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A Rooster for Asklepios: A Slave's Story, Book 1 Paperback – October 29, 2020

4.1 out of 5 stars 55 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 in response to 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 as Marcus struggles with newly revealed secrets about his ancestry and his master comes to terms with his mortality.

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.

Who Will Like This Book?
  • Readers who enjoy complex stories about flawed characters, epic journeys, and characters who struggle with their identities and commitments, including their views of religion
  • Readers who appreciate richly detailed and historically accurate accounts of daily life in the past
  • Readers who want to know more about the social and religious world of early Judaism and Christianity (including Roman religion and anti-semitism); how Greeks and Romans dealt with sickness and healing (medicine, miracle, and magic); and what life was like at specific Roman archaeological sites in Turkey (Ephesus, Pergamum, Hierapolis, Antioch, etc.).


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
    523 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    October 29, 2020
  4. Dimensions
    6 x 1.18 x 9 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1953610072
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1953610072
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"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
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 29, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 523 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1953610072
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1953610072
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.53 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.18 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 55 ratings

About the authors

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  1. 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
  2. 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
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4.1 out of 5 stars
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Customers find this historical novel highly educational and entertaining, with one review noting how the author brings life to the times. Moreover, the book helps readers understand the New Testament better, with one customer highlighting its precise portrayal of religious practices of the time.

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7 customers mention "Understanding of religious practices"7 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate how the book provides insight into Roman culture and religious practices, with one customer noting the author's keen understanding of these elements.

"...The story always kept moving, and yet at the same time, I felt that the author was sneaking in some fascinating historical details on nearly every..." Read more

"...of the Roman Empire, during the first century A.D. The story revolves around ordinary people, the ailing aristocrat Lucius and his slave Marcus and..." Read more

"Although I grreatly enjoyed the story itself, I came away with a far greater understanding of Roman culture—slavery, shame vs honor, view of Jews in..." Read more

"A True-to-Life Historical Novel Set in the First Century Asia Minor..." Read more

4 customers mention "Educational value"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly educational, with one customer describing it as a perfect combination of instruction and pleasure.

"...I found this to be the perfect combination of instruction and pleasure, and it pulled together for me so many details I have learned in classes,..." Read more

"...For me, reading the novel was an in-depth and moving experience as I became immersed in the Roman World of the middle of the first century AD...." Read more

"...and religious practices of the time are precise, adding to the educational and enjoyable contents of this outstanding work...." Read more

"Enticing, grabbing, and highly educational...." Read more

4 customers mention "Understanding"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate how the book helps them understand the New Testament better, with one customer noting its precise portrayal of religious practices of the time.

"...The book barely touches on the early church, but you’ll understand the New Testament better if you experience its world...." Read more

"...a follower of Jesus Christ, I feel that I have a far greater understanding of the New Testament." Read more

"...of Jews and Judaism are woven into the plot, giving the reader an objective understanding of the various concerns of both groups...." Read more

"...His understanding of the cultural and religious practices of the time are precise, adding to the educational and enjoyable contents of this..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Todd Bolen
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating window into the 1st century Roman world
    Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2021
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    If you’re interested in becoming immersed in the first-century Roman world in an entertaining work of historical fiction, I highly recommend this book. I found this to be the perfect combination of instruction and pleasure, and it pulled together for me so many details I have learned in classes, research, and travel.
    Most importantly, I always felt that I could trust the author’s research. Sometimes his descriptions confirmed what I knew, but he usually delved much more deeply than I ever have, and I thoroughly enjoyed soaking it in.

    The story follows a master and his slave as they travel from their home in Pisidian Antioch to seek healing from the god Asklepios in Pergamum. The story always kept moving, and yet at the same time, I felt that the author was sneaking in some fascinating historical details on nearly every page. I constantly marveled at how much first-century ground he covered, and I wonder how much could be left for his second and third works of the trilogy.

    Certain subjects were familiar to me, but they struck home in new ways. For instance, when you’re immersed in the life of a couple of Gentile characters, their point of view about how the “Jews undermine the unity of the city” made more sense than it ever had before. Because I usually come at matters from a Jewish or Christian perspective, I have failed to appreciate how distinctly odd Jews and Christians were in pagan cities.

    I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the Roman world in which Paul traveled and the early church grew. The book barely touches on the early church, but you’ll understand the New Testament better if you experience its world. Once again, this journey was so greatly enhanced by my confidence in the author’s decades of research on the social world of Greco-Roman antiquity and his “obsessive concern for accuracy.”

    Because the book is set in modern-day Turkey, I think that those who have traveled to these places would especially enjoy it. I would be happy recommending or requiring this for a group traveling to Turkey/Greece/Rome as well as for courses in the New Testament, early Judaism, and the Greco-Roman world.
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  • Amazon Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars A forgotten time
    Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2022
    Format: Kindle
    A story about a slave and his master. Marcus, a devoted and trusted slave in the house of Lucius. Lucius, a widowed father, has increasingly more painful gut problems. He seeks help from local physicians with no results. This takes them on a trip to another town far away. While there, Marcus makes new friends that help him settle a score with another slave. Lucius does everything that he is asked to do to get assistance in healing his body. Has he done enough? Or has he done too much?

    #GoodreadsGiveaway
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  • Robin E. Levin
    5.0 out of 5 stars What it Felt Like.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2024
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    A Rooster for Aesclepios is a masterful work of fiction that takes place in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, during the first century A.D. The story revolves around ordinary people, the ailing aristocrat Lucius and his slave Marcus and various people they encounter and associate with in Lucius’ quest for healing. The author, Christopher D. Stanley brings this era to life in incredible detail and focus.
    Lucius has an abdominal problem that keeps getting worse. Once a prominent man in Antioch with every prospect of increasing wealth, prosperity and prestige, his life is reduced to a quest for relief from his physical problems. A well-respected physician in Antioch has attempted to treat his illness with little success. Lucius has a dream that leads him to believe that if he goes to the Temple of Aesclepios in Pergamon he might find the cure he is seeking. It is a journey of two weeks but he brings his young wife, his slave Marcus and three other slaves with him.
    Much of the story involves religion. Lucius is a faithful adherent of the Greco-Roman pantheon and performs rituals every morning. He does not question the powers of the Greek god of healing, Aesclepios. His business dealings lead Lucius to involvements with the Jewish community, although he is deeply prejudiced against Jews. The religions of Greece and Rome enjoyed an easy syncretism while neither were compatible with monotheistic Judaism nor with the nascent Christianity that was, at that time, being promoted by the Apostle Paul. Mr. Stanley shows a keen understanding of the religious currents of the time.
    Much of the story is told from the point of view of Lucius’ slave Marcus and he and the other slaves in Lucius’ household and the households of other aristocrats are sympathetic characters.
    It is said that historians write about what happened in history, while writers of historical fiction write about what it felt like. Stanley does a great job of telling us what it felt like. I look forward to reading his other books.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Barbra W.
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Rooster for Asklepios - A Slave's Story Book One
    Reviewed in Australia on January 9, 2022
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    This edition of A Rooster for Asklepios - A Slave's Story - Book I 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.
    Report
  • Nora Jones
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating story
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 8, 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I accidentally read the second book first but I was able to refer back to it when I needed to. A most thorough and informative read and most definitely as engaging as the other book (A Bull for Pluto). Life was so very difficult for people in this time period, and the author successfully conveys that within. I highly recommend this book to all interested in the era. Well done!
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