Brought to you by OBS reviewer Scott

Most Biblical Apocalyptic stories feature whimsical demons, terribly awesome archangels,  doom and destruction,  with the fire and bellows of the very depth of Hell. The Second Coming: A Love Story twists the old cliché around focusing on the simple question what if the second coming of Christ appeared in two camps: one a taciturn Son, evangelical Old Testament interpretation of religion, going by the name of Joe; the other a liberal, open minded, liberal, New Testament, Son, whose followers have deemed Israel. One of them is an impostor, the Adversary in disguise, and because of the fleeting nature of truth, the novel skillfully entices the reader into a guessing game as to who’s who as the story unfolds.

Added to this are the second comings’ disciples:  Margaret, a former criminal lawyer who let countless wrongdoers off the hook, believing in the law of the land, and has become quite rich because of it; she shares sides with Peter, the Bum King, whose ability to relate to the common worker and street urchins is uncanny – both reside in Joe’s camp. In Israel’s court, sits David, a homosexual, ex-political speech writer, and Michael, David’s lover, a grief-struck man who has strangely prophetic visions that could lead to the salvation of humankind or its damnation. These characters are fully fleshed out accomplices – their deeds and actions reflect who they are and where they came from, and at no time was I confused on the disciples standpoints within their collective dogma. These were real people to me, acting in manner befitting the circumstances in the way they knew best.

Woven into this is the parable of the ravens, the eagle, the dragon and the mud-monkeys; unfolding its own story as the main events play out. It starts very slowly in the beginning, and gathers pace to a frenetic speed toward the end. This, for me was one of the perks of the book, a story within a story, not quite a subplot, but just as important to the book. Additionally, it was so deftly told that only at the end of the novel do you realize the implications it has. Likewise with the love story encompassing the novel, it’s not apparent at the beginning but dawns on the reader in the end. I have to admit it’s not the love story you think it is.

The novel isn’t preachy (unless it’s necessary to do so) and weighs a lot of the pros and cons, implications and inferences dealing with modern religious interpretation,  It smoothly glides across many taboo subjects, and pokes a playful finger in playing up some of the more entertaining philosophical discussions throughout the story. At no point was I offended or swayed –the novel unfolds these “touchy” subjects with a light heart, not giving a position, except through the characters interactions. Even the ending is light hearted, and offers full resolutions to every plot thread introduced. This is doubly surprizing given that a sequel is being worked on.

Overall, the quality of the plot, themes, characters, settings and other literary elements are extremely well executed. Fans of the “Apocalyptic” genre will find this a refreshing change. Although it might cause a little friction in the religion department, fans of religious or philosophical reflections on religious books will find a home in The Second Coming: A Love Story.

*OBS would like to thank the author for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*