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A Bull For Pluto: A Slave's Story, Book 2 (A Slave's Story Trilogy) Paperback – June 17, 2020

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 24 ratings
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A slave without a past. A master without a future. A journey of discovery that will forever change the lives of both men. The ancient world comes alive in this vivid and engaging trilogy by an expert on Roman social history.

What if you suddenly discovered that you were not who you thought you were—that your true family history had been hidden from you since birth? What if the truth about your origins would cause others to despise you? What if the man who had arranged the deception was seriously ill and needed your help? What if you were a slave and that man held your life in his hands—and you his? These are some of the questions explored in the first two volumes of the new historical trilogy, A Slave’s Story.

The story centers on a slave named Marcus who manages the business affairs of a wealthy Roman citizen in central Asia Minor in the first century AD. The first volume, A Rooster for Asklepios, narrates his eventful journey to a famous healing center in western Turkey following a dream in which the god Asklepios appears to promise that his master will be cured there of a nagging illness. The second volume, A Bull for Pluto, relates the aftermath of this journey. .

Along the way, both men encounter people and ideas that undermine everything that they have ever believed about themselves, one another, and the world around them. Societal norms are challenged, personal loyalties tested, and identities transformed in this engaging story that brings to life a unique corner of the Roman world that has been neglected by previous storytellers.

Christopher D. Stanley is a professor at St. Bonaventure University who studies the social history of early Christianity and the Greco-Roman world. He has written or edited six books and dozens of professional articles on the subject and presents papers regularly at conferences around the world. The trilogy A Slave’s Story, which grew out of his historical research on first-century Asia Minor, is his first work of fiction. . For more information please visit https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001H6EUCA

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST TWO VOLUMES

“This compelling and enjoyable story offers the reader a superb ‘insider’ view of life in the first-century Greco-Roman world. I enjoyed traipsing around Anatolia with Lucius and Marcus!”
-Dr. Terence Donaldson, Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament, Wycliffe College, Canada

“The realism of this story reflects the author's deep first-hand knowledge of the landscape and culture where the narrative takes place.”
-Dr. Mark Wilson, Director, Asia Minor Research Center, Antalya, Turkey

“This well-researched book really brings the Roman world to life!”
-Dr. Alanna Nobbs, Professor of Ancient History, Macquarie University, Australia

“The amount of research, imagination, and effort involved in crafting this story earned my admiration, and stirred my curiosity, too.”
-Dr. Mark Nanos, Lecturer, University of Kansas, USA
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  1. Print length
    330 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    June 17, 2020
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1732698139
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1732698130
  7. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

PRAISE FOR THE FIRST TWO VOLUMES

"This compelling and enjoyable story offers the reader a superb 'insider' view of life in the first-century Greco-Roman world. I enjoyed traipsing around Anatolia with Lucius and Marcus!"
Dr. Terence Donaldson, Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament, Wycliffe College, Canada

"The realism of this story reflects the author's deep first-hand knowledge of the landscape and culture where the narrative takes place."
Dr. Mark Wilson, Director, Asia Minor Research Center, Antalya, Turkey

"This well-researched book really brings the Roman world to life!"
Dr. Alanna Nobbs, Professor of Ancient History, Macquarie University, Australia

"The amount of research, imagination, and effort involved in crafting this story earned my admiration, and stirred my curiosity, too."
Dr. Mark Nanos, Lecturer, University of Kansas, USA

About the Author

Christopher D. Stanley is a social and religious historian who studies and writes about early Christianity and the Greco-Roman world. He recently retired as a professor at St. Bonaventure University in western New York. He has written or edited six books and dozens of professional articles on early Christian texts and history and presents papers regularly at conferences around the world. The trilogy A Slave's Story, which grew out of his historical research on first-century Asia Minor, is his first work of fiction. For more information, visit his Amazon author page at amazon.com/-/e/B001H6EUCA.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ NFB Publishing (June 17, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 330 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1732698139
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1732698130
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 24 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Christopher D. Stanley

    Christopher D. Stanley

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    Christopher D. Stanley is a recently retired Professor Emeritus at St. Bonaventure University in western New York, where he taught courses in biblical studies and the role of religion in contemporary society.

    Dr. Stanley has written widely about the social world of early Christianity, including four authored books, three edited books, and dozens of articles in top international journals. He has presented papers and given lectures at conferences, universities, seminaries, and churches around the world, including South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Austria, Romania, England, Scotland, Ireland, and India. He is a member of the Studiorum Societas Novi Testamenti (SNTS), an elite international organization of New Testament scholars, and served as the founding chair for two ongoing sections of the Society of Biblical Literature.

    In recent years Dr. Stanley has expanded his repertoire to include historical fiction, publishing the first two novels in a trilogy called "A Slave's Story" that takes readers into a neglected corner of the Roman world, first-century Asia Minor. The novels, titled "A Rooster for Asklepios" and "A Bull for Pluto," are available on Amazon.com along with several of his academic books. The first book is also available as an audiobook on Audible.com, and the second one will be ready in Spring 2022. The third book in the trilogy, "A Ram for Mars," is currently in the early stages of production.

    To learn more about the novels and the Roman world in which the stories are set, visit his Website at http://aslavesstory.com.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Stanley Christopher

    Stanley Christopher

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    Bio

    St. Paul Author/Visual Artist, Stanley Christopher, a native of East Chicago, Indiana - attended Indiana University and Indiana Vocational and Technical College. He studied Fine Arts, Culinary Arts, Poetry, and Theater Costume Design. His entire life has been rooted in the process of being creative, he fondly remembers always wanting to create his own world early on as a young child lying in the floor doodling and drawing.

    While studying Poetry in college he became interested in writing haiku, sonnets, and short stories. Often he takes advantage of combining the two languages of visual art and written word.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
24 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

virginia yankee
5.0 out of 5 stars delivers quickly, as described
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2021
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Not an expert by any means, but a quick read; conveys roles of slaves, centrality of religion, and modes of travel and medical practices painlessly and enjoyably. looking forward to book 3
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P. Dominique
4.0 out of 5 stars deeply satisfying
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2022
The first book, A Rooster for Asklepios, had me hooked. This, the second, does not disappoint. I was expecting a twist at the end, and a twist there was, but surpassing all my guesses. The character of Lucius (the paterfamilias), so profoundly humane, touching, noble. He preserves his dignity despite all setbacks to his dreams, all the injustices. The way he resolves an important error of youth is brilliant. Now if only a genius director and genius lead actor could turn this saga into a film...!
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Martha Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing glimpse into Roman culture and custom.
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2021
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More action and better character portraits than in Book 1. I loved the detail on Roman law and custom as well as the illustration of class consciousness. A very interesting read. I couldn't put it down.
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Phillip Long
5.0 out of 5 stars An Insight into the first-century Roman World
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2021
This is the second volume of Christopher Stanley’s A Slave’s Story picking up the story where A Rooster for Asklepios left off. After a disappointing visit to the Asklepion in Pergamum, Lucius and his slave Marcus travel home to Psidian Antioch. On the way they make a short visit to famous hot springs at Hierapolis hoping to find some cure for Lucius’s illness.

Several things happen when Lucius arrives at Hierapolis. Lucius realizes he will not recover from his illness. While in Hierapolis, he orders a tomb made by a skilled local craftsman and arranges for it to be delivered to his home in Antioch. One of the most interesting features of Hierapolis is the massive necropolis just outside of the town. There are approximately 1200 limestone tombs, many with inscriptions.

Since they arrive about the time of the festival of Cybele and Apollos., Lucius and Marcus witness the wild dance of the Galli, the castrated priests of Cybele. This lurid festival shocks the refined Roman citizen Lucius. The festival also features animal sacrifices to Pluto, the ruler of the dead. The animals led to the mouth of a cave in the Ploutonion where they are killed by poisonous carbon dioxide gas rising from the cave. This location was recently excavated by Italian archaeologists, although the site has been closed to visitors each time I have visited Hierapolis. Here is a link to a 45 minute documentary on YouTube featuring Mark Wilson to orient readers to this archaeological site.

I won’t spoil any of the plot twist, but Lucius becomes very ill while staying in Hierapolis and a local Jewish family takes him into their home and provides for his recovery. This continues a theme begun in the first novel in the series. At the beginning of the story, Lucius was deeply offended when he found out one of his business partners was Jewish. But as the first novel progresses, he encounters Jews who are kind and fair, and offer him gracious hospitality. Both he and his slave Marcus attend a synagogue in the first novel, and they find their attitudes towards Jewish people softening. Marcus falls in love with a slave in the Jewish household, but this romance limited because of her commitment to her Jewish faith.

As with A Rooster for Asklepios, there are only a few incidents involving Christians. After Lucious returns to Psidian Antioch, he is invited a Christian worship meeting. As a prominent Roman citizen, he simply wants to sit in the back and observe in the same way he did when he visited the synagogue. However, one of his slaves wants the congregation to pray for him for healing. This humiliates Lucius and he leaves the Christian congregation with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

There are several other plot twists when they returned to Antioch, but I won’t reveal any spoilers here. The novel ends satisfactorily and the plot is left open for a third A Slave Story novel. However, the first two books can be read together as a unit. In fact, by way of constructive criticism, I think that A Rooster for Asklepios should have been divided into two shorter novels about the same size as A Bull for Pluto.

Stanley makes considerable effort to ensure the historical and cultural accuracy of every detail in his novels. This included careful on-site research at most of the places mentioned in the books. Stanley recently published “Paul and Asklepios: The Greco-Roman Quest for Healing and the Mission of Paul” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 42 (2019), 1-31 and he has a monograph coming out in 2022, Paul and Asklepios: The Greco-Roman Quest for Healing and the Mission of Paul.

Stanley also maintains a website for A Slave’s Story. There are links to background material relating to the locations described in both novels conveniently organized by the sections of the book. This site addresses one frustration for me as I read the novels. I wanted more documentation! Several times I wanted to check the footnotes to see what primary sources Stanley followed for a particular practice. Most readers will want to browse this site as they read the novels.

Conclusion. A Bull for Pluto is a scholarly novel which illustrates the Greco-Roman world of mid-first century Asia Minor. I highly recommend both A Rooster for Asklepius and A Bull for Pluto for people who are planning on visiting Turkey since most of the “Seven Churches” tours or Pauline Missionary Journeys tours include Hierapolis.
NB: Thanks to NFB Publishing for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.
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Jonathon Lookadoo
5.0 out of 5 stars Continuing an Immersive and Enticing Story
Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2021
This is the second in Stanley's trilogy, A Slave's Story. A Bull for Pluto continues the main characters' story along with the interest in the Roman world that characterized the first book. Tensions remain evident as people interact from various classes and different means. Roman interest in status and honor come through particularly clearly in this story, and one may see the fickleness of Fate at work in the events that happen to certain characters.

Religious and cultic (in the sense of "related to worship) themes become increasingly prominent in this novel. Stanley's story highlights well the oddity of Jews and Christians as they were viewed by Roman elites.

Like the first volume, this book will be profitably read by those who are interested in learning more about the Roman world of the first century CE in a deep and immersive manner.
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Top reviews from other countries

CN
1.0 out of 5 stars He killed a baby, terrible book.
Reviewed in Canada on September 24, 2021
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It was awful, Marcus killed a baby at the end of the book. Ruined the whole thing. Dont buy it, don't read it.
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Nora Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 8, 2021
Verified Purchase
Very informative of the world that was the Roman empire and engaging as well. There was a shocking plot twist, which made the last chapter difficult to read but the world was different then. But there was a happy ending that countered the misfortunes. I highly recommend this book to anyone.
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Barbra W.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Bull for Pluto - A Slaves Story Book II
Reviewed in Australia on January 9, 2022
Verified Purchase
This edition of a Bull for Pluto - A Slave's Story Volume 2 is exactly as described.
An EXCELLENT seller who I STRONGLY recommend.
The Seller has WONDERFUL communication and customer service skills who kept me totally informed of any possible postal delays.
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