Bookend Chronicles Reviews The Messiah Matrix

The Messiah Matrix

The Messiah Matrix by Kenneth John Atchity

Upon first viewing the title and cover of The Messiah Matrix by Kenneth John Atchity, my curiosity was certainly piqued. My mind instantly ran to a familiar literary bestseller, The Da Vinci Code. Of course, keeping comfortably to that frame of thought would have been quite an injustice.

As the book commences on a wholly vicious murder of a monsignor, the reader is thrown into the inner litany of Father Ryan McKeown's confusion and profound revelation.

" 'The monsignor said,' he gasped, 'Find Father Ryan... memory in the ashes of Jasius...in the Gesu.' Then the man's eyes closed as he breathed his last and made his way to the eternal gates that Ryan's absolution may or may not have opened for him."

"Not only was he wrestling with the shock of dual murders but Ryan's doubts about his faith now consumed his every waking moment and haunted his nights. It was mind versus spirit..."

Enter Emily Scelba, an archaeologist who joins Father Ryan in his quest for answers. From the death of Monsignor Isaac to the strangely evolving discoveries within the gaping questions about religion and faith, there is a certain aura of  determination in the danger laden journey of the main characters.

"He made his way through the labyrinth of shaded arcades and near-hidden passageways, so intent on his destination that nothing else fazed him."

Atchity has woven a brilliant story meshing the divergent lives of various characters within the fabric of this riveting novel. His careful approach in delineating the complex and, oftentimes, turbulent aspects of human nature are indicative of his immense writing skills.

There is nothing leisurely about this book. From the first sentence to the end of the last page, the reader is filled with an intense need to fill the subsequent divide that appears within the vivid narration of the story. The deft skill utilized in displaying the tangible sense of danger, the need for certain knowledge, and the question of faith, evokes the same emotions within the reader.

Kenneth John Atchity was a professor of literature and classics at Occidental College in Los Angeles 1970-87. He also represented writers of both fiction and non-fiction, accounting for numerous bestsellers and movies he produced for both television and big screen. He has drawn on his expert knowledge of Christian history and his classical training to write The Messiah Matrix.

The Messiah Matrix by Kenneth John Atchity, 2012 ISBN 978-095721-890-1