by Sonia McGary illustrated by Frank G. Sowells Jr. ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 16, 2017
A strange, intense, and vividly written speculative reinterpretation of the second coming.
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A personal fantasia builds on the themes of the Christian end times.
McGary’s slim nonfiction debut takes as its core content the book of Revelation, the fragmentary, highly allegorical, borderline hallucinatory chapter of end-time prophecies that closes the New Testament. The various segments of those end times have been endlessly parsed and expanded on by writers over the centuries: a world war in which Satan is defeated and a third of humanity is killed; Jesus setting up a thousand-year terrestrial kingdom on Earth governing those humans who survived the Tribulation; and so on. This sequence of events delivers more than enough vagueness to support endless speculation and countless books (including the bestselling Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye). Because the story of Jesus is for Christians the prefigurement of Revelation, McGary spends the first portion of her work presenting readers with a striking version of the events that bear on the Son of God’s Crucifixion, Resurrection, and second coming, with an increasingly prominent element of narrative elaboration provided by the author. After the Crucifixion, for instance, readers are told that “Satan and his demons had a celebration that night. They all were saying, ‘We got Jesus now, locked up in jail’ ”—with one of the demons asserting, “I never liked him from the moment I laid my eyes on him.” In rapid order, the narrative morphs into a pure fantasia on McGary’s part, a fast-paced and dramatic tale (accompanied by odd black-and-white images by debut illustrator Sowells) involving the “Trench Coat Mafia,” modern-day nations like Russia and the United States, possible space alien visitations, and even druids. The prose is markedly readable (“The demons from hell are given physical form in order to manifest their destruction and torment”). Fans of end times–based fiction should find the author’s embellishments intriguing as both an interpretation of and commentary on the book of Revelation, with plenty of amendments born of McGary’s own vibrant imagination.
A strange, intense, and vividly written speculative reinterpretation of the second coming.Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-64045-959-5
Page Count: 88
Publisher: LitFire Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by William Strunk & E.B. White ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 15, 1972
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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