The Breath of God by Jeffrey Small

The Breath of God: A Novel of Suspense, Jeffrey Small.  Atlanta: Hundreds of Heads Books, 2011.  e-book.  405 pps.

I tried to get through The Da Vinci Code but failed.  When I spied The Breath of God, I was initially hesitant.  I wasn't sure I would like a Dan Brown clone anymore than I like Dan Brown.  But the free sample and the predominantly positive reviews persuaded me.

The Breath of God is Jeffrey Small's first novel.  Small is personally well-qualified in theology to write this fictional work.  There have been various supposes about what Jesus was doing between the ages of twelve and thirty.  I had heard the idea that Jesus had traveled throughout India and Tibet before.  Small takes this idea, blends it with a bit of romance, and works the whole thing through to a satisfying conclusion.

There is a student by the name of Grant Matthews who books a kayak guide and coincidentally winds up at a monastery in Bhutan.  He meets an attractive American tourista and a lot of Buddhist monks.  There is some conflict, a few loonies from the states, and content which is sure to offend both traditional Christians and traditional Muslims.  [I suspect that the Buddhists and possibly the Hindus would be less offended].

sapphoq reviews says:  The thing is, The Breath of God is a novel.  It is not a historical novel, although bits of village legends involving a Saint Issa are included within its' pages.  It is a work of fiction.  Fiction by definition is fictional.  As such, I found Jeffrey Small's first novel to be full of intrigue.  I thought the characters were well-developed.  I found the uber-Christians to be quite believable.  So although I personally reject the evidence that supposes that Jesus traveled about the sub-continent, I really liked this book.  Folks who are fans of Dan Brown [judging from the negative reviews] may find The Breath of God to be too much of a clone of Dan Brown's style of writing.  I found it to be just what was required for a long night's reading material.  Highly recommended for the rest of us who have never read Dan Brown.

a few thoughts:

Jesus did not travel to India, Christians say no:  
http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-India.html

Jesus did not travel to India, a Unitarian Universalist minister says no:  http://wisdomofreligion.blogspot.com/2008/03/was-jesus-buddhist.html 

Jesus did travel to India, Herbert Armstrong and a bunch of others say yes.
http://reluctant-messenger.com/issa.htm

Maybe he did and maybe he didn't, a Wikipedia summary of pro and con arguments:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_years_of_Jesus