Karl Glogauer is a disaffected modern professional casting about for meaning in a series of half-hearted relationships, a dead-end job, and a perso...
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Feb 05, 2011
Dan
rated it: 
Karl Glogauer, lonely misunderstood misfit, reaches the end of his rope and volunteers to man an experimental time machine for a friend. Glogauer goes to A.D. 28 to witness the crucifixion of Jesus. Only, nothing is quite the way he remembers it from the Bible. John the Baptist is a revolutionary, Mary and Joseph's marriage isn't the way it should be, and as for Jesus...
While most people know Michael Moorcock from the Elric stories, for my money, the best Moorcock stories are the More...
While most people know Michael Moorcock from the Elric stories, for my money, the best Moorcock stories are the More...
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Jan 22, 2012
Stephen
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3.0 to 3.5 stars. A short book, but filled with emotion and some extremely controversial subjects. I thought Moorcock handled the main character well. Good use of SF to explore issues of faith, religion and personal discovery.
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Jan 27, 2008
R.
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Dec 10, 2011
Ian
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This felt like a childish attempt to do what Kazantzakis and Graves did far better. I love many of Moorcock's books, but this one was hamfisted, pedantic and hopelessly adolescent in its approach to what could have been a very fascinating story. It felt less like a real literary work and more like a teenager's attempt to vent his spleen, the sort of thing you can imagine a youth scribbling furiously in his binder and then leaning back to admire with a smug, self-satisfied smirk because he believ
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Dec 11, 2008
Ethan
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A classic! What a gem of a little novel this is. A synopsis of the book even in its most basic and vague form is a spoiler so let me tip toe around the plot in my review. It is a classic. Moorcock explores the nature of our need, desire and construction of religion, guilt and ultimately faith as a human invention so that we may have humanity. At the same time he does this while skating wildly on the edge of great blasphemy, black humor, everyday dark psychology in a compact blend of parable and
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Jan 16, 2012
Frederick
rated it:
More shag-a-delic Sci Fi from the 60’s which probably reads better by lava lamp light. The nebbish protagonist is a MOT with a Jesus fixation and a kinky older lover who mercilessly belittles him for same. He travels back in time to prove that Jesus existed and then inexplicably goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that related biblical events happen as they should. Other than the fact that he might not want his lover to have the last laugh, which seems like a pretty lame re
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Jan 08, 2012
Paul
rated it:
Yup, the British author of fantasy that brought us the high fantasy classics like Elric of Melnibone, Corum, Count Brass and a whole slew of others. This book, Behold The Man, is not like those, so cast that idea straight out of your head - then proceed.
No, it not like those others at all. It is a contemporary time travel piece, sort of. It’s an exploration of Christianity and mysticism, sort of. It was published in 1969 (year of the Boss 429 Mustang . . . ahem,) and has that twisted p More...
No, it not like those others at all. It is a contemporary time travel piece, sort of. It’s an exploration of Christianity and mysticism, sort of. It was published in 1969 (year of the Boss 429 Mustang . . . ahem,) and has that twisted p More...
Mar 18, 2011
Steven
rated it:
Althought it is a small book, it had its thought provoking rmoments.
-From pg 137
"He could show Monica now.
His regret was that she was unlikely ever to know. He had meant to write everything down and put it into the time machine and hope that it would be recovered. It was strange. He was not a religous man in the usual sense. He was an agnostic. It was not conviction that had led him to defend religion against Monica's cynical contempt for it; it was rather lack of c More...
-From pg 137
"He could show Monica now.
His regret was that she was unlikely ever to know. He had meant to write everything down and put it into the time machine and hope that it would be recovered. It was strange. He was not a religous man in the usual sense. He was an agnostic. It was not conviction that had led him to defend religion against Monica's cynical contempt for it; it was rather lack of c More...
Aug 02, 2010
John
rated it:
I read the novella version of this in 1966 when it appeared in New Worlds and, as a moderately Christian teenager, was awestruck that anything could quite so astonishingly blasphemous. As a boring old atheist fart, I find fascination and a sort of intellectual teasing out rather than straightforward blasphemy in this enormously impressive novel.
Karl Glogauer, a man for whom the term "negativity" might have been created, is befriended by the erratic inventor of a time machine. Haunted by ra More...
Nov 25, 2010
Susan
rated it: 
I almost rated this 1 star, but I decided it did have a few redeeming qualities and settled on 2. Even so, I'm in the minority. It's a highly-acclaimed science fiction classic, supposedly, an insightful look at the meaning of faith and religion. I simply didn't find it so. Perhaps I might have been more impressed if I'd read it when it was published, in 1969.
Karl Glogauer, the protagonist, travels in a time machine to the time of Christ, and finds nothing the way he expected to be. Th More...
Karl Glogauer, the protagonist, travels in a time machine to the time of Christ, and finds nothing the way he expected to be. Th More...
Jul 26, 2011
Matti
rated it:
Very nicely written. There's three intertwining stories about the main character, each telling about different stages of his life. One depicting his adolescence, one his student years and one the present – which happens to happen in the past. The main focus is (thank God) not the time traveling, but the thought of What If history was a staged play, a story lived out by a man from the future. A man who wants history to be like it was written, and decides to make it happen that way. The author has
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Dec 16, 2009
NumberLord
rated it:
The only Moorcock book I've ever read. It's time travel: guy travels back in time, meets Jesus (who turns out not to be at all what he expected), and then takes Jesus' place. A fascinating idea, pretty well executed.
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Dec 12, 2009
Atrackbrown
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Mar 22, 2011
Joe
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Behold the Man is a sci-fi/fantasy (sort of) novel about Karl, who travels back in time with the intention of finding Jesus. I seem to remember the reason for this is that Karl doubts Jesus ever existed. Karl gets caught up in the Messiah story... to say more would be to give the plot away. As far as MM novels go, this is as close to a traditional tale as MM gets. I've read BtM several times, 2000 being my latest experience. MM has twisted the story of Jesus very cleverly, and much of my high ra
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Jul 31, 2010
Andreia
rated it:
Behold the Man - Se forem apenas cristãos fundamentalistas podem considerar este livro mais uma blasfémia, enformada num desnorteado "time travel" que pretende ser ( apenas ) mais uma sátira. Se não forem tão limitados intelectualmente e houver algo de metafísico nos vossos espíritos, certamente o irão considerar uma obra-prima. Brilhante e provocador, Moorcock parte de um pressuposto inteligente, cria uma história repleta de questões pertinentes e desafios espirituais, em que o Homem
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Feb 23, 2009
Manny
rated it:
You know those science-fiction novels where they go back in time, and discover they've become some well-known historical character? Like Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, where the hero finds out he's become the Person from Porlock. This novel takes the idea pretty much to its logical conclusion... not sure it's possible to trump becoming Jesus Christ.
It's well worth reading. Science-fiction writers are notorious for having great ideas and then blowing the execution (the Trou More...
It's well worth reading. Science-fiction writers are notorious for having great ideas and then blowing the execution (the Trou More...
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Feb 03, 2012
Hamish
rated it:
Moorcock sets up a connection between Christianity and psychiatry and neurosis, in this story that is bound to cause offense in some. Juxtaposes the magic or mysticism (miracles) of the past with the science fiction (time machine) and science (rationality) of the present.
Questions the creation of Jesus as a myth. Moorcock's Christ is a jabbering imbecile, capable of nothing more than laughingly, idiotically uttering his own name over and over again, with Mary and Joseph contemptuous More...
Questions the creation of Jesus as a myth. Moorcock's Christ is a jabbering imbecile, capable of nothing more than laughingly, idiotically uttering his own name over and over again, with Mary and Joseph contemptuous More...
Sep 03, 2011
Tyffany
rated it:
I had expected there to be a longer account of Jesus Christ in a more intimate context. Everything about the book was very brief; the encounters with people, the history of the time, the history of Karl Glogauer (main character), the time machine and attempt through time. If I had to compare another book's experience, I'd say it was a lot like reading the stranger by Albert Camus in terms of pacing and insight, just not in stream of consciousness.
I also read it in two hours, tops. I More...
I also read it in two hours, tops. I More...
Aug 10, 2011
Akshay
rated it:
A must for anybody who likes to ask questions that are considered off-limits.
I went into this expecting something but got something that was quite different.
Taking little of the obvious path, Moorcock in his usual style takes an idea that would have an obvious story or narrative given and turns the concentration, the basis and the purpose on its head.
A unique and most interesting journey into religion, humanity, destiny, nature vs nurture and so many topics ethical, philosophical and more does More...
I went into this expecting something but got something that was quite different.
Taking little of the obvious path, Moorcock in his usual style takes an idea that would have an obvious story or narrative given and turns the concentration, the basis and the purpose on its head.
A unique and most interesting journey into religion, humanity, destiny, nature vs nurture and so many topics ethical, philosophical and more does More...
Oct 03, 2011
Tanabrus
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Aug 26, 2011
Célia
rated it:
Todos os participantes do 1.º Encontro BANG! tiveram direito a um livro de graça, à escolha de entre uns quantos. De lá, trouxe comigo Eis o Homem, de Michael Moorcock, que já andava com vontade de ler há algum tempo. Para quem não sabe, este é um escritor com pergaminhos na área da fantasia e ficção científica (é ainda o autor da famosa série Elric, também publicada entre nós pela Saída de Emergência), bastante premiado, sendo um desses primeiros prémios o Nebula Award de 1967 para melhor novel
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Feb 27, 2011
Mike (the Paladin)
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Aug 13, 2011
Someone really should read this 'classic of science fiction' through a critical disability studies lens, but I don't have the energy to do it. I was pretty perturbed by the description of disability in this book, the way language and situation were used to curate and heighten a feeling of disgust towards a dehumanized disabled body.
I also felt a little ill during basically every depiction of sex in this novel, but my sense is that the author was deliberately trying to invoke that feel More...
I also felt a little ill during basically every depiction of sex in this novel, but my sense is that the author was deliberately trying to invoke that feel More...
Jan 29, 2012
Reinhold
rated it:
Karl Glogauer ist ein sehr seltsamer Kauz, ein verhinderter Psychiater der unbedingt die Kreuzigung miterleben will. Um diesem Wunsch nachzukommen setzt er sich in eine Zeitmaschine und landet punktgenau, wenn auch etwas hart. Kaum in der Zeitenwende angekommen trifft er auf Johannes den Täufer, bei dessen Gruppe von Essenern er sich an die Lebensbedingungen dieser Zeit gewöhnt und seine Sprachkenntnisse in Aramäisch wieder auf Stand bringt. Hier erhält er auch seinen neuen Namen: Immanuel. Aber
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May 01, 2008
Trin
rated it:
In which time travel and Jesus are combined in a somewhat interesting way—yes, the one you’re thinking; or at least, the one my mind leapt to, without actually being told. Anyway, it’s an interesting idea, but I’m not sure the story used to convey the idea is the best it could have possibly been. I sympathize with this problem, as it’s one I have all the time with my own writing. However, I feel less than sympathetic toward Karl, this novel’s protagonist, who’s a whiny little bitch; and toward M
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Sep 02, 2007
Chris
rated it:
Behold the man is a wonderful example of thought provoking storytelling that displays the best aspects of science fiction and reminds us that sci-fi is really more about philosophy than technology. Going into the distant past is far more authentic and speaks with more definition to present day and our future than going to a time beyond today that we define by what could happen at the beginning of tomorrow. It offers more universal truths simply because there aren't as many distracting elements
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Jul 04, 2011
Tim
rated it:
This book was pivotal to me when I found it. I devoured the Elric saga as a kid and then as a drug-addled 20-something recovering Catholic, I stumbled upon this effed-up mess of a novel and became obsessed with it.
Who is Karl Glogauer? Damned if I know but Behold the Man, speedballed with its companion piece, Breakfast in the Ruins, is a heady trip. Breakfast in the Ruins
Who is Karl Glogauer? Damned if I know but Behold the Man, speedballed with its companion piece, Breakfast in the Ruins, is a heady trip. Breakfast in the Ruins
Nov 04, 2010
Zare
rated it:
Interesting story of troubled young man, suffering from what might be called martyr-syndrome (one could even say he was born in a era where ideals he holds dear are no longer cherished). He ends up in the most unexpected place of them all won t say where and when because it may ruin reading experience to some.[return][return]Gives a rather interesting view of how our own views on life and natural predispositions guide our actions and determine the way we end up.[return][return]Recommended.
Dec 02, 2010
Telma
rated it:
Crítica: Tenho que confessar que se não tivesse lido a nota do autor no final da história, estaria um pouco mais chateada do que estou neste momento. Na sua nota o autor explica que não intencionava contar uma história sobre viagens no tempo mas simplesmente testar uma ideia. E apesar de não ver nesta história nenhum ataque à crença Cristã, e de seguir a minha crença que Cristo era primeiro que tudo um homem, não compreendi qual a finalidade desta história. Afinal, porque é que Glogauer aceitou
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May 03, 2010
James
rated it:
So a man (a neurotic and sexually confused man, because this is Moorcock) travels back in time to try to witness the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Of course, there are hijinx, and he ends up taking Christ's place. That's all right there on the cover, and sadly, apart from Moorcock dragging us through some completely unnecessary unpleasantness, that's about all there is. I do wonder if the Monty Python crew read this, and decided to do it better with Life of Brian.
