The Christos Mosaic

"Vincent Czyz's THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC is unique: it somehow manages to include genuine, radical biblical scholarship in a beautifully rendered adventure full of unforgettable characters, set in exotic locales vividly and poetically described. There are very many "Lost Gospel" novels in which the biblical background is fudged, and badly. Not this one! Both sides of this author's fertile brain were working full tilt! And the result is superb." — Robert M. Price, author of Deconstructing Jesus

“Often, the best novels are difficult to categorize. Perhaps more often, novels that try to do too many things don’t succeed at doing any of them particularly well. Fortunately, every now and then, a novel comes along that is both hard to define, yet exceptional at juggling multiple genres whose sum is even greater than its individual parts. Such a novel is THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC, which melds historical fiction with contemporary adventure and produces a compelling mystery that is as educational as it is entertaining.” — US Review of Books

“A brilliant, deftly crafted, inherently absorbing novel from beginning to end, THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC by Vincent Czyz is one of those truly extraordinary stories that will linger in the mind and memory long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf. Very highly recommended and certain to be an enduringly popular addition to community library General Fiction collections.” — Midwest Book Review

“Vincent Czyz’s THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC accomplishes the rare trick of having it both ways, delivering a fast-paced, action-packed storyline that challenges the mind rather than epileptically dazzling it with portentous piffle. This novel turns out to be the rare adventure story that rewards the reader’s attention by being as diverting as it is rigorously encyclopedic." — Matt Hanson, The Arts Fuse

“I can't come up with enough superlatives to express how thoroughly?completely ?hugely?immensely?I enjoyed reading this novel. It's everything I could have wished for and much more. It must be read by as many people worldwide as possible. I have a gut feeling that it could effect a sea-change in the common understanding of Christianity. It's a masterful synthesis of solid scholarship and adventure.” — the late Paul Palmer, former assistant editor, American Atheist magazine

“… Christos puts the reader on Istanbul’s every street corner—the cafés, bars and apartments—awash in the sights, sounds and even the smells of the city, and the colorful language and mannerisms of its inhabitants. […] Ultimately … THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC is more than a novel; it is an impeccably framed thriller that will hopefully spark new discussions and provide insight into the future of Christian thought and study for the new century.” — James Campion, Aquarian Weekly

“THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC is part Orhan Pamuk, part Elaine Pagels, and part Dan Brown. But it is mostly Vincent Czyz, an irrepressible fiction writer who has the good sense to realize that scholarship is the friend of great stories--and the talent to put that friendship to good use. I must confess that I turned to the novel for fun, and it is fun from first page to last.  What surprised me was how very much I learned about the past.  A wonderful novel.” — James Goodman, Pulitzer Prize finalist & author of But Where is the Lamb?

“[THE CHRISTOS MOSAIC] has all the important benchmarks of a thrilling adventure: global conspiracy, shocking revelations, thrilling shootouts, and multiple betrayals. The story is well written with strong plotting and vivacious characters ... a fascinating read.” — John M. Murray, ForeWord Reviews

Vincent Czyz received an MA in comparative literature from Columbia University, and an MFA in creative writing from Rutgers University. He is the author of the collection Adrift in a Vanishing City, and is the recipient of the 1994 Faulkner-Wisdom Prize for Short Fiction and two fellowships from the NJ Council on the Arts. The 2011 Truman Capote Fellow at Rutgers University, his short stories and essays have appeared in Shenandoah, AGNI, The Massachusetts Review, Tampa Review, Quiddity, Louisiana Literature, Logos Journal, New England Review, Boston Review, Sports Illustrated, Poets & Writers, and many other publications. Although he has traveled the world and spent some ten years in Istanbul, Turkey, he now lives and works in New Jersey, where he was born.