Biblical thriller with compelling elements and characters, though it doesn’t fully deliver on its potential for mystery and...
A priest and a diplomat believe the antichrist will soon rise to power and that his forerunner is already among them.
Father Matthew Huntington, an exemplary priest, works with local youth and on missions abroad with U.S. Ambassador John Elias. However, nothing in his experience prepares him for a morning when the pages of his Bible start turning themselves. A supernatural presence guides him to read passages from Revelation to his congregation; Father Matthew believes it might be a miracle, maybe even a warning from God. At the same time, the priest’s friend and sometime diplomatic partner, John, has experienced a revelation of his own. An infamous Washington, D.C., psychic tells him that holy visions have shown her that the end is near, and it is just as the Bible says. A forerunner to the antichrist is already on Earth, gaining power as a messenger of peace, she says, and paving the way for apocalypse. “From the signs, he could be one of at least six people on my list” of possible evil forerunners, she tells John. “And of the six,” she says, “you are included.” Soon after, the president sends Father Matthew, John, and popular Olympic athlete Jason Armstrong on a diplomatic mission to Greece. Unsure of what these omens and prophecies mean, the priest and diplomat must work together to discover who among them is a forerunner of peace and who is working for the antichrist. Leodas, author of several mystery novels, knows how to build scenes with incredible tension, shifting character motives, and shocking bursts of violence. However, as a book about the forerunners to apocalypse rather than the main event, most of the story feels like exposition and buildup to more exciting possibilities. Several enticing ideas and characters, in particular a cocky Italian policeman, seem to disappear from the main story, which never achieves the same crescendo and excitement that Leodas produces in smaller, more intimate moments; a premature reveal of the true villain doesn’t help. However, readers intrigued by prophecy-based thrillers will appreciate Leodas’ characters and prophetic details.
Biblical thriller with compelling elements and characters, though it doesn’t fully deliver on its potential for mystery and excitement.Pub Date: Aug. 10, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5146-7184-9
Page Count: 370
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
This first novel, ostensibly about the friendship between two boys, Reuven and Danny, from the time when they are fourteen on opposing yeshiva ball clubs, is actually a gently didactic differentiation between two aspects of the Jewish faith, the Hasidic and the Orthodox. Primarily the Hasidic, the little known mystics with their beards, earlocks and stringently reclusive way of life. According to Reuven's father who is a Zionist, an activist, they are fanatics; according to Danny's, other Jews are apostates and Zionists "goyim." The schisms here are reflected through discussions, between fathers and sons, and through the separation imposed on the two boys for two years which still does not affect their lasting friendship or enduring hopes: Danny goes on to become a psychiatrist refusing his inherited position of "tzaddik"; Reuven a rabbi.... The explanation, in fact exegesis, of Jewish culture and learning, of the special dedication of the Hasidic with its emphasis on mind and soul, is done in sufficiently facile form to engage one's interest and sentiment. The publishers however see a much wider audience for The Chosen. If they "rub their tzitzis for good luck,"—perhaps—although we doubt it.
Pub Date: April 28, 1967
ISBN: 0449911543
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1967
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