Advertisement

As if we didn't have enough to worry about with the Y2K problem, the new millennium in 2001, a possible Batman prequel, and Chinese restaurants lying about MSG, Petrucha has given us something else to keep us up nights. This new trouble, I'm sorry to say, is worse than all the others combined. What if a boffo new religion swept the country and the globe? Just great. Just what the world needs: another religion.

And this one doesn't even promise a ride on a comet...

If anyone is paying attention, there are plenty of warning signs on this ticket to paradise. Not that that ever deterred someone in search of enlightenment. But, please, the writer of this creed's dogma is in the cracker factory. The spokesperson should be in there, but resides in the nearest alley. And, most terrifying of all -- the man behind the cult is... a PR man.

Sends a chill through your blood, doesn't it?

Every other impressionable person on the street is falling under the sway of the new religion, but not everybody is so impressed with the teachings. The FBI, for one, is looking for a way to bust up the church. Their secret weapon:  Beth Mansfield, cult expert and rookie agent. But, she's only one person and there isn't much time before the movement reaches critical mass. She's going to need some allies and she can't afford to be picky.

In Making God, Petrucha has dissected the birth and growth of cult religions. (All right, of religions in general.) After reading the book and Petrucha's keen analysis, maybe it won't be so hard to understand how followers could "fall for" the bizarre doctrines that seem to crop up almost daily. And because almost all religions perceive all others as unfathomable, this might give you some insight into those guys. Maybe... we'll even come to accept each other as... Never happen, my friend.

It is a chilling look at the ease with which people can be manipulated.

Petrucha has an open, even friendly, style that pulls the reader in immediately. Add to that a talent for creating distinctive characters. Throw in some truly dark humour. Then, pile it all on a risky, unbridled story line and you've got a wild read. Chances are you will speed through Making God like a highway construction  crew. Come to think of it, there will probably be about the same body count.

Warning time: If you are easily offended by jabs at religion, don't even bother. And it's probably not the best bet for those wide-eyed moppets of yours. If you must have every question answered by the end of a book, unh, unh... Everyone else, have at it.

Don't worry if you look at things differently after reading Making God; revelations like that usually wear off. Sadly.

Lisa DuMond writes science fiction and humour. She co-authored the 45th anniversary issue cover of MAD Magazine. Previews of her latest, as yet unpublished, novel are available at Hades Online.