Review by Booklist Review
"This nonsense about my family. It's got to stop," complains the unnamed narrator of Parker's satiric novella, a theological quagmire set in a medieval fantasy world. The nonsense in question is the story that his grandfather, deceased but still larger than life, imprisoned an angel on his estate. Captured by the gangster Florio for his outstanding debts, the narrator, a seminary student whose lapsed belief in God permitted a life of minor debauchery, agrees to produce said angel to buy time. He takes Florio and his goons to his grandfather's chapel, but his escape attempt fizzles when the angel is actually there, trapped in a room designed by genius philosopher Saloninus to be invisible to God. With incontrovertible proof that God exists, Florio concocts a crafty plan to game the system and avoid damnation, while the narrator tries to avoid paying for his grandfather's sins. This razor-sharp treatise on theology is funny and troubling in equal measure, with Florio litigating complex philosophical topics in the brisk patter of a snake-oil salesman with an equally tricky God. This is a provocative think piece.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Parker (Inside Man) turns from demons to angels in this thorny, theological novella, set in a medievalesque fantasy world. The unnamed narrator, a seminary student who has abandoned his belief in the Invincible Sun in favor of gambling and womanizing, is captured by the gangster Florio, to whom he owes a massive debt. Florio offers to forgive all if the narrator can deliver the angel that the narrator's grandfather, a PT Barnum--style impresario of objectionable entertainment, reportedly captured. The narrator agrees only to buy himself time. Imagine his surprise when he and Florio head to his grandfather's chapel and the angel is actually there, held captive in a room designed by theologian Saloninus, "the most brilliant genius who ever lived," to be undetectable by god. Both Florio and the narrator's lives change forever with the existence of the divine thus confirmed: Florio contemplates what it will take for a man like him to avoid damnation, while the narrator discovers that he will have to pay for the sins of his grandfather. The result is a complex treatise on morality, justice, mercy, forgiveness, and fate disguised as a fantasy adventure, with Parker's trademark acerbic wit keeping things from getting too dry. This will give readers plenty to chew on. (Nov.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Parker (A Practical Guide to Conquering the World) offers readers an interesting experiment wrapped in a fascinating study of the meanings of good and evil told as a compelling debate about the unfairness of life, mercy, and the strained goodwill of both gods and men. A man creates a thought-experiment about what will happen to his world if he can eliminate the influence of any almighty being. But the question that really gets answered is whether or not it is possible to cheat an honest man or an honest god in a world where life is unfair, justice is unforgiving, and mercy is only administered to the undeserving--and the cheaters. Characters include a conniving theological student caught between the machinations of an amoral genius and the bill collectors of an honest gangster. There is also an angel who has been exiled so long it has turned demonic and decides that since he's already damned, he might as well earn it, with surprising results for all. It turns out that omnipotence is not all that it's crack up to be. VERDICT Readers with fond memories of C. S. Lewis's classic The Screwtape Letters as well as fans of Parker's "Prosper's Demon" series will find much to consider.--Marlene Harris
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