THE AGE OF SERPENTS AND SCORPIONS

A Colorado teenager changes the past to save his mother’s life, opening himself up to possibilities—and dangers.

“Nothing is as it seems” is a repeated refrain in this Christian political thriller that pits Satan’s and God’s plans against each other. When Jimmy’s mother was murdered, her unforgettable last words to 11-year-old Jimmy were: “This is not the end.” Now, 17-year-old Jimmy is asked out on a date by classmate Sasha, whose senator father is a presidential hopeful. The pair visit a carnival, where they consult a fortune teller who’s more than what he at first seems to be—and perhaps offers the key to understanding Jimmy’s mother’s dying words. Jimmy and Sasha’s relationship progresses rapidly, and the pair spark a chain of events that places their lives in danger and puts them in a position to find out the truth behind the lies of religious and government leaders that have kept people from following Jesus Christ. Will Jimmy and Sasha, who present white, believe Satan’s lies or will they trust Jesus’ assurances that they can “trample on serpents and scorpions” and reveal the truth? Written in the third person, the book, which would have benefited from being trimmed down, contains repetitive sermons and political screeds interspersed with a fantasy storyline that’s weakened by stilted dialogue and an overabundance of outdated pop-culture references.

A rambling religious sermon mixed with fantastical thriller elements.