“Two men claim to be the Second Coming of Christ. Each claims the other is
Satan in disguise. But only one is telling the truth.”
Early on in the opening chapters the reader is introduced to
David Shepherd and Michael Waters who have just come away from a religious man
ranting in the street. On their journey home they are confronted by a
mysterious tribesman who convinces them to come to his church. The tribesman waits patiently for their
arrival and breaks the news that he is the second coming of Jesus Christ and
goes by the name of Israel.
In this very moment an attractive woman by the name of
Margret Magdala sits nursing her drink in a bar and meets a stranger who claims
he knows the exact date of her turning her back on God and he can back his
story up with truth. The stranger
asks Margret to walk with him and follow God. His name is Joe and he claims
that he is the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Both opposite parties, David and Margret eventually become
strong devoured disciples for their chosen Messiah's and go on to spread the
word and recruit new followers while declaring the other Messiah is Satan. All this leads to a major political divide of
liberal and conservative ideology across America, especially Washington DC and
Coastal Carolina where the two different Messiah's
reside. Both sides do all they can to
discredit each other through various media outlets. Margret with her goddess like looks and charm
emerges as the femme fatale of fundamentalism, the divine diva of deliverance
and the conservative community love her.
David’s popularity with the liberal community soon
sky-rockets as he is perceived as an avenging angel for all those victimized by
persecution and prejudice.
Joe
challenges Israel to a live television debate and the battle of the Gods
begins. The prelude of this godly debate
continues to dominate the headlines. The main stream media are pro-Israel, while the talk radio
universe rally behind Joe. When the fateful day finally comes and the two Messiah's
must share the same stage, it is clear there’s only enough room for one Messiah
and this is when the real battle commences with a highly unpredictable ending.
This is a powerful thought-provoking work of fiction that
cleverly examines age-old arguments, predicaments and biblical interpretations
that are commonly believed concepts by Christians with regards to their
salvation on earth and what will happen in the event of the apocalypse and
afterlife that follows. S. Pinsker clearly has a great sense of humour as he injects just the
right amount of satire to soften the ebb of biblical text and injects plenty of
twist and turns to keep the reader guessing the outcome while allowing the
reader to think about their own beliefs and ideology. S. Pinsker also has a
unique talent for depicting a conceivable pre-apocalyptic phase that will leave
many readers, like me waiting anxiously for the sequel.
My
Ranking:
5
Stars
My
Review Sites:
Amazon & Goodreads
