You don’t have to be Catholic or Christian to read this book. You don’t even have to be religious. In fact, I might go as far as saying that if you aren’t religious, you may actually come away with a little bit more from Mark Graham’s The Third Day than those of us who do practice one faith or another. Graham has written a beautiful and intricately woven story of two people—one a devout follower, the other one a sceptic—who travel back two thousand years to walk alongside Jesus Christ in his last few years. Before you abandon this novel as “one of those time-travel stories”, give it a chance. Graham had to find some way to get people of our time back to Jesus’, didn’t he? A few chapters in, and you’ll be hooked, wanting to read on to discover whether the faith that Christians around the world today hold close to their hearts is all for nought or if the events on the third day after his death rightfully crown Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, the Messiah.

Story & Pacing: 9
As a Catholic, I know how the story ends … spoiler alert … Jesus died. But knowing this didn’t make me any less interested in journeying back to his time and experiencing his final days through the eyes of Graham’s two main characters. I liked that I knew what was going to happen because it gave me a timeline with which to work. Graham’s pacing is perfect: He devotes the adequate number of pages for each significant event in Jesus’ ministry so that we know enough of what happens according to history without being bogged down by too much of the fiction part of “historical fiction”.

Characters: 9
Mariam and Ford are likeable, trustworthy narrators. Graham’s premise of having one of them a sceptic and the other a follower drives the emotional turns of the story and provides readers with two contrasting views of Jesus’ significance. This decision makes his story well balanced and easily comprehensible to readers who side with one or the other character. The only aspect of the story I am not particularly fond of is Graham’s choice to create tension between Jesus and his mother, Mary. I have only ever read and been taught that the two had a very close, loving relationship, so it was difficult for me to accept this. However, towards the end of the story, I came to understand this choice as another plot-driving vehicle.

Setting: 8
Graham has undoubtedly done his homework. His detailed descriptions of not only the physical landscape but the cultural and traditional backdrops of the first century are breathtaking. It was very easy for me to close my eyes and imagine myself in Nazareth or Capernaum thanks to Graham’s imagery. The only thing that left me wanting was a map of Israel of Jesus’ time and of ours as a means of both visualizing his travels and seeing the modern-day equivalents of the places where he preached.

Style & Writing: 9
Graham’s writing is pretty flawless and easily understood. He divides the story in appropriately titled chapters and sections to make it easy to reflect upon bits of information at a time. Aside from a few minor typos in my copy, I have no complaints about the writing at all. Furthermore, his decision to have the story told through the interspersing points of view of his two characters allows us to glimpse various sides and reactions to Jesus’ teachings, which fleshes out an already compelling plot.

Learnability & Teachability: 9
There is so much information to glean from this novel that I don’t even know where to begin! Students, teachers, and general readers will all find historically accurate details, intriguing fictional conversations, and generally interesting factoids of the first century to regurgitate long after the novel has been thoroughly enjoyed.

POTENTIAL TEACHABLES
Timeline of Jesus; history of Christianity; differences between Christianity/Catholicism and Judaism; geographical locations of Jesus’ travels; first-century life, including clothing, food, housing, business, money; first-century expectations, including traditions, occupations, role of women; Bible verses, especially teachings of Jesus; significant events during Jesus’ travels, including wedding at Cana, wrath at temple, silencing of Sea of Galilee; identifying historical and fictional aspects of novel, especially those surrounding characters; implications of and allusions within Graham’s fantastic conclusion; and so much more! ( )

I win The Third Day as part of the Member Giveaway and loved it!! It is like a mix between Michael Crichton's Timeline and The story of Christ

In third day we see two characters who go back in time to find out the truth behind the story of Jesus Christ

Thomas Ford is a professor who studies dead languages and Mariam is a widow mourning her husband's death Ford is a firm believer in the story of Christ while Mariam does not seem to believe he was anything more than a Man

An archeologist unearths a letter supposedly written by Mariam that says that they would go back in time and see Jesus Christ

The story follows their journey back in time and the experiences that change Mariam into a believer and Ford into a non believer

The storyline is well thought out and the characters are strong The only weak point is that Ford's change from being a believer to a non believer seems a bit too sudden

On the whole a great read!!! ( )

This is such an interesting read and a great concept. Its not too sci-fi to get you all caught up in the science and gadgetry. The time travel aspect is an interesting concept and setting the story and plot in the 1st Century CE during the last days of Jesus life is not very original, but coupled with the science fiction, it is a very engaging read. For those who are well versed in the New Testament, this will be a simple enough story to follow as the story chronicles the Gospels. Perhaps those who are very well versed will find some flaws but the paraphrasing of the messages is quite accurate. It is not insulting, belittling or blasphemous.

This intriguing tale involves Thomas Ford, faithful Aramaic language professor, and Mariam Roberts, once Muslim, but now unbelieving with the recent death of her husband. They each receive a call about an unusual archeological find -- a 2000 year old piece of parchment, but written in English and in Mariam's hand, describing how she and Thomas had been transported back to the time of Christ. Mariam promises to write about what actually happened in another letter, not yet discovered. Soon, Thomas and Mariam are preparing to go back to the land and time of Jesus' last year and death.

For me, the most interesting dynamic was the tension and interplay between a person of faith and a non-believer. In this, I'm reminded of G.K. Chesterton's "The Ball and the Cross" about an atheist and believer traversing Great Britain, searching for a location to 'battle it out,' yet finding conversation and respect along the way. In "The Third Day" Thomas and Mariam both must come to grips with their preconceived notions as they join Jesus' followers and journey to Jerusalem. I won't give away the ending, but it kept me drawn in to the last page.

I thought Graham rather brave for taking on this book. Given the diversity of Christian beliefs, there is the danger that some will object that he didn't tell it 'their way.' There are critics and fans of Charlton Heston and "The Ten Commandments" and Mel Gibson's "The Passion of Christ.". I was not offended and found Graham very respectful. (I found it interesting that he gives thanks to a Lutheran congregation in his acknowledgements.) At the same time, he also is good at presenting the atheistic/agnostic perspective.

Over a lifetime in a mainstream Protestant church, I've read and listened to the words of the Bible and tried to imagine what it would be like to have been a participant. "The Third Day" allows just that. Graham's characters give us that 'you-are-there' frisson -- Thomas and Mariam do not leave behind their modern sensibilities as they encounter the sounds, smells, tastes and sensibilities of that era.

I am not usually a fan of science fiction and/or time travel novels but this book is an exception. Graham doesn't get bogged down in the mechanics which is just as well. The driving force of the narrative is that the couple gets there, not how it happens.

This is a fresh and enjoyable look at what for many is familiar ground. I will be happy to recommend to my friends. ( )

Another book I got from the Member Give-aways. Thanks for that, Mark Graham.

Unfortunately, it's another book I finished for two reasons only: a) I always finish a book. b) I felt a moral obligation to do so.

The problem with "The Third Day" is that it tries to do/show a lot of things in parallel and doesn't succeed in any. Take two people dissatisfied with their lives; a depressed agnostic widow and a faithful scholar. Their lives basically change over night due to a spectacular discovery; building the story up from this, describing the protagonists *before* their, let's say, departure, is where the author succeeds - it's believable and interesting.

*** WARNING *** Spoilers ahead *** WARNING ***

From that point on, though, things spiral down: The widow and the scholar basically exchange their roles and beliefs; while the former turns into a fervent believer, the latter becomes a fanatic closet-opponent. Even if we simply accept this process (which at least in the scholar's case is not really believable at all), the means this is achieved by are ridiculously annoying - enter a time traveller. A well-known antagonist, disguised as a time-travelling scientist, tempts both our "heroes" and succeeds in one case and partly in the other.
While I do understand the author's motivation and the idea, the implementation is tiresome and doesn't really fit with the characters as sketched out up to the respective point in the story.

*** No important spoilers from this point on ***

Most of the remainder of the book is basically a rather naive re-narration of the New Testament (NT) - with a strong artistic licence in some parts. This is what annoyed me the most - I've read the Bible, thank you very much, and I really don't need to re-read the NT in the words of some novelist and with a strong focus on the more "spectacular" parts, skipping the more seemingly "boring" but important parts - and, in the process, spending a lot of time telling the reader where Jesus and his disciples are going.

If you want to write some kind of religious novel, please have the decency to choose religiously important parts and expand on those.
If you just want to write an interesting historical novel, please don't mostly re-narrate but boldly take more liberties and write what *you* think is important.

If you, dear reader, want to read a very interesting albeit controversial religious novel, give "The Shack" by William P. Young a try. Much more ambitious than this one - but Young actually pulls it off while Graham bit off way too much. ( )