BOOK REVIEW: "The Second Coming: A Love Story" by Scott Pinsker

Two men claim to be the Second Coming of Christ. Each claims the other is Satan in disguise. But only one is telling the truth.
In The Second Coming: A Love Story, the devilish new novel by Scott Pinsker, the culture war between Red America and Blue America turns shockingly real when two self-declared saviors appear on earth. The first “messiah” attracts legions of liberal and secular-progressive followers with his message of New Age brotherhood, quickly becoming the darling of the left. The second “messiah” preaches fire-and-brimstone traditional Christianity, gaining a grassroots army of conservative worshippers ready to battle to the death.
It’s finally happened: Red America and Blue America are headed for Armageddon!
First-time novelist Scott Pinsker is a Tampa Bay-based celebrity publicist who has also written for FOXNews.com as a marketing expert. As Pinsker tells it:
“Late one night I had an unsettling thought: If the Devil truly wanted to con mankind, he wouldn’t have a pitchfork and horns. All those horror movies have it wrong; a pitchfork and horns are bad marketing. Instead, his smartest strategy for activating new followers would be to appear as a holy man – and claim the faith of his target audience. Because if I were Satan’s publicist, that’s what I’d recommend.”
Scott Pinsker has worked with a long list of athletes and entertainers, ranging from scandal-plagued NFL stars to Saturday Night Live alums to Grammy-winning icons. While he insists that his story’s characters are wholly fictional, he freely admits that the Red America/Blue America political divide is directly ripped from the headlines:
“We’ve become so polarized that we automatically assume the worst about our opposition. The most sinister explanation becomes the dominant narrative – and each side is skilled at exploitation. So in The Second Coming: A Love Story, you have conservatives firing-up the Tea Partiers on talk-radio shows, and liberals decrying their ‘extremism’ and ‘lack of inclusion.’ You have evangelicals, businessmen and born again Christians waging a multimedia Holy War against secularists, urbanites and liberal activists – and neither side will cede an inch. Sadly, none of this was a stretch: since we’re already predisposed to believe that the other side is evil, an all-out apocalypse is simply the natural progression.”
Divinely provocative and wickedly intelligent, The Second Coming: A Love Story will keep you guessing who-is-who until the very end… 
…and possibly even after that.

If you judge a book by its cover, you'll either think to disregard this book because A) you're not interested in religious mumbo jumbo, or B) you're so religious you are afraid that the story will be blasphemous. You'd be wrong regardless. In fact, you don't need to have a solid opinion on God and Satan to read The Second Coming: A Love Story.
Let's just remember one thing before you read further: no matter how much research went into this novel, it is fictional. You don't need to study all of its implications to enjoy the tale.
That being said, as a Roman Catholic-raised girl, and still liberal Christian, I enjoyed the heavy homework that Mr. Pinsker must've done to make this book as well-rounded and interesting as it is. When you know an author took their time when writing, to ensure that they got everything right, you also know that the book will be a great one. Passion is key in writing, just like religion, and we see Mr. Pinsker's passion plainly on the pages.
The tale of Jesus's second coming is an old one, as is the belief that Satan already walks the earth and they will inevitably meet and cause the Apocalypse (see Supernatural season five). What we usually don't get is a detailed analysis of the implications of two people claiming they are the Second Coming, and how it effects humanity. There are socio-political, pseudo-religious and sociological humanities issues tackled here, as Republicans and Democrats are pitted against each other under a guide who could turn out to be the Enemy. I won't give too much away, but I've had long political talks with many different people, and I've always heard a popular opinion on just who the Devil is. This author seems to share in this view, which is quite interesting. (Yes, I am a believer in the true second coming and that the Devil will try to lure us all away before then. Don't judge me.)
I read this twice: once as a serious novel to study, and once purely for entertainment purposes. Both times I read a different, but no less interesting, book. It takes a lot of talent to do that, and I can honestly say that I recommend this book to everyone. Not all of you will like it, but I think you should at least try to read it, no matter your beliefs and background.

5/5--unique and makes you think!

Purchase The Second Coming: A Love Story via:

Amazon

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Russell Brooks

1. When/why did you decide to become a writer?

I caught the writing bug in elementary school but only took it seriously when I was in high school. I was often sidetracked due since I also wanted to be a professional track athlete. I had a very wild imagination, so story ideas constantly came to me to the point I decided to write them down. Eventually I put together the first of several drafts which--after 12 years--would become PANDORA'S SUCCESSION.

2. What authors inspired you when you were younger? What books do you enjoy reading today?

Vince Flynn was the first author to inspire me after I read TERM LIMITS. Until then I thought that action/thrillers only existed in movies and wasn't something that could be found in books. Flynn opened my eyes to that genre, and it eventually led me to read from others such as Barry Eisler, Joseph Finder, and Eric Jerome Dickey.

3. What was the inspiration behind your novel The Demeter Code?

There were several news articles that inspired THE DEMETER CODE. I won't name them because doing so would reveal several spoilers. However, the first one which really sparked the idea was an article I read two years ago about accidentally creating a biological weapon through (spoiler). After I read it, I began reading several others and also watching documentaries about the same (spoiler) subject matter. I kept a list of all 53 articles and news reports which I then referenced at the back of the book.

4. The Demeter Code is a sequel. Will we see more stories featuring these characters?

Most definitely, and I also have thoughts of writing a sequel to my standalone thriller, CHILL RUN. I can't say when, but they're both in the works.

5. What is it about spies that interests you?

It's mostly the mystery. It's a world of secrecy and covert activities. From an entertainment standpoint, there's excitement when you never know who's who. I'm fascinated by how company and government secrets are obtained by their opposition, as well as the personal sacrifices that are made by the operatives who obtain them. 

6. Were any of the characters personalities or emotions taken from real life?

Some of the characters in THE DEMETER CODE were based on real people who have either gone through or who have taken part in similar activities in real life as in the story. For instance, the arms dealer, Monzer Alghafari, in THE DEMETER CODE was based on the Syrian-born arms dealer, Monzer Al Kasser, who's currently in a New York jail after a successful sting operation by the DEA, thanks to the Patriot Act. I read extensively about him because his life read like a thriller novel. All that was left to do was fictionalize certain elements so that they could be incorporated into the story.

7. What other genres would you like to try your hand at?

I once wanted to write a horror story, but I put that on the backburner.

8. What would you do if you were Ridley Fox?

lol. If I were him I wouldn't give up on tracking down the person who murdered my fiancée and see to it that they're brought to justice.

9. I have to ask you about your short story collection, Unsavory Delicacies. In two of the stories, Ridley Fox is featured. In the other, it's about revenge via food. What inspired that?

The inspiration came from a true story out of Sydney, Australia, where a restaurant owner sued a newspaper because their food critic's review destroyed their business. It's funny you asked me this question because out of curiosity, I just googled this report for fun and just learned that last June, the restaurant won a libel suit against the Sydney Herald Times. 

10. Would you like to see The Demeter Code and its predecessor as a film or TV show? If yes, who do you want to have play your characters?

Currently I'm writing the screenplay for PANDORA'S SUCCESSION after my friend talked me into it. As for who I'd like to play Ridley Fox and Nita Parris in the movie, here are my choices if the movie were released today. 

11. Where do you see yourself and your career in the next ten years?

In ten years I hope to have at least five other novels published and PANDORA'S SUCCESSION in cinemas worldwide.

12. What would you be doing if you weren't writing?

I'd still be working in sales.

13. Can you tell KSR what you're working on next?

I'm still unsure whether or not to write the sequel to THE DEMETER CODE or the sequel to CHILL RUN. My ideas aren't solid enough yet as I'm still doing research.

14. What authors, dead or alive, would you like to collaborate with?

I'd love to partner with David Goyer on a Superman/Wonder Woman script. For a long time I had an idea for one. The only reason I never wrote it was because the chances of it being picked up by an unknown author--such as myself--are one in a billion. 

15. Thank you for participating in the interview. Can you please leave the readers with three things that may surprise them about you?

1) ​I was once on the Canadian Track Team in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m relay at the World University Games in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 1999.

2) I started back playing the violin after a hiatus of several years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5PTfv65kP8&list=UUGvAga_6rslbyZltozyOYlw&index=2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvTXYesvSng&index=1&list=UUGvAga_6rslbyZltozyOYlw

3) I often like to recite passages from novels and put them on video.

http://youtu.be/qbln3o7Vsgk?list=UUGvAga_6rslbyZltozyOYlw

Find Russell Brooks online via:

Official site (the home page will direct you to all of his social media profiles)

BOOK REVIEW: "The Board" by William Bos

The Board is the story of five kids who inherit money, power, technology - and with a little help along the way - try to take over the world. Set in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1995, Jennifer and Brian are two kids who aren't part of the popular set. But they do know the difference between right and wrong. After the two fall in love, together they devise a plan of action to fight back and stop...The Board.

I can't say I liked this book and I can't say that I didn't, either.
The plot is very inventive, and I could actually see some of these things happening in real life with the amount of rich, powerful and very heartless young adults out there now.
The problem is, the plot is a bit confusing as you start to read the book. It doesn't become clear until chapter three exactly what the characters are up to. There is little description, and the dialogue is vety plain. No college kid, even the type A kids seen here, talk like Mr. Bos made his characters speak. There are very few conjunctions, making them seem foreign instead of American and the personalities are all very flat.
What I did like is that it's fast-paced, and the story was original. I can say there is no other plot out there similar to that of The Board. The plot could be a TV show. In fact, I think CBS would pick this up if they read this. (Any executives reading this right now?)
My problem is with the narrative. As I said, there is very little passion behind the writing. I know it wasn't meant to seem that way, but it does. The characters are very bland and the narration could've used more spark to engage the reader's senses a bit more. I think that this actually should be a screenplay instead of a book. Yes, that's a compliment!

I want to read more from Mr. Bos and see how his writing matures and grows.

3/5--needs work, but has a lot of potential!

Purchase The Board via:

Official site (lists all purchase links)