This year it’s been my pleasure to read two novels. One was very Catholic - Fr. Elijah. The other was, I would say, from a Protestant point of view - Charis Colony: The Landing. But they were connected in a certain way, because each had a unique perspective on the second coming of Our Lord. That makes them very appropriate Advent reads … and also wonderful Christmas gifts!
Charis Colony: The Landing was written by a member of the CTR Community, John Martin - his first novel. Set on another world but very much inheriting the problems of ours, Charis Colony charts Raj and Shirin’s whirlwind romance, and its consequences for each them. From the moment Shirin’s machete whistles a half-inch from Raj’s chest, I was hooked. As the fantastic story unfolded, I must admit I kept wondering, “Where is the Christian part of Christian SciFi?” And then … the end!
Enough said … buy this book and read it for yourself.
Fr. Elijah: An Apocalypse is one of a series by Michael D. O’Brien. I was first introduced to this series more than a decade ago, with Eclipse of the Sun, and was astonished to find that Catholics wrote about the end times! Who knew?
Fr. Elijah traces the path of a Catholic priest who is a Jew. He is called to the Vatican and sent on a perilous mission. The novel follows him into danger, out again, and into worse danger as the Vatican confronts evil outside, and evil within. Like Charis Colony, the book is well written and gripping. Don’t pick it up until you have a few days of holiday relaxation on the schedule!