Review
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Title: The Crimson Thread
Author: Royston Potter
Publisher: Royston Potter (www.booksurge.com)
Genre: Historical fiction
Year Published: 2006
Number of Pages: 420
Binding: Quality paperback
ISBN: 1-4196-2517-9
Price: see author's webpage
http://www.thecrimsonthreadthebook.com/Reviewed by Jeffrey Needle
Dateline: 1982. Everyone was talking about Royston Potter. A police officer in the Murray, Utah police department, he was fired when it was discovered he was living "the Principle" -- plural marriage. Potter did all he could to fight the decision, but eventually lost as the courts upheld the right of the police department to dismiss him for bigamy.
I first met Roy about 15 years ago. It was a gala birthday party for notorious polygamist Ogden Kraut. The party was held at Roy's home. I spent a glorious afternoon among those evil polygs -- and learned very quickly that I liked them very much! When Ogden passed away a few years ago, I knew I'd lost a good friend. Roy remains very much alive, and very busy at the task of producing a literature that I believe will make an enormous impact on the way we think of religion, God and Jesus.
Indeed, Roy has journeyed quite a way from his roots. His biography has him born a Jehovah's Witness, a subsequent conversion to Catholicism, and then his journey to Mormonism. When I saw Roy last August, I was amazed at how much he has accomplished in the past ten years.
The current volume, "The Crimson Thread," has an intriguing sub-title: "The Struggle To Become Jesus During The Revolt Against Rome." This will come as a surprise to many: why did Jesus, the pre-existent Jehovah, need to *become* Jesus in his mortality? Potter takes the reader off into the intellectual, historical and imaginative world of the young Jesus. And he adds a fascinating twist: what if Jesus had a twin brother?
No need to dip into scripture to find any of this. Indeed, you may find more in the widely available gnostic sources, or even in the mystical Jewish writings. Potter isn't focused on the biblical story as much as he is in a supra-scriptural examination of the people, the places and the conflicts. When he describes the conflicts, he shows an adeptness in understanding military strategy -- not surprising since Potter has a military background.
Anyone schooled in the gnostic teachings will recognize Potter's affinity for this system of thought. And those with a passion for history will find rich, detailed accounts of the real actors in the historical accounts.
But the real value of this book is in its liberating view of deity and history. Like it or not, we are all tied to our historical moorings. We accept a certain view of Jesus and of the Jews as described in scripture, in Josephus, and even as described by Bruce R. McConkie. But what if they're all wrong? What if the reality is so very different from the common views?
Of course, it may be that Potter is just all wrong. It may be that he's using history and religion to create a fantasy world of his own invention. I really don't know. But this much I do know -- there is more in heaven and earth that what we can imagine. It may be that Potter has peered into a reality that is yet to be discovered.
No matter -- this is, after all, a novel. But fiction has its uses in the world of learning. Sometimes the fiction writer can do a better job of opening reality to us than so-called historians. "The Crimson Thread" is a long, complex exploration of a school of thought very much foreign to most of us. And if reading this book gets you to thinking, all the better.
Those who enjoy such speculations will really enjoy this book. Get it and read it.
Jeff Needle
Association for Mormon Letters
jeff.needle@gmail.comwww.aml-online.orgwww.LDSBookLovers.com/Needle.html
