A Level Long Enough Review

Thanks to Quiverfull Family and Amy Deardon for giving me the opportunity to read A Lever Long Enough by Amy Deardon.

From the back of the book:

'A small military team travels back in time to film the theft of Jesus' body from the tomb...
The Israeli team, led by Benjamin Feinan, has exactly seventy-two hours to collect the video evidence. Failure threatens the existence of Israel and may cause the world to slip into all-out war.
Drawn into a web of first-century deception and death, the only way to escape is for Benjamin to change the past.
In the present, a traitor attempts to sabotage the mission and seize control of the military complex. Only Benjamin can reveal him, but he is trapped two thousand years away.
Even with a time machine, time is running out...'

The concept of A Lever Long Enough intrigued me and it and it was even more interesting because I actually finished the book on Easter Sunday. It has Christian themes and talks about whether Jesus actually rose from the dead or not and while these things are central to the book they are not exclusive of everything else. The book is part science fiction, part suspense thriller and part historical fiction so it is not just for an audience interested in biblical history or religious doctrine. The characters were interesting and more than one dimensional and though I was upset when Ben was quick to turn so completely on someone he was supposed to care about it was more like I was disappointed in him personally and not that I didn’t think people would really act that way. He wasn’t poorly written, just written so he wasn’t perfect. There are also interesting facts about Jewish culture woven into the book and although there is some explaining of concepts and customs it never interferes with the narrative or bogs down in pedantic prose. The countdown at the beginning of each chapter gives everything a sense of urgency and the short chapters seem to make the action happen faster so the book moves quickly. I wish there had been a little more explanation of some of the things in the present, like how and why the followers were interfering with the peace treaty and more insight on the motivations of the saboteur. I know why you wouldn’t want to put in a complete detailed account of the history behind the story but I found the situation in the present vaguer than I would have liked. But as I kept reading I forgot to worry about it and got caught up in the story. Deardon obviously did some research for this book and lays out for the reader what she has learned and although it is clear what some of the characters believe she never tells the readers what they should believe. The Jews in the book who do not believe in the resurrection are very intolerant of those who do, aggressively so, but that is as close as Deardon comes to saying that the followers are the good guys in the story. It is an entertaining read that will give you something to think about if you are open to the idea but without leaving you feeling like you have been preached at.


If you want to learn more about Amy Deardon you can go to her website or her blog.