The Heretics of St. Possenti

by Rolf Nelson

Bishop Thomas Cranberry finds himself at a loss when he is confronted by a thief and realizes some disturbing truths about himself. The experience sends him in search of the men who are increasingly absent from the Church, who find themselves at a loss in a world that has gone increasingly feral, and who feel that they have nowhere to go and no one to whom they can turn for support. In listening to them and attempting to understand their plight, he finds an unexpected mission.

THE HERETICS OF ST. POSSENTI is for readers who want the backstory of the story and for those who want to know how one inspired man can make a difference in a fallen world. It is a novel for those who need inspiration to get them though the day and those who look for unusual ways to accomplish the mission. It is for people who understand and respect the old ways but know that sometimes a seed cannot grow without splitting the pavement.

Genres: Fiction

406 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 11, 2017

Reviews

[Grips · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what Christianity needs right now. What makes this book fall short of a masterpiece is the lack of symbolic layers, the "show not tell" quality of the classics. Often throughout the writer is talking directly to the reader, offloading exposition dumps of what are bare faced comparisons to the state of the real world or has his characters engage in stilted dialogue about matters from procedures for tax evasion to the Christian doctrine of bearing arms. They are all intelligently articulated things in much need of being said, and it's a breath of fresh air to hear them. Which is why I highly recommend it to anyone disillusioned with the sorry state of politics, society, sjw Christianity, atomization, themselves.
I imagine it's meant to be a blueprint as much as a piece of entertainment, and in light of the urgency of the times, and plummeting national IQs, the author may prioritize accessibility over elegance.
While the desire to stay afloat on the murky waters of ink and time is understandable, when adopted by everyone the corner-cutting attitude is in effect a race to the qualitative bottom, so it cannot be overlooked, nor discounted.

[E W · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - I truly want to give this book five stars, but the plot's thinness loses a half star. However, I prefer to talk about all of the awesome that is in it instead. Monks! Guns! Monks with guns!

General gist starts with pretty much everything wrong with modern Western culture right down to wimpy clergy unable to connect with secularized society. Bishop Thomas Cranberry ends up on an involuntary sabbatical, wherein he goes out to meet the people where they are. Some physical fitness regimes and time spent at the range later and he has an epiphany on how to help the struggling men he sees everyday. No small measures for the good bishop, he decides to found an entirely new monastic order and so the book goes. I would have preferred some more fleshing out of the struggles with establishing the new abbey as the sole "villain" was an offscene cartoon and there was potential for conflict between converts, reverts, the always faithful, and those who couldn't find the faith, but we never see that with the exception of a single novice asked to leave. Also, for all of the buildup of the arrival of Prior Matthews, he feels like an afterthought in the order's structure compared to say Mickey Finnegan.

Where this work excels is showing how men can be men while growing in faith and supporting each other. So think of it as more a fun to read how to manual for fixing western culture, allowing men to be men in a healthy way and hopefully showing a path to the Truth for some readers.

[Russ Cage · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don't know what anarcho-tyranny is, Rolf Nelson will give you a pretty good example in the first pages of "The Heretics of St. Possenti". Monsignor Thomas Cranberry gets an intensive primer in it, plus the problems of the community he is trying to attract and serve (not the same thing) just in the prologue.

This leads to him receiving a new and possibly contradictory assignment, where he goes from circling his neighborhood to a dojo to a bar to freeway overpass, uncovering a world he'd never before seen. Along the way he meets a huge number of people and goes on to create... a chivalric order of monks.

Saint Possenti is the patron saint of handgunners, and the gun discussions start early and go deep. (Resembling the back-and-forth on certain websites, AAMOF, and Nelson pays homage to "Most People Are Idiots".) And so do other things. Etymological geekery that's "I didn't know that!" fascinating. Oh, and puns. Lots of puns.

This book is technically solid too. The author is one of the 3 people in the world who knows where the hyphen goes in H-1B (John Derbyshire being one of the other two).

It's loaded with Roman Catholicism, but don't let that stop you. It's a rollicking good read.

[harry case · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was written just for me

A compelling if improbable story couldnt put it down the spirit has been showing me the desparate need to build up the generations of broken and immature males. Not worthy of being called men but too old to be called boys. Those without hope or vision of how they could be husbands or fathers worthy in their own eyes and in the eyes of their loved ones. These lost souls who struggle with a legacy of bad choices bad habits and evil associations are needed to rise up and do the simple things that will transform our society as they transform themselves. This fable is a blueprint for how a little faith and a little effort can redeem the lost. Not all but those that hear the call in their hearts to be masters of their fate not victims. Such men are needed more than ever as corrupt leaders have degraded the institutions that were built ro protect us.

[Chris Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended to me after a recent discussion about the current state of our nation and my outlook on it. Reading it, I understand the message ther person who recommended figured I'd see in it. In that respect, it served it's purpose well.

Its not a bad book per se, but after the first few chalters I felt like something was missing. Perhaps its because this is a backstory to another. Still, as I read it I felt like there was a serious lack of conflict, or the ones that popped up were solved within the same chapter. It wasn't until the end there was any conflict, and by then it felt rushed.

In some ways I'd recommend it, but in others, not so much.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good alt-right reading

Speed read and skip most of the extremely boring and pedantic first 80% of the book. That’s when things pick up and make the torture of the first 80% worth skipping.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book, but almost more of a step by step walkthrough the struggles of setting up a group. Storytelling is slightly choppy but overall it is still worth the read.

[Kade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn't perfect: I thought some of the dialog early in the book was a little awkward, and the author was trying to convey his points though simply having the characters say them. But it got better, and better, and captivated me in addition to discussing serious issues that I care about. In fairness, I would rate this book 4.5 stars, but since that's not an option I've rounded up.

[Greg Luce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this book were true. That this type of masculinity would find its way into the Catholic church again.

[James Chinery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! If you are a fan of well researched religious literature and the movie, "The Boondock Saints," this book is for you.