this is an excellent time for a fireside chat about books. There’s nothing quite like the crackling of flames, glowing embers and the wonderful smoky smell of burning logs to provide a cosy welcome to our inaugural Good-Read-Hunting session.
So, pull up a chair right here next to me by the fire, and let me tell you about the day I discovered David Gibbins.
I remember, it was in Istanbul about 18 months ago. We had just completed an archaeological tour of eastern Turkey, and I was standing in front of one of my favourite buildings in the world;
Hagia Sophia, “the church of holy wisdom.” This stupendous building was designed as an earthly mirror of the heavens, and looking up at its massive dome and elegant, lofty minarets, this 1,400 year old architectural masterpiece certainly imparted celestial awe.
Unfortunately, if you want to get inside Hagia Sophia, you can’t avoid queues and waiting. As I hate both, I tried to keep busy. I reached into my backpack and pulled out a book I had bought at the airport in Abu Dhabi; The Last Gospel, by David Gibbins.
About the author …
“What do you get if you cross Indiana Jones with Dan Brown? Answer: David Gibbins.” DAILY MIRROR.
David Gibbins is a Canadian-born underwater archaeologist. His first novel, Atlantis, published in 2005, has been translated into 30 languages, and was made into a TV miniseries.
About the book …
About the book …I turned to the back cover and began to read:
“History is full of secrets. Secrets that have remained hidden for thousands of years. And we have no idea what many of them are. We know they’re there, under the ground, at the bottom of the ocean, hidden away, just waiting for someone to unlock them.
Enter Jack Howard, one of the greatest archaeologists of his day, and his friends, all of whom have devoted their lives to this cause, often at great personal loss. Jack is a man who never stops believing,
never stops believing, never gives up hope that out there might be the next big discovery. But when he and his best friend Costas are interrupted during a dive off the coast of Sicily that might possibly reveal the final journey of St Paul, Jack has no idea what lies in store…”
Not bad, I thought, this is exactly the kind of book I like to read. Intrigued, I continued.
“Their journey takes them to one of the great lost libraries of antiquity, destroyed by the eruption of Pompeii, into the heart of ancient Rome and the holiest sites of Jerusalem. Their quest? So earth-shattering that there are men who would kill anyone and anything in their path to conceal this secret…the secret of the origins of Christianity itself, and of … The Last Gospel.”
I read the book on the long flight home to Sydney the next day; I wasn’t disappointed. It is a well-researched and exciting read I can highly recommend to readers of this genre.
Since reading The Last Gospel, I have read 3 more books by David Gibbins, namely:
Crusader Gold. 2006, London: Headline and New York: Bantam Dell.
The Tiger Warrior. 2009, London: Headline and New York: Bantam Dell.
And his most recent book released this year; Pharaoh.
Sitting back in my comfortable chair by the fire, I look outside. A light dusting of snow has transformed the garden and turned it into a winter wonderland.
Happy Reading!
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