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Mar 03, 2010

Rachel rated it:

The Expected One explores the long untold story of Mary Magdalene. It follows a journalist as she begins to investigate that much maligned woman following a series of visions that she believes are guiding her towards something--and finds out much more than she had anticipated, including her own role in the story that, after 2,000 years, is still being played out.

The story told in this book is an interesting one, although the writing wasn't the greatest. (Nor, however, is it the worst More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Aug 16, 2007

Deborah rated it:

Worthless. Okay that's a bit harsh, but this was the only thing I had to read while waiting to be called for jury duty. So, this novel, very loosely based on the real experiences of the author, is about that elusive (or not so elusive) bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. A historian, Marilyn Paschal, find herself having incredible realistic dreams and visions of Mary Magdalene's life, and after finding a ring in the Holy Land, Paschal gets pulled into a web of conspiracies between competing M More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jun 26, 2008

Gail rated it:

Some of the book caught my interest, but then there was too much "filler" and I got bored. It took me months to finish this book and I read probably 20 others in the meantime. It started to get pretty good toward the end. Then I realized that the author actually believed this stuff and is rather strange. It's a good premise for a fiction "what if" but loses its luster when it becomes fanaticism.

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Mar 24, 2008

Daniel rated it:

Another Mary Magdalane story - a cheap imitation of the DaVinci Code. Do your self a favor and read something else.

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 05, 2007

Kaylee rated it:

I found myself completely fascinated by the premise of this book. I wouldn't call myself religious by any stretch of the word, but I did grow up in a Lutheran family. One of the things I remember about all those Sunday School mornings and sermons was the overwhelming propagation of the idea of Mary Magdalene being a prostitute [I specifically remember a whole hour of Sunday School dedicated to teaching us the difference between the Biblical Mary's].

This book makes the whole story m More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2007

Alison rated it:

This book would have been an exciting read similar to The DaVinci Code, except that the author has actually convinced herself that SHE is the main character...a descendant of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The parallels between herself (if you read about her on the jacket) and the main character distract from the plot, and eventually just grate on your nerves. In short, this woman is nuts.

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2008

أروى rated it:

كلما أردت أن أكتب عن هذا الكتاب توقفت..ولم أعرف من أين أبدأ
..!
قررت أن أبدأ بقول الكاتبة التي أوردته في آخر فصل من الكتاب
:تقول الكاتبة

"إني، منذ عهد بعيد ، مسكونة بهاجس رواية الحكايات العظيمة التي لم يسردها أحد وكشف طبقات التجربة الإنسانية المطمورة بصمت،وعن عمد أحياناً لإعتبارات أكاديمية، وكما تذكرنا بطلة الرواية مورين"ليس التاريخ ما حدث فعلاً، التاريه هو ما دوّن". فما نعرفه ونقبل به كوقائع تاريخية يكون غالباً من وضع مؤلف ذي غايات سياسية . وقد حولني هذ More...

9 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 02, 2008

Lori rated it:

The Expected One challenges what we think we know of the life and times of Jesus Christ & Mary Magdalene, in a modern conspiratorial form, but lacking the false sense of mystery and overwrought crypticism of such tales as the Davinci Code. It has excerpts from the Gospel of Mary Magdalene and really gives a loving and honored sense of the day to day rituals and life of biblical times. It also recounts several people and tales from the Bible that never sat right with me as a child, and having rea More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Mar 18, 2009

Jachin rated it:

This book was as powerful as The Da Vinci Code and much more exciting. Kathleen takes her readers into a whole new world that merges faith, history and lessons we can all learn from our lives and the lives of our ancestors. I HIGHLY reccomend this book... and can't wait to read Kathleen's next project "The Book of Love".

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 24, 2007

Erica rated it:

I continue to be fascinated by the cult of Mary as it existed in the early church thru to the present. How overjoyed am I that there is another cult of Mary (the "other" Mary--Mary Magdalene) that exists parallel to the church! The book obviously begs the comparison to the Da Vinci Code and other books of that ilk. But this "novel" goes beyond the present day investigations of the author to visit the fictionalized historical characters, explore their documented lives, and More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

May 13, 2009

Tim added it

Pop culture may attribute it to Dan Brown. But fascination with Mary Magdalene is centuries old. That said, were it not for Brown s bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, Kathleen McGowan s The Expected One likely would not have had the draw to hit bestseller lists. Of course, McGowan s back story on the novel and the press it received didn t hurt.[return][return]Simply summarized, McGowan claims to be a descendant of Mary Magdalene. The Expected One is, according to her, based on her life and e More...

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Jul 06, 2011

Juliana rated it:

I'm intrigued. This book is written as a fictional discovery of an alternate history of Mary Magdalene, switching back and forth between Biblical times and the present. The parts depicting the past were better written than the parts depicting the present, and I found myself annoyed at the overuse of words like "overwhelmed" to describe the protagonist. I'd rather see a more artful way of describing a character so that the reader can decide what's going on. As it was, I didn't get very More...

0 comments like

May 12, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

This was a very interesting read if you love fiction about Jesus and Mary Magdeline. You could tell that the author spent 20 years working on the book. It was well written and well researched. She really seemed to know her stuff. My mom LOVED this book and read the other 2 books that came after. I was in school and after waiting and waiting for the second book to come out (I had read an advance copy), I completely forgot what happened and felt that I needed to reread before I could move on More...

0 comments like

Feb 25, 2011

Wan Ni rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Dec 06, 2010

Jennifer (JC-S) rated it:

‘What is truth?’

Two thousand years ago, Mary Magdalene hid a set of scrolls in the French Pyrenees. These scrolls contained her version of the events and characters of the New Testament and are protected, awaiting the arrival of The Expected One.

‘You have to look very carefully to see it for what it is.’

Maureen Paschal is the author of a book examining the truth about the ill-treatment of women in history. Her subjects include Mary Magdalene and, shortly af More...

0 comments like

Aug 14, 2010

Ren rated it:

Tanpa bermaksud SARA disini, walo daku muslim, terus terang aja agak penasaran baca ini, cos dapet ebook gratisan dari omQ

Temanya emang kental dengan agama Kristen, dan mungkin bisa dibilang bid'ah ya sama umat Kristen.
MenurutQ sang pengarang bikin ini karena efek dari The Da Vinci Code karya Dan Brown, dimana diceritakan bahwa Yesus Kristus (ato Nabi Isa Al Masih) memiliki keturunan.

Disini sang tokoh utama Maureen Pascal menelusuri kisah jejak hidup Yesus Kristus u More...

0 comments like

Jan 19, 2010

Fasha rated it:

“ History is not what happened. It is what is written.” McGowan explores the issue of the controversial real relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus and her real position in Christendom. She suggests that Mary Magdalene is not accurately and fairly potrayed in most of the Gospels. The author also indicates that the depictions of some other important women such as Salome in the gospels are also inaccurate and unjust. In the quest of truth about Mary Magdalene, the author has spent almost ha More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 23, 2009

Leo Martin rated it:

A thrilling Magdalene literature! After I read this, I’m on the verge of shouting that this is indeed possible. Possible because the author, Kathleen McGowan, is saying that she is descended to the Royal Bloodline of Mary Magdalene. The notions and assertions here in the book is indeed riveting, like: Judas did not really betray Jesus, he was told to hand over Christ to prevent bloodshed. Peter didn’t really denied Jesus, the denial was an order, not a prophecy, he was told to deny, because if h More...

0 comments like

Jan 12, 2009

Jaemi rated it:

When Maureen Paschal begins researching for her book on Historic Females badly portrayed, she thinks she's just following a lifelong passion and dream. Little does she know she's embarking on a path that will change her self and world irrevocably.

It begins with a mysterious encounter in a shop in Jerusalem, which leads into a vision of Mary Magdalene the day of the Crucifixion. From there, Maureen returns home, writes her book, and continues on with her life as normal. Except for the More...

2 comments like

Jan 11, 2009

Terri rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. It offers a well-thought out argument to the possibiliy of the existence of a hidden gospel of Mary Magdelene. The writings themselves as depicted were realistic and believable, and served to humanize Jesus and explain some things that are only briefly touched on in the New Testament. The tone of the book was uplifting despite the intruigue and occasional violence. It is not a copycat Da Vinci Code book where there are endless puzzles and many twists and turns, al More...

1 comment like

Aug 17, 2011

Heidi rated it:

I picked up The Expected One after reading over the synopsis for The Book of Love and learning that it was a part of a series. I don't really know what I was expecting going into this new series. I've always been into books that deal with religion, history, and controversy. Plus, being a fan of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, I wanted to see what this book all about Mary Magdalene and Jesus was all about.

With every page I read, I became a bigger fan of McGowan. I like her style of wri More...

0 comments like

Jun 18, 2011

Sarah rated it:

First I'd recommend taking this book at face value: an interesting story with historical intrigue based on the popular conspiracy theory that Mary Magdalene married Jesus Christ and has children whose descendants are a royal bloodline (similar to Da Vinci Code). Second I'd also recommend ignoring the fact that Kathleen McGowan believes her life parallels the life of her main character, Maureen, but only publishes the book as a fiction because her "proof" is protected by individuals wh More...

0 comments like

Feb 15, 2011

Janice added it

I really wanted to finish this book because I was interested in the subject matter and I gave it an honest try. I probably listened to about 2/3's of it. Perhaps this was a book that needed to be read in book format instead of audio format. Or perhaps it needed more than one narrator to help with differentiating the characters.

I found the beginning of the book to be confusing. It bounced around between times, locations, and people so quickly. The whole purpose of Mary Magdeleine's More...

0 comments like

Nov 15, 2010

Judy rated it:

A quote I liked, "History is not what happened. History is what was written down." Her premise is words committed to paper have been written by human beings and as all human beings are ruled by their emotions, opinions and political and religious affiliations, subsequently all history is comprised of as much opinion as fact and in many cases has been entirely fabricated for the furthering of the author's personal ambitions or secret agenda.
The book reminded me in some ways More...

0 comments like

Aug 15, 2009

Mazel rated it:

Maureen, journaliste américaine, arpente les ruelles de la vieille Jérusalem quand un énigmatique marchand lui glisse une bague au doigt.

Aussitôt, elle est assaillie par des " visions " : elle perçoit des signes, entend des voix. Qui est cette femme, belle et éplorée, qui lui rend visite depuis un autre monde ? Que cherche-t-elle à lui dire ?

Maureen vient de plonger sans le savoir au cœur de l'énigmatique légende de Marie Madeleine... En se lançant sur les tra More...

0 comments like

Aug 03, 2009

Ben rated it:

I never thought this day would come. Ladies and gentlemen, I have found a book that rivals The Art Thief for the title of "Worst Book I Have Ever Read [and Finished:]." What begins as innocuous conspiracy-orientated historical fiction ends up becoming a delusional and boring dissertation on the "truth" behind Mary Magdalene.

Conspiracy theories attract us because they appeal to our innate need for order and relationships; they draw connections among disparate elem More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 27, 2011

Amy rated it:

As a FICTION book I can say it was well written but on the ideas that she is sprouting in her book. I thinkit needs to be BURNED. It scares me to think that people will read this garbage and follow her in her beliefs. she takes a lot of liberties with bible stories and she wraps them to fit her own purpose in this book. Every miracle that Jesus ever performed is mentioned in this book in some twisted way that helps her astory line. I beg of people that if you have to read it please don't pay any More...

2 comments like

Sep 05, 2011

Amanda (LoveofJoe11) rated it:

This book brought out a fair number of thoughts/emotions in me. Briefly, the story is about Mary Magdalene and her place in Christianity. The book is written has fiction, but the author notes the main character reflects experiences the author has had. However, the McGowan wrote the story as fiction to protect her sources.

The idea of Mary Magdalene as wife of Jesus and mother of Jesus's children has been a hot topic for a few years now. Personally, this concept does not disturb me More...

0 comments like

Jun 06, 2009

Joanna rated it:

This is definitely a book with a religous agenda. The books's protagonist - Maureen works on the research for her new book, and all of the sudden she find herself in the middle of the 2000 year old mystery. She meets people who not only deeply belive in the marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene and existence of their bloodline, but also believe that one of the women of the bloodline will be The Expected One - One who will uncover the Mary Magdalene's gospel to the world.

I enjoyed le More...

0 comments like

Jan 08, 2009

Wendy rated it:

Okay--very DaVinci Codish with kind of a sappy love story semi-attached. Sort of the mindless kind of entertainment to keep me happy when I'm feeling mindless. But--I do have to say that it interested me enough that I'm going to look up some of the books in the bibliography and check on some of the resources. She had a few ideas that interested me. One in particular was the idea that when the Savior told Peter that he would deny him 3 times it was not prophetic--it was a command. He needed More...

1 comment like

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