THE WARRIOR OF GOD

A religious epic about the ultimate battle between good and evil.

At turns techno-thriller, horror novel, heroic fantasy and Old Testament tome, the central novelty is The Warrior of God’s clever conversion of biblical entities into modern superheroes and villains. Recasting these familiar canonical angels and demons, the novel serves up a Special Forces version of Gabriel and a pitiless advocate of the apocalypse in Baal. Awakened in the lands formerly known as Babylonia, Baal’s millennial slumber is disturbed during a well-drilling operation in Iraq. Indeed, the novel’s entire political backdrop is unapologetically topical. Feeding on the fears of those unfortunate enough to approach, Baal finally awakens from his millennial slumber and assiduously begins his annihilation of all that is good, usually by invading the minds of any mortal he chooses. Meanwhile, the high-tech descendants of the Oracle of Delphi, led by the indefatigable Walter, locate Gabriel in an ancient sarcophagus and transport his atrophied body back to Chicago. Oracle exists to assist Gabriel’s rehabilitation, but he’s a bit grumpy from a few thousand years of sleep and far from the familiar winged avatar of god. He quickly recovers and masters several modern martial arts–culminating in a death match against 32 professional killers recruited to test his new skills. Gabriel conquers, all while being brought up-to-date by a team of obnoxious humans. Walter, the brilliant, Twinkie-loving, reluctant scientist hero, succeeds wonderfully as counterpoint and light comic relief throughout the novel. He, as much of humanity, is an endless exasperation for Gabriel. Expletives abound in this Torah-sized tome, and though it relies a bit too heavily upon these lexical choices for eliciting emotion, the book’s depth, imaginative revisions and engaging characters will move readers. The pulsing plot spans the globe and solidly incorporates the threat of nuclear annihilation into the broader cosmic struggle between good and evil. It’s eschatology on all fronts–metaphysical and political. As with most novels of tremendous breadth, there are some characters who are easily forgotten and some subplots less than germane. However, there is little room for a reader’s lamentation after the brutal endgame played by Gabriel and Baal in the novel’s denouement, and Walter’s final metamorphosis is an ironic image that satisfies in the best, unexpected way.

A book for insatiate lovers of heavy, religious, action-packed fiction.