THE PARADOX

In this fantasy, two people’s lives intersect as the end of days approaches.

As an ominous mist blankets Earth, chaos and violence erupt. This apparently is a planned event, and the story takes readers back decades to around the 1980s. Two Americans step into the spotlight: Billie Evans and David Steele. Billie suffers a tragedy in college. She becomes a teacher years later, only to enter into an abusive relationship. Meanwhile, David’s “erratic” mother disappears again, but may not come back this time. He finds success as a furniture maker until a betrayal blindsides him. As Billie’s and David’s lives progress, a couple of special women seemingly monitor them. Miriam and Anna (David’s absent mom) enjoy such talents as remote viewing and evidently know Billie’s and David’s fates. The women, for example, await the couple’s inevitable rendezvous, as it’s all part of a “Plan” that has been under way for millennia. This world has seen “mass extinction events” before, but is that the outcome that Billie and David will soon endure? Ellerup’s novel thrives on obscurity. There are few details concerning Miriam and Anna; the elemental being who periodically narrates; and the places where Billie and David live. Nevertheless, a religious bent is unmistakable, with signs of God, Satan, and the Four Horsemen. They are likewise indications that some, including Miriam and Anna, don’t necessarily agree with the predetermined Armageddon and its accompanying “rules.” Meanwhile, the protagonists’ individual stories enthrall, as Billie displays an ability to see others’ auras and David stumbles into a romance. More than half of the novel leads up to the moment that joins these two. But tension rises in the final act, which returns to the story’s beginning and entails an evil potentially aimed at Billie and David.

Memorable lead characters headline this understated but intriguing apocalyptic tale.