The Crucifier and In the Beginning by L.E. Azer is a small book consisting of two short stories.

The Crucifier is a first person, fictional account of the crucifixion of Jesus by a Roman soldier that participated in it. Yet, as he was busy torturing this Jesus, he wondered if it was the same Jesus that was responsible for his brothers transformation. He hated his brother, Antony, most of his life for multiple reasons. After being assigned to follow Jesus for a couple of months, Antony returned a changed man. As Tyterrain witnessed the darkness and earthquake at the crucifixion, he wanted to believe his own hands weren’t responsible for the one and only “Jesus, son of God’s” death. Did he help kill the man that single handedly changed his self-centered brother into a caring, giving individual?

After certifying the angelic appearance and empty tomb, he leaves the military with a hefty lump sum thanks to Caiaphas and an unanswered question. Did he crucify the Son of God? He flees to solitude to ask that the answer is revealed. On this journey he discovers who this Jesus was and the end of the story drops a minor twist that brings the word “convert” into clear vision.

In the Beginning is a colorful, descriptive, literary, account of creation. It uses the same basic principles surrounding the creation but delves deeper into the psychology of God’s plan, the first sin, the great flood, and how life was impacted from that point forward. You really can’t read In the Beginning and argue too loudly that so much order came from disorder or an act of evolving. It’s also painfully obvious how much mankind has destroyed the original idea behind creation. God being God, continues to tolerate our sub-standard mentality and loves us anyway. In the Beginning is a contemplative approach to the topic of creation and one that will leave a lasting impression.

Paperback
WinePress Publishing
2008