Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana » (Reprint)

Best known for The Vampire Chronicles, a series of dark, hypnotic novels steeped in Gothic horror, Anne Rice now applies her vivid storytelling skills to Christian fiction, most notably an acclaimed series based on the life of Christ.

Anne Rice’s second book in her hugely ambitious and courageous life of Christ begins during his last winter before his baptism in the Jordan and concludes with the miracle at Cana.

It is a novel in which we see Jesus–he is called Yeshua bar Joseph–during a winter of no rain, endless dust, and talk of trouble in Judea. Legends of a Virgin birth have long surrounded Yeshua, yet for decades he has lived as one among many who come to the synagogue on the Sabbath. All who know and love him find themselves waiting for some sign of the path he will eventually take.

And at last we see him emerge from his baptism to confront his destiny–and the Devil. We see what happens when he takes the water of six great limestone jars, transforms it into cool red wine, is recognized as the anointed one, and urged to call all Israel to take up arms against Rome and follow him as the prophets have foretold.

As with Out of Egypt, the opening novel, THE ROAD TO CANA is based on the Gospels...

The New York Times - Janet Maslin

The Road to Cana perches on the brink of blasphemy. But it succeeds in treating Yeshua's humanity as an essential part of his divinity…Ms. Rice, when inspired, can deliver hypnotic, incantatory prose that celebrates Yeshua's ascension.