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Conjuring God
A group of young believers invent a ritual to invoke their Lord and Shepherd. But the God they summon is hungry as a wolf.
Includes bonus story!
Includes bonus story!
56 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 7, 2019
Jason Howell created a captivating storyline. I'll admit, it had taken me by surprise. The momentum of the scenes moved along at a breakneck pace. From beginning to end, the narrative held my undivided attention.
Main protagonist, philosophy professor, Eric Maher, allowed himself to be part of an extracurricular activity. The subject matter would not found in any college catalog.
At the insistence of one of his students, he was going to be provided proof for the existence of God. It would be a rare day, he'd allow himself to mingle with such activities, off campus. Maher would make an exception.
Throughout the years, the tenured professor had heard this story before. It called back to ancient times when communication first advanced in to spoken language. Placating the student, he'd attend the gathering with the sole intention of having an amusing story to share with his colleagues upon his return. That was the plan.
When he crossed the door's threshold, little was he prepared for what awaited him. A gut-wrenching journey was about to take place. This would be one adventure he'd never forget, that is, if he lived to tell the tale.
Main protagonist, philosophy professor, Eric Maher, allowed himself to be part of an extracurricular activity. The subject matter would not found in any college catalog.
At the insistence of one of his students, he was going to be provided proof for the existence of God. It would be a rare day, he'd allow himself to mingle with such activities, off campus. Maher would make an exception.
Throughout the years, the tenured professor had heard this story before. It called back to ancient times when communication first advanced in to spoken language. Placating the student, he'd attend the gathering with the sole intention of having an amusing story to share with his colleagues upon his return. That was the plan.
When he crossed the door's threshold, little was he prepared for what awaited him. A gut-wrenching journey was about to take place. This would be one adventure he'd never forget, that is, if he lived to tell the tale.
May 11, 2020
This was a fun story of the be careful what you wish for. I don't want to give anything away but it didn't finish the way I thought it would, which is very much a good thing. As a whole, the story moves along at a good pace with a tight control of the action and some good descriptive sections. Definitely worth a read.
I also enjoyed the extra story - it's not often I laugh out loud to something I read!
I also enjoyed the extra story - it's not often I laugh out loud to something I read!
October 17, 2019
If your best method of contacting your Creator is through a séance, you're off to a bad start. That's the moral lesson in Jason Howl's novella Conjuring God (A Simple Guide to Summoning The Lord to Your Next Bible Study Séance). When Professor Maher is compelled by one of his students, Benji Carey, to come to an old house outside town to be shown "proof" for the existence of God, Maher gets a lot more than he bargained for. A group of college student Christian believers have gathered, not to party, but to hold a most unusual ritual to summon what they hope will be the Almighty. Needless to say, it does not go as planned and the god they reach is neither holy nor compassionate. A nightmarish bloodbath ensues.
There are some fascinating lessons in this story. Benji is not a bad guy. He realizes that he should not have been looking for this kind of proof. In fact, he has made an idol out of his desire to physically see God and he should have exercised faith. But instead, he became obsessed with convincing everyone and himself that he could do this thing; he unknowingly put himself in the place of God. That said, Benji actually becomes the hero of the story. He spends most of it trying to keep Professor Maher alive while placing his own life in jeopardy.
Professor Maher ends up mostly being an observer. At first, he's in his element, the college environment. He's quite cynical, comfortable in his vast knowledge in a variety of topics. But once he leaves the campus and journeys elsewhere, Maher is confronted with devastating reality. What appears at this gathering literally overwhelms his mind for a while. That's why Benji has to protect him and lead him out of the danger. Even after he recovers, Maher is left wordless by the unbelievable things he is witnessing. In a sense, the teacher and student reversed roles.
Howl's writing has a good pace and excellent description. Aside from the dangers inherent with its premise, the story is not predictable. My only complaint is how difficult it can be to tell who is who in a few spots, particularly when he switches between using the characters' first and last names. There is considerable violence and this has a distinct horror feel to it. It gets disturbing as it progresses.
What I do appreciate about Howl's story is that while it uses heavenly archetypes in most unheavenly ways, his cautionary message is consistent throughout the tale. Christians can lose sight of what they believe in and that is something to be feared; it can cause harm to themselves and others. If a believer is not focused on God and Christ, they can make anything -- even their own religion or sprituality -- into an idol. And only by turning from those idols and worshiping the true and living God and His Son Jesus Christ can they find hope and salvation.
There are some fascinating lessons in this story. Benji is not a bad guy. He realizes that he should not have been looking for this kind of proof. In fact, he has made an idol out of his desire to physically see God and he should have exercised faith. But instead, he became obsessed with convincing everyone and himself that he could do this thing; he unknowingly put himself in the place of God. That said, Benji actually becomes the hero of the story. He spends most of it trying to keep Professor Maher alive while placing his own life in jeopardy.
Professor Maher ends up mostly being an observer. At first, he's in his element, the college environment. He's quite cynical, comfortable in his vast knowledge in a variety of topics. But once he leaves the campus and journeys elsewhere, Maher is confronted with devastating reality. What appears at this gathering literally overwhelms his mind for a while. That's why Benji has to protect him and lead him out of the danger. Even after he recovers, Maher is left wordless by the unbelievable things he is witnessing. In a sense, the teacher and student reversed roles.
Howl's writing has a good pace and excellent description. Aside from the dangers inherent with its premise, the story is not predictable. My only complaint is how difficult it can be to tell who is who in a few spots, particularly when he switches between using the characters' first and last names. There is considerable violence and this has a distinct horror feel to it. It gets disturbing as it progresses.
What I do appreciate about Howl's story is that while it uses heavenly archetypes in most unheavenly ways, his cautionary message is consistent throughout the tale. Christians can lose sight of what they believe in and that is something to be feared; it can cause harm to themselves and others. If a believer is not focused on God and Christ, they can make anything -- even their own religion or sprituality -- into an idol. And only by turning from those idols and worshiping the true and living God and His Son Jesus Christ can they find hope and salvation.
April 27, 2020
I have to admit, this is not my usual kind of read, and I probably wouldn't have read it if I hadn't been given a copy. However, it's a well-written story, which made it a reasonably good read for me, despite it not really being my thing. It's got a solid plot, and believable characters, so if you like a heavy sprinkling of God in your stories, there's a good chance you'll enjoy this one. I mean, I don't, and I still somewhat enjoyed it.
*NOTE: I was given a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. This fact - while being the reason I picked the book up in the first place - has had no influence on either my opinion of the book, or the contents of this review.
*NOTE: I was given a free copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. This fact - while being the reason I picked the book up in the first place - has had no influence on either my opinion of the book, or the contents of this review.
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December 13, 2020Conjuring God by Jason Howl
This book contains two short stories in the satirical/humorous horror genre, I guess. This is not a genre with which I am familiar. There are two ideas here, or two perspectives on one idea. I enjoyed the setting and the opening and build up. The ideas are interesting and from the opening of the main story I can see that Jason has the potential to work this idea into an even more interesting piece given some thought about the second part of the middle and the end. The two pieces could, for example, become one story. For me, a return to the classroom setting with a discussion of the answers to the opening philosophical questions based on the students’ experiences in the house would, for make a more absorbing ending. I don’t claim to be an aficionado of the genre, but I would edit the middle (I am trying to avoid spoilers here) to condense the consumption section. I would prefer to have some return to the lives of all of them, particularly Maher and Carey to find out how they and their views have changed or not. We do get a bit of this at the end with Carey (before he is whisked off rather unsatisfactorily for me): he interprets the experience to fit his preconceptions. But I would have liked more aftermath and a return to a degree of restoration of normality in order that the idea came to some more structured working out. Open-ended would be fine. Anyway, thanks Jason. An interesting idea. Good luck.
This book contains two short stories in the satirical/humorous horror genre, I guess. This is not a genre with which I am familiar. There are two ideas here, or two perspectives on one idea. I enjoyed the setting and the opening and build up. The ideas are interesting and from the opening of the main story I can see that Jason has the potential to work this idea into an even more interesting piece given some thought about the second part of the middle and the end. The two pieces could, for example, become one story. For me, a return to the classroom setting with a discussion of the answers to the opening philosophical questions based on the students’ experiences in the house would, for make a more absorbing ending. I don’t claim to be an aficionado of the genre, but I would edit the middle (I am trying to avoid spoilers here) to condense the consumption section. I would prefer to have some return to the lives of all of them, particularly Maher and Carey to find out how they and their views have changed or not. We do get a bit of this at the end with Carey (before he is whisked off rather unsatisfactorily for me): he interprets the experience to fit his preconceptions. But I would have liked more aftermath and a return to a degree of restoration of normality in order that the idea came to some more structured working out. Open-ended would be fine. Anyway, thanks Jason. An interesting idea. Good luck.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews