Meet Karl Glogauer, time traveller and unlikely Messiah. When he finds himself in Palestine in the year 29AD he is shocked to meet the man known as Jesus Christ -- a drooling idiot, hiding in the shadows of the carpenter's shop in Nazareth. But if he is not capable of fulfilling his historical role, then who will take his place?
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A slim novel of theology and time travel, Behold the Man was expanded from the 1966 novella version which won a Nebula Award. Non-hero Karl Glogauer has a traumatic history of bullying and abuse as a Jewish refugee child in 1950s Britain. When grown, he rides a strange time machine to the Roman-ruled Judaea of AD 28 and finds himself hailed as a magus by John the Baptist and the Essene sect ...
How should he use the power? Did he really have a mission? Could he alter history and be responsible for aiding the Jews to throw out the Romans?
In his own time Glogauer is a failed lover, a questing but forever unsatisfied mystic, a repeated faker of suicide attempts. In first-century Judaea these shortcomings are echoed in terrible ironies, and his destiny emerges as inevitable from the moment he visits a certain carpenter's workshop to find the misshapen idiot boy called Jesus.
Karl Glogauer had discovered the reality he had been seeking. That was not to say he did not still have doubts.
Perhaps it might have been possible to alter history, but the grim old drama plays out as it was foreordained--or at least, close enough for historians to hammer into the prophesied shape. "The chroniclers would rearrange it". Whether history has been remade as tragedy or farce is for readers to decide. This is Moorcock's sharpest, most successful novel of pure SF; it's the 22nd selection in Millennium's very strong SF Masterworks library. --David Langford
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A daring and explosive take on the crucifixion by one of England¿s most respected SF writers
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
In his interviw about this book Moorcock says he kept the sci-fi to a minimum because he didn't want readers to get bogged down in extraneous detail. He was not interested in 'rationales' of how the time machine worked but what the time machine might represent symbolically (a womb, a
rebirth) and this is obvious from his description of the machine. If this didn't have its sci-fi element my guess it would be a famous literary classic because it's a whole lot more subtle and interesting than Last Temptation of Christ or that Dennis Potter play about Christ, which I think had the same title. It is the book's continuing power, which hit me as a young man. It isn't intended to shake your faith in religion. It's intended to make you question your faith in everything! Nice and short, too.
rebirth) and this is obvious from his description of the machine. If this didn't have its sci-fi element my guess it would be a famous literary classic because it's a whole lot more subtle and interesting than Last Temptation of Christ or that Dennis Potter play about Christ, which I think had the same title. It is the book's continuing power, which hit me as a young man. It isn't intended to shake your faith in religion. It's intended to make you question your faith in everything! Nice and short, too.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
By R. J. Hole
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
This has, no doubt, been widely read by SF lovers. First published in 1969, it won the Nebula award for best novella. It is quite a quick read - even the number of pages exaggerate its length.
I made the mistake of reading the blurb on the back cover before I bought the book. Unfortunately, this told me the plot up to page 145, so there were no surprises for me!
So what's it about without giving away everything? Karl Glogauer has the opportunity to travel in time using a time machine invented by a crank scientist. He decides to go to Palestine in 29 AD so that he can watch the crucifixion. The story builds up the events leading to this decision at the same time as following Glogauer's progress in the past.
I enjoyed this story... as a non-religous person I am all in favour of this type of alternative look at religous history.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
...Not the worst, either! Moorcock never seems to write very long works. Even by his standards, this seems quite short, and yet he covers a great deal of ground therein. I am not an unequivocal admirer of Moorcock. His books, invariably, are odd. As I type, I listen to his album (New World's Fair), also odd. Usually his books are thick with outlandish imagery (the various Eternal Champions, for instance), though they're not necessarily particularly strong on plot & story. When I finally got around to reading his most famous series, the Elric books, I found them quite disappointing.
However, having read much of his work; Erekose, Corum, Hawkmoon, Elric amongst others; this is one of his oddest. Forget the acid-trip imagery, there's none of it here. It's a very plausible lateral interpretation of the bible stories of christ (one that's likely to be unwelcome to the devout, I might add!), and, for all it's brevity, a thoroughly absorbing read. Langford's review should tell you all you need to know of the plot to get you interested, hopefully this will provide any extra impetus you need to actually read it - it'll repay your effort.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting idea
Someone goes back to the time of the crucifixion in a time machine. It is almost a serious version of "The Life of Brian".
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Gary M. Stocker
3.0 out of 5 stars
A work of Science Fiction that stands the test of time...
Originally published some 45+ years ago this is still a powerful book and is best described as a novel about theology and time travel. Read more
Published 5 months ago by RT Twinem
4.0 out of 5 stars
Unforgettable Moorcock.
*SPOILERS*
My first encounter with 'Behold the Man' was a frenzied, one-sitting read through in my teenage years. It shocked me. Read more
My first encounter with 'Behold the Man' was a frenzied, one-sitting read through in my teenage years. It shocked me. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Ian Armer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not the longest book you'll ever read...
...Not the worst, either! Moorcock never seems to write very long works. Even by his standards, this seems quite short, and yet he covers a great deal of ground therein. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr M.R.Watkinson
1.0 out of 5 stars
Zero stars
Not well written, not interesting, insulting. It doesn't even work as a thought-provoking time travel novel. Read more
Published 11 months ago by E. Von Ray
5.0 out of 5 stars
Moorcock's most successful page-turner
I read this once every three or four years and it never, ever gets tired. My first exposure to Moorcock was via creaky old 60s paperbacks handed down to me by my grandfather and... Read more
Published 13 months ago by A. Stimpson
5.0 out of 5 stars
The story, or that he existed?
I think the book is incredibly powerful as for me it asks the question. What is more important, that Jesus existed or that the story of Jesus exists? Read more
Published 20 months ago by Mr. P. Rogers
4.0 out of 5 stars
Provocative.
This book is really very short. I read it on the train in just a couple of days. However, it is powerful and engaging. Read more
Published on 15 Feb 2011 by HeecheeRendezvous
4.0 out of 5 stars
Blaspemous? Probably not.
I find no blasphemy here but I do find a powerful questioning of the traditional or received understanding of Christ. Read more
Published on 23 Nov 2009 by Peter Clark
4.0 out of 5 stars
Moorcock's Behold the Man
This is not a book I would have chosen to read, but I'm delighted that it was recommended to me. I am currently writing a dissertation on Religion and Literature; I am focusing on... Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2009 by Ms. K. Tostevin
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