A review by hakimbriki
Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock

3.0

Basically:



I was very surprised at how hardcore some of this was. Imagine if this book came out in this day and age and won the Nebula award... Imagine the outrage on social media, the death threats against the author, the publishing company, or anyone who defends the book. I'm not sure if Moorcock faced any heat in 1969, but I really think this would not fly today. What he did took balls.

I really liked the first part of the novel. I thought it a brilliant way to introduce the intrigue and the characters. I was fully absorbed in the narrative, right until

Spoiler

Karl reached Nazareth.

Then things just got a little too silly and immature for me. Some of the plot choices do not make much sense, and the rest of the novel didn't serve much of a purpose, since we all knew what was about to unfold.

Spoiler

The way Karl carries out some of the miracles is laughable and quite lazy from the author, who even skips some of the big picture ones, like the Lazarus resurrection. A bit of a cop out, if you ask me.

Ontological paradoxes are always a hindrance in science fiction, in my book. One must be immensely crafty and imaginative to pull off a good time travel story. In the case of this novel,

Spoiler

If Karl knew all about Jesus, and then becomes Jesus, how did it all start? Who came first?

On top of that, one of the love interests of the protagonist in the book,

Spoiler

Monica

, has to be one of the most irksome I've ever encountered.

Read this if you enjoy time travel stuff. It is a flawed book, but it has its moments.