Questions About The Fifth Gospel

by Ian Caldwell

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Answered Questions (6)

Is this a stand-alone novel or should i have read the book The Rule of Four first?

Darla Stand alone novel. The Rule of Four was an awesome story as well.

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If you had to pick between "Rule of Four" and The "Fifth", which would you pick? trying to prune reading list

Bonnie I just read both books, starting with Rule of Four. I loved them both, especially with the author's skillful, well-researched methods. (I love it when…moreI just read both books, starting with Rule of Four. I loved them both, especially with the author's skillful, well-researched methods. (I love it when I can learn historical facts while reading a novel.) Both have strong historical information, so I think the distinction between the two is the people-relationships attached to each. "Rule" is about a young man, and his three friends, who are all about to leave college to find their place in the world, while "Gospel" is about a man's relationships with his son, wife, now-deceased father, and most importantly, his brother. I liked them both, but "Gospel" was my favorite.(less)

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I am about to host book club for this book...other than the hake dinner in the beginning, does anyone remember any other food references??? I like my dinners to go along with the book. I vaguely remember a reference to blood oranges...

Maria Rose Alex does have coffee and biscuits with Boia, and he did have a few meals with Cardinal Lucio and there was some sort of catered spread of food at the…moreAlex does have coffee and biscuits with Boia, and he did have a few meals with Cardinal Lucio and there was some sort of catered spread of food at the hall. As for the blood oranges, those were crates that fell and were crushed when Simon lifted the crates off Gino. The most food I saw in detail was the cereal and Fanta orange soda by Peter. Also, Mona brought a bowl of spicy pasta (I think) when she showed up to see Peter after her long absence. There was also a spread put out for the Christmas meal involving a candle on bread.(less)

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The only English language summary of this book I could find was the large print edition, & at the end it refers to the book as "Blood and Water". Was that the original title? Why is the large print edition the only English language summary? When I typed in "the fifth gospel" the summary seemed to be all in Latin.

Maria Rose The Blood and Water is a reference to John's book of the New Testament in how uses a theological explanation to show how the wine served at the Last S…moreThe Blood and Water is a reference to John's book of the New Testament in how uses a theological explanation to show how the wine served at the Last Supper was the blood of Jesus. This Fifth Gospel discussed here was written in Greek but there are other manuscripts, too. Most of the original writings were not in Latin but translated into Latin from an earlier language, hence the problem with the interpretation of the wordings because was the words translated correctly .(less)

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This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Maria Rose First of all, don't skim read books with important details hiding throughout the book. Second, if you read the section when Alec was talking to Michae…moreFirst of all, don't skim read books with important details hiding throughout the book. Second, if you read the section when Alec was talking to Michael Black, you would have seen from Michael's comments how resentful he was of Simon and the secret promotion. Lastly, to figure out the discovery of Uge in his last note, you had to read it line by line.(less)

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