PenWorks of the Word | Featured Review | Judas, Otherwise by Steven Marks

Greetings, 

When the author of Judas, Otherwise shared his book in one of my favorite Author Facebook Groups, I was thrilled. The premise intrigued me a great deal, and I was happy to add it to my reading list. Before I get too far into this one, though, I must apologize to Steven Marks since I've had this one on my to-be-read pile since May.  

It's been a long time coming, but I'm excited to feature this one on the PenWorks of the Word Blog Tour this year. 

See you in the pages, 

MJE

Overall Rating: ★★★★

Overall Description:

Everyone knows the name Judas Iscariot.

Everyone knows what he did.

But what if no one has truly understood why?

Judas, Otherwise reimagines the most infamous betrayal in history through the eyes of the disciple who committed it. Set in first-century Palestine beneath Roman occupation and rising unrest, this haunting historical novel follows Judas as he is drawn into a storm of loyalty, fear, ambition, love, guilt, and faith. As the world around Jesus grows more volatile, Judas is forced toward choices that will wound not only the people he loves, but the course of history itself. This is not the story of a monster. It is the story of a man. A man who longed to matter. A man who believed he understood what had to be done. A man caught between devotion and ruin, between free will and destiny, between the kingdom he hoped for and the tragedy he helped unleash.

Emotionally rich, morally searching, and deeply human, Judas, Otherwise explores betrayal, sorrow, consequence, and the terrible cost of trying to force God’s hand.

~~~

My Review of this Book:

Have you ever read a book that impressed you so much creatively that, regardless of how you felt about the story itself, you couldn’t help but admire the author’s gift as a writer? That’s where Judas, Otherwise left me. And honestly, I’m still not quite sure what to make of it.

This is one of the most thoughtfully written biblical novels I've read in a long time. The author takes an incredibly difficult figure, Judas Iscariot, and presents him as deeply human, flawed, conflicted, and tragically vulnerable. The narrative often feels poetic, carrying a rhythm and elegance that makes even ordinary moments feel significant.

What impressed me most was the author's ability to imagine the humanity of the biblical characters. Judas, the disciples, Lazarus, Peter, and even Jesus feel like people rather than historical figures being moved around to fit a plot. Some scenes were especially powerful, particularly Judas wrestling with what he believes is the "lesser evil," Jesus confronting Judas about his true sin, and the increasingly fractured relationships that follow. The alternate-history premise is intriguing and kept me wondering where the story would ultimately lead.

Yet despite admiring so much of what the author accomplished, I struggled to emotionally connect with the novel. 

This is difficult to explain because the emotional moments are objectively well written. Judas's guilt, Peter's anger, Jesus's compassion, and the various personal struggles throughout the story are all present on the page. I understood what the characters were feeling. I even related to many of their internal struggles. But I rarely felt those emotions myself as a reader. 

Part of this may be the pacing. The novel spends a great deal of time in introspection, philosophical reflection, and emotional processing. While this adds depth and atmosphere, it occasionally slowed the narrative and created distance between me and the characters. There were several points where I felt the story was explaining emotions rather than letting me experience them. 

Ironically, the portions I enjoyed most were when the story became more focused and moved forward with purpose. The final section of the novel felt cleaner, faster-paced, and more engaging. By then, I was invested in seeing how the author would resolve the alternate-history premise, even if I never became fully invested in Judas himself. 

I also noticed a handful of modern words and references that occasionally pulled me out of the historical atmosphere. These were minor distractions but noticeable enough that they disrupted immersion at times. 

In the end, my biggest takeaway is this: I related to the story, but I did not feel the story. 

That's not a criticism of the author's skill. In fact, I think this is an exceptionally well-crafted novel. It challenged me to think differently about Judas, guilt, motives, and the consequences of trying to force God's plan into our own understanding. I respected nearly every page of it. 

And yet, when I finished, I was left more impressed than moved.

Perhaps that's exactly what the author intended. Perhaps it isn't. Either way, Judas, Otherwise is a thoughtful, ambitious, and beautifully written novel that opened my eyes to a perspective on Judas I had never seriously considered before. Even now, I'm still wrestling with what I think about it. And maybe that's part of its success.