About the Book The Well of the Soul

Book: The Well of the Soul

Author: Doug Powell

Genre: Action/Adventure/Suspense

Release date: October 15, 2021

A list of hiding places on a strip of papyrus found inside a mummy mask thrusts Graham Eliot, an Ancient Near East scholar, into a hunt for the treasures of the second temple. The list has already cost the life of a colleague, and now he is being pursued as he races to recover what has been lost for almost 2,000 years.

As he literally digs into Jerusalem, he is haunted by the recent deaths of his wife and daughter, which have left him doubting the existence of God. His spiritual and archaeological struggles become more entwined as his life is repeatedly threatened the longer the work continues. When he reaches the final site—the cisterns below the Temple Mount, a network of caves and tunnels no one has entered in 150 years and that no one has ever explored—Graham discovers far greater treasure than he ever imagined.

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My Thoughts on The Well of the Soul

The Well of the Soul is an interesting action and adventure book that will have you marvelling but also on the edge of your seat.

This is such an interesting read.  You get history, you get discovering, you get ancient ruins, and you get the Bible all in one book. 

I enjoyed this read.  It read so fast.  I did not want to put it down because it felt like I would miss a key clue or point.  You really feel that you are there and racing the clock as well.  The soul searching and wondering if there is a God were well written and tug at you. 

The archaeological aspects of the book are fascinating and my always inquiring mind really enjoyed them.  Plus the just awe-inspiring thought that you can possibly read things that are from the ancients in masks?  That is just mind-blowing.  Anyone wanna hook me up with that seminar?!

This was a wonderful book that I recommend and I’m looking forward to reading more in the series to come. 

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

About the Author of The Well of the Soul

Doug Powell is the best-selling author of more than a dozen books on Christian apologetics, a speaker, musician, songwriter, graphic designer, and a very amateur magician. He has performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, has been featured on CNN and NPR, and appears on two songs he co-wrote with Alan Parsons for the album The Secret. He lives outside Nashville, Tennessee.

More from Doug

In December 2013, I attended a private event where an Ancient Near East scholar demonstrated a method he had developed for deconstructing certain kinds of mummy masks. He explained that many mummy masks were made with an early form of paper-mâché called cartonnage. Instead of paper as we know it, the material that was molded and shaped was papyrus, an early form of paper made from the leaves of a papyrus plant.

However, papyrus was too expensive to justify using it for mummies.

So a funerary attendant would collect discarded books, letters, and documents—whatever he could find—and use them to construct the mask.

The scholar then explained that if a mask could be found from the right location and the right time period, then it might contain fragments of biblical manuscripts. The problem was how to dissolve the adhesive to separate and extract the individual fragments.

After much trial and error, he had hit on a solution—a liquid key, of sorts—to unlock the mask.

He then went to the pantry where the event was taking place and turned on a camera mounted above the sink that fed video back to the auditorium where I watched the big screen along with more than a hundred other apologists and scholars.

He submerged the mask into what looked like bubbles from dishwashing liquid, narrating what was happening as he worked the solution into the mask. After a few moments, he announced something had just come loose, then pulled a hand from the bubbles, an ancient fragment pinched between his fingers. He repositioned it in this palm and identified the text as Coptic. He set it aside to dry, then repeated the process, pulling fragments more quickly as the mask disintegrated.

The mask yielded several dozen fragments, many with writing on them.

After letting them dry, the scholars who had watched the demonstration then tried to read and identify each of the texts on the fragments by entering the words they could make out into a database of ancient writings. Full disclosure: out of the entire batch, I could read only one word, which was and. So I didn’t exactly do any heavy-lifting to help move the body of scholarly knowledge forward.

By the end of the next day, five fragments from the New Testament had been identified, and one from Jeremiah.

As fascinating as the experience was, I found myself wondering, What would be the craziest thing that could possibly be found inside the mask?

At the time, I had no plans to write a novel. But somehow the question was a seed that grew in the dark, given that I didn’t actively pursue it. Years later—quite unexpectedly—I found an answer to the question. And I realized I was sitting on a premise to a novel. The presentation became the first scene in the book that became The Well of the Soul.

Blog Stops for The Well of the Soul

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, February 3

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 4

Texas Book-aholic, February 5

Pause for Tales, February 5

Inklings and notions, February 6

For the Love of Literature, February 6

For Him and My Family, February 7

deb’s Book Review, February 8

Locks, Hooks and Books, February 9

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, February 10

The Sacred Line, February 10

Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting, February 11

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, February 12 (Spotlight)

Blogging With Carol, February 12

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, February 13

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 14

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, February 15 (Author Interview)

Mary Hake, February 15

Little Homeschool on the Prairie, February 16

Giveaway for The Well of the Soul

To celebrate his tour, Doug is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon gift card and a signed copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!

Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/19bc3/the-well-of-the-soul-celebration-tour-giveaway