A cascading adventure of discovery, intrigue, and romance, He Can See Heaven tells the tale of Ellen Shea, an intrepid graduate student on a perilous search through exotic locales for a trove of lost scrolls. Penned by Saint Papias and known to history as the Logia, the scrolls are the first record of Jesus, eyewitness accounts older and truer than the New Testament. They unveil a new perspective of the man-god and predict the coming of a doomsday prophet, the Hierophant, the one who can see heaven. Along the way Ellen meets a cavalcade of intriguing characters including two beguiling men, polar opposites who tantalize her mind and inflame her desires. The text depicts a second journey, that of the scrolls themselves, from their origin in ancient Anatolia, through Judea to Constantine's Council at Nicaea, and then west to Iberia and the medieval kingdoms of the Visigoths, Moors, and Spaniards, at last coming to rest in modern Granada. A raucous ride through Europe, North Africa, and New York City, this uncommon novel ponders the nature of faith and its professors, concluding with the poignant appearance of the Hierophant and his timeless message.
About the Author: Joel Benner Keats is a retired medical school professor whose lifelong fascinations with science, history, and religion intersect in his novels, including He Can See Heaven and Dixie Traveler. A Catholic altar boy steeped in evangelism as a teen, his extensive exposure to Eastern, Native American, Muslim, and Jewish traditions has infused his exhilarating and provocative novels with a kaleidescope of characters and perspectives. After decades of medical practice and teaching at the University of Southern California and University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Keats' literary embers were rekindled by circumstance and stoked by the ticking clock, resulting in these captivating stories of adventure and enlightenment. In addition to his novels, Keats' recent diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes has precipitated a work of non-fiction, The Habit of Habits. It's a practical, proven guide to waist and blood sugar control through habit formation. Inspired by Benjamin Franklin's timeless method and guided by twenty-first century medical science, it's presented with the unusual insight of doctor as patient.