There are stories so vital that they are meant to be told. Such a one is this story.And then, there are stories that are meant to be told by Anne Rice. And I thank God/the Cosmos/the Universe that she heeded the call to write Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana.Originally published in 2008, this is the sequel to Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, which was made into a beautiful indie movie entitled The Young Messiah. I know that Ms. Rice meant to write a third novel but has abandoned the project. As to that, many has already been writtenin various articles. Ms. Rice has spoken about that in her interviews with Nola Cancel. We need not go into that here.The novel covers the events of Jesus' adult life before the wedding at Cana, recorded in the gospel according to St. John chapter 2. We find a fully human, flesh-and-blood Jesus here. One who was tempted in every way (just like I am, and so I relate to Him), as the writer of Hebrews attests, but is Sinless (and so I worship Him). This is not the Jesus of Relativism, shifted and reshaped according to our image and liking. This is a characterization delicately handled by Ms. Rice's rigorous research—which is her singular and distinct discipline for every book she writes.It almost feels sacrilegious that, as an Anne Rice fan, Lestat de Lioncourt takes only second spot as my favorite character of hers. Yeshua bar Joseph takes the top spot. But this is true.The voice of Jesus in this novel told in first person point-of-view is clearly distinct from the seven-year-old Child that He was in the first novel, Out of Egypt. In fact, every character in this novel has a distinct voice, and so everyone is memorable.Jesus' daily life feels almost like rural Philippines (where I live). Everyone He meets and speaks to goes through a profound change, if they let Him. Whether it is having a private conversation with Him, or crying on His shoulder, or running to His arm for solace and rescue, Jesus changes people from within, gently and indelibly.We know that the turning of the water into wine is Jesus' first recorded miracle in the gospel of John, and so Jesus in this novel acts with restraint in regards to His being God and All-Power. He hasassumed human form and human life, and decides in each moment to be fully human, to respect and submit to the customs of the tight-knit community He belongs to. He even succumbs to exhaustion, frustration, and loneliness, as we all sometimes do.I am not interested in the many arguments or naysayers of supposed Bible scholars who panned and contested this work of historical fiction. There will always be volumes written about and will be written about this controversial Son of Man, and these "authorities" will inevitably contradict each other. In my opinion, Rice's depiction of Jesus does not betray the Gospels. That Rice has refused (hopefully she would change her mind) to write a third book is unfortunate, sure, but I can say that her two novels brought me to read the Gospel of John, which feels like a natural progression or continuation of the Christ the Lord books. And if these works of fiction brought me to reading the Gospel, then it works out for my good.When I revisited John's Gospel, the Jesus John depicted felt all the more human, all the more flesh-and-blood, because of Anne's novels. Truly, the Word became flesh.Rice's prose here is textured. You feel the dryness of the drought in the language, and then the thunderous, torrential rain, and the sprawling grandness of a Jewish wedding. She writes about events not told in the Bible, moving to the familiar events of Christ's baptism. Two chapters in and already I am weeping for the characters and the injustice they suffered. We feel for the women in this patriarchal society. We palpably feel the tension of the political climate and unrest (two things very real in 2021 as far as my country, and neighboring Myanmar, are concerned), that when the peace in their community was shaken (an important plot point!) I found myself screaming and gasping for breath. Even though we move to the events already told in the Gospels, I found my heart beating in eager anticipation and suspense at what will happen next. As a page-turner, this novel does not disappoint.Rice's superb talent for writing horror is not lost in the Temptation scene in the desert. The nightmarish events are retold with such realism, that at Christ's triumph I found my heart rejoicing, calling Jesus my Champion, my Hero!The ending, though, is my favorite part. And I cry out, "Yeshua! Yeshua! Yeshua! Hear O Israel. The Lord Our God Is One."