The 21 - A Journey into the Land of Coptic Martyrs is just that. A look at the 21 Coptic Christians who were brutally murdered in February 2015 on a beach in Libya by ISIS. Murders that were intentionally recorded and posted on the internet for the world to see. The author sought out their families to learn about these men and their faith. He looked at the history and liturgical service of their faith. It’s a look at what it is like to live as a Christian in a country dominated another religion, in this case Islam. It’s a true account of what happens when men of one religion believe they have the right to murder men of a different religion simply because of the religious differences. And most importantly, it’s about the families that were left without husbands, sons, and fathers because of their adherence to our faith. Worth your time. Thank you to Plough Publishing Audiobooks and Net Galley for this ALC in exchange for my review.

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Thank you NetGalley and Plough Publishing Audiobooks for accepting my request to audibly read and review The 21 Journey into the Land of Coptic Martyrs.

Translated by Alta L. Price.
Narrated by Michael Elgamal
Published: 02/14/23

I am applying my standard 3 stars for the book. The genre classifications are Christian and Multicultural. It is not possible for me to fact check the author's findings.

I found the story less about 21 Christian men who died in a heinous manner and more about reactions. I question the text translation to American English. I don't think it translated well.

I would leave this to scholars. This is not a stocking stuffer. Best left for the reader to request or pick up themselves.

I appreciated learning about the 21 martyrs who were executed in 2015 and about their culture; their faith in God and willingness to die for their beliefs is inspiring. But I thought this book could have been condensed to a New Yorker-length article. The author had to pad out the content too much with too many extraneous chapters (such as his imagined conversation with the 'doubter' and the 'believer'.

The narrator was not a native English speaker, which made it interesting to listen to if somewhat difficult at times. The editing of the audiobook wasn't great, as it felt apparent when changes had been made, as the volume moved up and down with the splicing.

Thanks to NetGalley and Plough Publishing Audiobooks for the audiobook ARC!

The 21 takes a close look at a very well-known tragedy - the televised execution of 21 Christian men by ISIS extremists on a beach in Libya in 2015. The author recounts his travels to the village in Egypt where most of the men hailed from, to meet their families and dig into the roots of their faith and martyrdom. It may or may not be a surprise to see firsthand their humble origins.

Filled with personal insights and in-depth analysis, The 21 is an interesting and deeply moving read.

"We have become accustomed to assuming that it is primarily political and economic motives that lie behind every religious conflict, because we don’t want to consider the fact that a person’s faith might actually be the ultimate, highest reality."

Part travelogue, part social commentary, part theological investigation, "The 21: A Journey Into the Land of Coptic Martyrs" by Martin Mosebach chronicles the author's journey to Egypt to learn more about the 21 men martyred on a beach in Libya by ISIS in 2015. The images from their execution video is one of those pivotal moments that will be published in history books for generations. As someone who vividly remembers the event unfolding in real time, I was interested in picking up a book to learn more about who these men outside of their final moments.

In 2018, I traveled to Ethiopia and was able to tour a number of sites holy to the Ethiopian Orthodox church, particularly the legendary stone churches at Lalibela. As a result I found the author's description of liturgical practices unique to the Coptic Church (and African Orthodoxy more broadly) fascinating. I appreciated learning more about the history of the Copts and their resilience through centuries of persecution. It was moving to travel with the author to these men's home villages and hear more about the impact of their lives and deaths on the family members closest too them, as well as how their communities are keeping their memories alive through iconography, relics, and the construction of a cathedral in their memory.

The author is a traditional Catholic so many of his observations about the liturgy, iconography, and history of the Coptic Church are seen through that lens. While I found this interesting (and as a Catholic could understand the references he was making), I think this book would resonate with a broader audience of Christians who might not have that reference point in mind if the author did not rely so frequently on comparisons to Catholicism when describing Coptic practices. I would have preferred if the beauty of African Orthodoxy was allowed to stand on its own.

At times I felt like the author feel into some of the traps sadly common to authors from the West visiting and writing about other cultures, especially in the developing world. There were portions that seemed very condescending about their living conditions, literacy rates, and the Copts approach to the preservation of history and culture. Alternatively sections would flip from this condescension to being written almost from the perspective of the "noble savage" trope. This was the aspect of the book that I found the most off-putting and where it lost stars for me.

I listened to this on audiobook, and while I appreciate the accessibility of having this book available in different formats, would recommend this be read in a physical or ebook format. I can only assume that there would have been photos throughout the text of the book of the martyrs and their hometown which I think would have really enhanced the reading experience. I also found the narrator to be a little dry and monotone.

If you have an interest in modern Christian martyrs, the liturgy and traditions of African Orthodox churches, or the societal impacts of the Arab Spring and the rise of ISIS, I think you would really enjoy this book. I came away from the reading experience feeling that I had a better understanding about the realities of the Coptic Church in modern day Egypt.

*DISCLAIMER: I received an eARC of this book in audiobook format from Plough Publishing through NetGalley for the purposes of providing an unbiased review.*

This is obviously a complicated story and topic. Religion interests me although the arguments over Jesus' divinity seem ridiculous to me. The author clearly was moved by the murder of these people and attempted to find out more about their lives before and legend after. Unfortunately, there wasn't much history or vulnerable honesty that the communities could share. The book does a good job of describing the history of Coptic christians in a digestible, story-like format.

“The man was so sure of his faith, it might as well have been written on his forehead.”

This book follows a man who decided to travel to where 21 Christian men were murdered for their faith. He traveled to their families and wrote about their stories. He wanted to follow their footsteps and learn about their beliefs that strengthened them to their end.

I’m not a Coptic Christian. Before this book, I’d never even heard of the term. Coptic Christians put a lot of emphasis on church tradition but also follow the Bible. Though this doesn’t describe my kind of Christianity, I learned from this book.

Christian persecution has been on the rise for decades. I don’t see it as much in my back yard, but thousands of Christians around the world are targeted. The author wrote this book with facts and stories by people who knew the martyrs.

The facts could be dry at points. I enjoy learning about the world’s history if it’s written for the reader rather than written for the facts. All in all, the author did his research. This book has great information that shows an insight into the day when these 21 men were martyred for their faith.

When21 Christian missionaries were beheaded on the beach in Egypt the government did nothing and men were lost it didn’t have to be. Martin Masebach an ultra price tell the story of how 21 families lost their breadwinners their sons their husbands. We learn more about the men’s calls and why they were there the total belief in God and how they didn’t cower in fear but went to their death knowing a better existence awaited. We also learned about what the Gyptian government did to try and make up for the families loss which in my opinion rang hollow but I guess something is always better than nothing. I thought the narrator did a stellar job and really set the tone for the time place in the men that were taken. Kudos to him and the authors for this great book everyone deserves their story to be told and now they’re story has been and what a great job they did. I received this book from Netgali and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This book recounts the murder of 21 individuals by ISIS. The author interviewed the families and wrote this book. The book was too long snd the narrator dry.
But I’m sure there is a better audience for this one than me.

This is a book about Coptic Christians. It details the murder of 21 individuals by ISIS. The author interviewed the families and wrote this book. It’s a good book if you like such topics.

Orange Is The New Paperback

This was an alright book.

I found it very sad at times with the treatment of Christians.

But it was a good story to learn about what's happening around the world.

It also gave a good history of the news stories that we've seen from that part of the world.

I found that this book was fairly dry and long, though, unfortunately.

Not particularly too interesting, but still an important read for sure.

3.4/5