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Original Essays | October 18, 2009

From Leprosy to Lorca — Strange Inspiration

0 comments By Victoria Hislop

My first novel, The Island, was inspired by a chance visit to a tiny island leper colony off the coast of Greece on our summer holiday. It was a... Continue »

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1. 
   $10.49 Sale Trade Paper add to wish list

   The Return

   Victoria Hislop

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Ron Major, January 17, 2008

It’s a book you can’t help but admire as much as you hate its topic. I admire the author, Steven Clark Bradley, for taking on such a task.

One thing I asked myself throughout the book is: Is the story fiction or is it true? One can only hope it is fiction, but the evidence paralleled by world events says there’s a good chance that what we are seeing may really be the end of the world. But, who knows? And, who will be here to witness it, anyway.
I admitted to the author that I get an eerie feeling and unsettled dreams after reading this book. No wonder. It’s a scary nightmare to think that we may be witnessing events such as those in the book as they unfold in modern day social and political events. The book opens with a vivid description of a world gone wild. Money, governmental control, media, chaos, war, rampant fear, and terror are noted.

Bradley gives reason for the condition of our world by taking us back to when it all began—the day Nimrod was born in 4,000 BC. Who is Nimrod? The son of Cush, the son of Noah. You remember these guys from Bible class, right? If you know anything about the book of Revelation and the seven seals, you will have a strong reason to believe that world events are a result of unseen warfare in the invisible realm.

It all started with the division of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. Remember Adam, Eve, the snake, the fall of man, the apple, the Tree of Life, Lucifer—the morning star better known as Satan? It is clear that the story is based upon a belief that the figurative Garden of Eden (the Christian version of creation) is for real, but I don’t take these things literally. To me, they are analogies, metaphors, and such. Sure, I believe in energy both negative and positive and I know they have an effect on me. But entities? Okay, maybe there are angels and demons. But, I prefer to stay in my safe little cocoon where all is love and there are no divisional lines of religious doctrine or dogma. But, this book won’t let a reader stay there. The 593 pages of text disturb my ability to ignore world events.
Cush, after defiling his teenage daughter, rejoiced as she brought forth his son. This infant of incest would become the savior of Lucifer and his evil subjects. This devil child, called Nimrod, would rebel and fight against Elyon (God, Jehovah) in an organized effort to control the hearts of mankind. The book tells the story of the fall of the Tower of Babylon; and thus, the war of good and evil is distinctly in progress. Through death, life, rebirth, reincarnation—whatever you want to call it, Nimrod comes to life 666 times in various human forms throughout history. It is now 666 generations later. That means the Antichrist is in the world now. In Bradley’s story, another sinister entity named Abbadon possesses the US Vice-president Manassa Dormain—a man whose son was conceived similar to Rosemary’s baby/the Virgin Birth story. There were drugs involved so it is not clear even to the mother how it really happened. Drugs play a part in this story. Big pharmaceutical companies and government cohorts control the issue of all substances. The masses are experiencing severe rage-like symptoms known as TORS (Terror Offense Reflex Syndrone. The only drug to treat it is available only through the government. Sounds like the FDA, but I regress. The son of Manassa Dormain, Shepard Michael, has been put into a mental institute because, like his father, he sees future events before they happen. The book continues with Manassa helping Shepard play his role in the fight for world power—good trying to prevent catastrophe and evil trying to create it. I won’t give away the ending, but it would make a good movie with all the drama that it entails. You never know who is on which side so beware of those angels in disguise!

I felt overwhelmed not only by the subject matter but by the mere size of this book. To top it off, there were dreams and visions interjected that blurred the lines of reality. You should not read this book while drinking alcohol. That would be like trying to read the newspaper while watching a James Bond movie. You’ve got to pay attention to the details or you’ll get caught up in the action.

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