by James Beauseigneur ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 13, 2003
Astoundingly intelligent. Next volume: Acts of God, set for January 2004.
Christological SF from an author (In His Image, 2003) who thinks really big.
The trilogy was self-published in the 1990s and, we’re told, sold 10,000 copies before Warner bought it. It’s the science pages that catch you up, although the Christology is damnably inventive (an exact description). Chief villain of installment two, set in 2019, is revealed to be Yahweh himself. In the story thus far, live cells from Christ’s body have been found in the Shroud of Turin, and a twin Christ has been cloned by Harold Goodman, who raises the Christ twin as his own son, Christopher Goodman. Nuclear war breaks out between India and rogue Pakistani forces, with China and Russia stepping in, and now Russia is no more, while a strange plague kills a quarter of mankind. Christopher fasts for 40 days in Israel’s wilderness and, returning, tells his companions, Decker Hawthorne, a journalist (who turns out to be Judas), and Robert Milner, former bigwig of the UN, that God wants Christopher to fulfill his mission begun 2,000 years ago. Meanwhile, nuclear war has killed or radiated 420 million. That’s a lot. But far worse is coming. As the Italian Ambassador to the UN, Christopher hopes to become secretary-general and lead mankind to a New Age. But two psychics arise in Israel, saying they are the Apostle John of the Christian New Testament and John the Baptist, and they preach woe. Indeed, they attract three meteorites to Earth, whose impact is dizzyingly well-described, wiping out the entire Middle East but not one Israeli, followed by a plague of giant bloodsucking locusts, then a madness of phantoms on ectoplasmic horses spreading death everywhere. Assassinated in the UN, Christopher rises from the dead after three days and reveals that he’s actually an ally of Lucifer, the good angel, while Yahweh is a sadist to be despised.
Astoundingly intelligent. Next volume: Acts of God, set for January 2004.Pub Date: July 13, 2003
ISBN: 0-446-53126-X
Page Count: 264
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2003
Share your opinion of this book
More by James Beauseigneur
BOOK REVIEW
by C.S. Lewis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1942
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by C.S. Lewis
BOOK REVIEW
by C.S. Lewis
BOOK REVIEW
by C.S. Lewis
BOOK REVIEW
by C.S. Lewis
by Chaim Potok ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 28, 1967
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
Share your opinion of this book
More by Chaim Potok
BOOK REVIEW
by Chaim Potok
BOOK REVIEW
by Chaim Potok
BOOK REVIEW
by Chaim Potok
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.