Peter M. Last

RANTS AND RAMBLES (SPOILER WARNING)

• • I want to make it clear that despite the issues I noticed with this novel, it was still very good and I do recommend it. My job when I review books is to point out all of these things, but any particular rant (and, yes, they can be long-winded) does not necessarily have special bearing on my overall opinion. Please refer to my overall star rating for my unified opinion of the book as a whole.
  • There are several things I could probably gripe about this book, but the issue of blasphemy was so prevalent it is hard for me to get past. Everything else pales in comparison, so this is the only topic of ranting this time. The book operates under a form of Christianity, and I use that description loosely. God and the devil are present and heaven and hell exist, each with its army fighting for the souls of mortals. And that’s where the resemblance to Christianity ends. Whether a person goes to hell or not is based on whether they did more bad than good in their life. If a person does not go to hell, they also may not get into heaven. Limbo, purgatory, and reincarnation are all options, and the destination is based on the amount of good a person did in their life. These things are obviously different than what Christianity espouses, but from a purely pragmatic, logical standpoint, it doesn’t really make sense. First, limbo and purgatory are basically the same thing, so why are they different destinations? Secondly, I could buy (from a purely logical stance) the existence of limbo or purgatory alongside Heaven and Hell as a sort of “participation trophy.” This requires entrance into heaven to be based on the balance sheet of our actions, but assuming that, it works. Reincarnation could also make sense, effectively taking the place of limbo or purgatory. Good enough? You go to heaven. Really bad? You go to hell. In the middle? Take another round on earth and see if you can do better. Again, theologically problematic, but the logic of it holds up to a certain extent. But how can this limbo/purgatory place and reincarnation exist side-by-side? Why do some people get another round on earth, presumably with another shot at heaven, while others end up stuck outside of heaven permanently? Who makes the decision? Of course, perhaps that is part of the dig this book takes at Christianity because St. Peter is the gate keeper of heaven and makes the decisions on who gets in and who goes to limbo (those who go to hell never make it in front of Peter). Rather than taking his job seriously, St. Peter seems downright flippant about his decisions, often deciding on a whim or letting someone into heaven because he got distracted by something. He also has a “professional relationship and respect” for his counterpart in hell, espousing the idea that heaven and hell, saints and demons really aren’t all that different. This world was clearly created by someone who views religion as the butt of a joke (though Christianity bears the brunt of the ridicule). If you are this kind of person, go ahead and bump my overall rating up to a 3 and enjoy this book for what it is. Otherwise, steer clear of it. There are better things out there to read.