Mercury Falls
by Robert Kroese
(4/5 stars)
When the story begins, Christine is a reporter for The Banner, a Christian magazine, despite that she's not much of a Christian. She lucked into the job after writing a news story about a doomsday cult and since then she's had to traipse around the country, profiling other doomsday cults who are inevitably wrong about the date of the world ending.
But after getting some new linoleum installed in her breakfast nook--which is a crucial plot point--she takes an assignment to Israel, where tensions are heating up in the middle east near a little place known as Armageddon. After nearly being killed in a rocket attack, Christine finds a strange attache case and eventually finds her way to another cult leader who calls himself Mercury.
Mercury is an angel, but he's closer to the Joker than any of the angels you might remember from the Bible. Really all Mercury wants is to sit on the sidelines and wait for the world to end, but when Christine shows up, he gets dragged into all the plotting and scheming between Heaven and Hell.
The rest of the story follows Christine and Mercury as they try to stop the Apocalypse, or at least make it less destructive. There are the annoying "Dogma"-like moments of characters having to explain Biblical things, though not to the extent that pretty much destroyed that Kevin Smith movie. Also unlike that movie it doesn't focus solely on Catholic dogma, so that a reader from any Western faith (or lack thereof) can follow along. Since there's really not much talk about Jesus or the Messiah, Jews or Muslims as well as Christians should be able to read it. Whether you're offended or not depends on how seriously you take your beliefs.
This is clearly not a book for the true believers, as it makes light of both Heaven and Hell. The writing is nothing special, but the author does manage to make it entertaining enough that it doesn't drag along. You probably aren't going to get any spiritual enlightenment from reading it, but it's not a bad time either.
Though of course if you haven't read it, "Good Omens" is a much better use of your money.
That is all.
5 comments:
I read "Good Omens," a long time ago. I remember it as a pleasant read, nothing great. The kind of thing Pratchett and Gaiman probably can dash off in an afternoon.
This one at least sounds interesting.. Probably the author would love it if someone WOULD get offended -- getting your book on a banned list can be huge. But I used to debate with my mom about religion (around about the time my sister and I invented "High Fives For Jesus" which drove her nuts) that if my religious beliefs can't hold up to a little poking fun at them, they aren't very strong beliefs.
Happy Thanksgiving to the most talented Grumpy Bulldog I know.
Happy Thanksgiving
Probably not easy to compare to Good Omens. You'd have to be pretty good indeed...
I've been wondering about this one. I've got Good Omens on the shelf; maybe it's time to give it a try.
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