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Author Muehlheausler offers an epic based on what is known—and what can be imagined—about three wise men who, according to Matthew’s biblical account, seemingly miraculously visited the baby Jesus after his birth. In Muehlheausler’s enlivened retelling, these Eastern royal sages—Melchior, Balthazar, and Gaspar—had separately seen and been mesmerized by a shining orb in the western sky. Melchior, weighing what his intellect suggests and what his intuition forces upon him, sets out to follow that light. Along the way, he encounters the two other travelers who have themselves just met.
The three become allied in purposeful seeking, facing perils and setbacks as they continue their journey together. They will not be disappointed when they find the baby, who seems to have perception and empathy well beyond the limitations of infancy, along with his especially blessed mother, Mary, and stalwart, protective father, Joseph. The three sages present their regal gifts and depart, but at least one will be drawn back years later to seek out the man Jesus, now being revered and persecuted as the promised Messiah, with the looming possibilities of his sacrifice and new hopes for humanity.
Muehlheausler is a Christian, teacher, and tutor. She was inspired to construct this complex, fascinating saga based on a series of personal incidents combined with her writing talent and grit. Aided by vintage biblical translations and other diligently researched sources, she paints a vast panorama that will grip readers who approach her work in the light of similar faith and historical curiosity. She paraphrases traditional biblical speech, making it more intelligible to readers, and adds skeins of factual history to underpin her vivid images and speculations. The result is an engaging plot with sufficient connection to fact that will doubtless engender positive sharing and further profound thinking among a wide readership.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review