Veteran Phil Christian is suffering from PTSD. As he stands in the surf near his Florida home he is wondering what to do with his life when he notices that washed up in the sand at his feet is a gold ring. He slips it on his finger and has an epiphany. He realizes that the ring was previously worn by Jesus Christ and that wearing it gives him the means to commune directly with God. And God has a mission for Christian. Satan is massing his minions to wage a final war on the human race and if mankind is not prepared to stand and fight then God will abandon the earth once and for all. Peter Christian is a warrior with faith on his side and is just the man to lead the battle against Satan’s apocalyptic hordes and unite his people as the dark shadow of the end-time encroaches. Within hours of wearing the ring, Christian’s entire mind and body is re-energized. He begins to physically change as the power of the ring overtakes him and prepares him for the tasks ahead. Soon Christian has begun to gather his followers and God has spoken to him revealing the location of precious commodities to fund the holy war and plans for machines that will help humanity win.
Daniel Harry’s THE JESUS RING is a contemporary update of the biblical Book of Revelation which uses the tropes of sci-fi, doomsday thriller and the horror novel to spin the story into an exciting, page-turner. In contrast to a lot of Christian fiction, Harry plays loose with what some might consider absolute biblical truth and he is not afraid to deviate from traditional interpretations of scripture. Indeed, the suggested role that the Jesus ring played in the immaculate conception is particularly novel. Aside from the occasional philosophical musings between Christian and God in which moral certitude, faith and obedience is unpicked there is little in the way of evangelizing. There is an undercurrent of eco-consciousness whereby Christian and his followers use one of the machines God provides to feed the world with healthy food stripped of harmful chemicals and seek to reverse man’s exploitation of animals. In general though, Harry prefers to show and not tell. The rampaging imps and carnivorous “harvesters” sent by Satan are not metaphorical monsters. The world of THE JESUS RING is a literal one. Black and white. Good versus evil. But for all the horrors seen in the relentless battles that rage on earth for mankind’s soul, the book is a lot of fun. Reader’s able to put aside their skepticism in the logic of some of the more outlandish plot twists or the practicalities of some of God’s magical machines will enjoy the almost cartoonish action sequences that are reminiscent of the kind of battles seen in contemporary superhero films.
THE JESUS RING is a thoroughly entertaining novel that plays loose with the themes of the Book of Revelation to create a contemporary sci-fi horror thriller.
~Kent Lane for IndieReader