A Walk Through Heaven & Hell
by Wade J. Carey
The third volume in Carey’s (A Walk Through the Mall, 2011) Flaming Sword series sees a mix of humans and angels in battle against the forces of Satan.
It is 2010, and Wyatt Hunter, a Christian author in his mid-40s, is excited but cautious to promote his book on a public access station in Boston, where he’ll share the stage with a potentially hostile atheist author. Coaching him in advance is the jovial, golf-loving angel Mick, who stresses the importance of defending Wyatt’s faith with useful biblical passages. Meanwhile, Wyatt’s twin brother, Caleb, is involved in a very different pursuit: Leading a group of Satanists who practice their dark arts in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, Caleb strives to undo everything Wyatt believes. After Wyatt is unexpectedly attacked after his TV appearance, he finds himself in a spiritual realm discussing not only his own future but the future of others, particularly his brother’s evil plan to fill the world with the spawn of Satan. Will Caleb succeed in creating a nation of Satan’s disciples? Interspersed with moments in heaven (where events occur such as finding one’s “bag of popcorn was absolutely perfect—with no unpopped kernels”), satanic sacrifices, biblical passages and bubbly young Christians who refer to each other as “dude,” the book maintains a bouncy, light feel even in times of violence and distress. Readers who view surrender to Jesus Christ as essential and the need for a creator as absolute will find much to relish in the heroic tale of Wyatt and his associates. Though good guys tend to be really good (succumbing to the temptation of a cigarette every now and again) and the bad guys tend to be really bad (murdering innocents out of a love of their dark lord), the story moves at a steady pace for readers intrigued by down-home angels and a heaven where baseball not only exists but is occasionally played by Jesus himself.
Simplistic in its pitting of good vs. evil but of interest to readers intrigued by popular Christian views put up against Nazi-sympathizing Satanists.