Book Review: The Didymus Contingency by Jeremy Robinson

The Didymus Contingency is the first book that Jeremy Robinson wrote, originally as a screenplay, which after not being optioned by Hollywood, became a self-published novel.  This review is for the Tenth Anniversary Edition (currently only available as a Hardcover or Kindle book), which contains many edits to the original book.  The plot is something that may not appeal to everyone - after discovering time travel, a man decides to travel back in time to Biblical times to prove that Jesus is a fraud, and bear witness to the fact that Jesus will not resurrect after he is crucified.

This isn't the first novel I've read which deals with the question of the divinity of Jesus - The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is probably the most famous at this point in time, and that is already thirteen years old.  There have even been novels and films with non-terrestrial assumptions of Jesus, and I've enjoyed those as well.  (There are stories out there where someone goes back in time to meet Shakespeare, so Jesus doesn't stand alone).  There are likely others out there.  But, most of the stories I've read dealt with characters speculating and/or uncovering evidence in the present day.  However, this book is something else entirely.

I'm not really a religious person, and I don't identify with Christianity or Jesus as the savior.  However, this story concept was interesting to me.  Just the thought of going back in time, even to see if a figure like Jesus was real or not, putting aside the question of his divinity, is an amazing idea.  My main concern was the religious content of the book - would it be overbearing or preachy?  After reading six other books by Robinson, I thought it safe to say it wouldn't be the central part of the story.  Also, I read a blurb by Robinson which stated something along the lines of "assuming the Bible was accurate", so I figured some key scenes would be present in the story (I don't have a great familiarity with the Bible, but these are events that are pretty well known).  After reading the book, I can say with confidence that any kind of religious message is a relatively minor part of the story.

I don't want to reveal too much of the story, but I will say that this is an adventure story of the greatest kind.  The characters are very interesting, and the interaction between Tom, the doubter, and David, who has a very strong faith in Jesus, is very well done.  It is also interesting that both men were born in Israel, and David changed faiths.  I will also say that I loved the portrayal of Jesus.  He is not a person who acts like a divine being - he is very much a regular guy who has fun with his friends.  There are several surprises that Tom and David encounter along their journey to learn the truth of Jesus - I'll leave all of this for the reader to discover on their own.  I highly recommend NOT doing any research into the title of the book before reading it, as it will spoil something that was a surprise for me.  I couldn't wait to get to the end - not to learn the outcome of the quest for the divinity of Jesus, but to see how other things came out.  As with most time travel stories, there are some interesting and strange things that happen which are then made clear later on.

After reading several of Robinson's books, I have to say that The Didymus Contingency is a monumental first effort - even with the warts the original version had that Robinson's admits to (the story is the main thing here - not typos, grammar, and other problems).  I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast paced, interesting story with very believable characters - completely putting the religious element aside, since this is a work of fiction.  Apparently, people of many different faiths have a great love for this book, which is a testament to the story, and it appears to be one of Robinson's most loved books.