5 out of 5 stars
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Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful. I'm certain that man has never worshiped anything other than himself as I learn more about different religions. Prayer does not change God; however, it does change the person who prays. Because every religious sect asserts to hold the same fundamental beliefs about what it means to actually have a connection to God, this eliminates the possibility of different ways for other religious sects to worship God.
The Travels of Ibn Thomas by James Hutson-Wiley is historical fiction that centers around the life of Ibn Thomas, a half-Christian and half-Muslim man who felt puzzled by his mixed religious background and felt the need to discover his connection to a supreme being by his own conviction. Ibn Thomas was born in a time of religious conflict where the Christians, Jews, Muslims, Greeks, and Turks were in constant conflict and plotting to destroy each other. This puzzled Thomas to a great extent, and he decided to seek answers and unravel the mystery behind his father's mission to the Holy City of Jerusalem. As time progressed, Thomas was placed under the guardianship of the church for his safety but found himself in great danger. What secrets lie behind the walls of Jerusalem? Did Thomas succeed in his quest? Find out from the book.
I was engrossed as I read Thomas and his Journey to Jerusalem. This book is historical fiction with excellent plot twists that will keep the reader anticipating the next event. I love the fact that the protagonist, Thomas, was an independent thinker who wasn't influenced by the religious conflict that surrounded him. Although at some point he had to be deceitful to save his life, he decided to speak out in truth and honesty in the face of possible death, which showed the character of a truthful man. The author of this book skillfully interweaves suspense, action, and adventure together. I enjoyed the writing style because each page connected you to the next, making it difficult to put the book down.
My favorite character is Thomas because he never allows the challenges around him to cloud his vision. He was determined to carry out his quest. I learn a lot of lessons from this book, one of which is the determination to focus on my dream, not minding the challenges surrounding my existence. Also, another thing I enjoyed in this book was the character development. The author gave the characters unique voices.
There is nothing I dislike in this book. Each chapter has a lot of lessons. I was not expecting much from the book, but as I followed the story, I was glued to it. I want to thank the author for making this book available for readers to learn from. Also, I want to thank the editor because I didn't notice any mistakes in the book, which indicates that the book is exceptionally edited. I rate this book five out of five stars because it has expanded my understanding of how to handle the challenges of life. I recommend this book to everyone, especially fans of historical fiction.
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The Travels of ibn Thomas
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