A Book Review by Victor Uduh

I picked up this book expecting a retelling of a story I already knew. What I didn’t expect was to become so invested in the inner struggle of Marcus, the Roman soldier at the center of the story.

What stayed with me most was not the historical detail or even the familiar events of Holy Week, but the psychological journey of a career soldier trying to make sense of something that challenged everything he understood about duty, justice, and power.

David Kitz does something difficult here. He makes well-known events feel uncertain again, not because the facts change, but because we experience them through the eyes of someone who doesn’t fully understand what he is witnessing.

I also appreciated that the story doesn’t rely on heavy preaching. The events are allowed to speak for themselves, which made the book feel more authentic and engaging.

Days after finishing it, I found myself thinking about Marcus and the moral tension of serving a system he increasingly questions. That internal struggle felt surprisingly relevant and human, despite the story taking place two thousand years ago. For me, that human element is what made this book memorable.

To learn more click here.