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The Falling Star
Have you ever wondered what the story of the Bible would look like from the perspective of Satan? Perhaps one of the most maligned figures in literary history, the fallen angel known as “Lucifer” has his own story to tell. It shouldn’t surprise you to know that it is strikingly different from anything else you’ve heard on the subject.
From the back of the book:
We are all the hero of our own story, and "history" is written by the victors.
The Falling Star is the story of the Archangel Samael. Once among the highest Angels of the Heavenly Host, yet forever remembered as Satan.
Using the Biblical narrative as a backdrop, the story unfolds from the perspective of the supposed villain. Samael's journey is one of self-discovery, as he grapples with the concepts of free will, subjective truth and predestination.
Samael desperately wants to believe in his own autonomy, yet is constantly confronted with evidence that God holds the reins. That his supposed free will is, in fact, illusory.
Join us as we read between the lines, examine the subtext, and fill in the blanks of one of the most well-known stories ever told.
From the back of the book:
We are all the hero of our own story, and "history" is written by the victors.
The Falling Star is the story of the Archangel Samael. Once among the highest Angels of the Heavenly Host, yet forever remembered as Satan.
Using the Biblical narrative as a backdrop, the story unfolds from the perspective of the supposed villain. Samael's journey is one of self-discovery, as he grapples with the concepts of free will, subjective truth and predestination.
Samael desperately wants to believe in his own autonomy, yet is constantly confronted with evidence that God holds the reins. That his supposed free will is, in fact, illusory.
Join us as we read between the lines, examine the subtext, and fill in the blanks of one of the most well-known stories ever told.
102 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 14, 2019
1 person is currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Jon Hammond
2 booksI was born in Boothbay, Maine, in 1983.
Lived in Maine until I was 11.
Moved to Washington State, and grew up there.
Returned to Maine in 2010.
Published my first book (Journey Beyond the Setting Sun) in 2013.
Started making my "According to Jon" videos on Youtube circa 2015.
By 2019 I finally finished, and published Vol 1 of my graphic novel, The Falling Star.
Currently scripting Volumes 2&3 of TFS, and serializing my Sci Fi novel "Mechanize Nation" on Youtube, and Facebook.
Lived in Maine until I was 11.
Moved to Washington State, and grew up there.
Returned to Maine in 2010.
Published my first book (Journey Beyond the Setting Sun) in 2013.
Started making my "According to Jon" videos on Youtube circa 2015.
By 2019 I finally finished, and published Vol 1 of my graphic novel, The Falling Star.
Currently scripting Volumes 2&3 of TFS, and serializing my Sci Fi novel "Mechanize Nation" on Youtube, and Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 24, 2019
Jon Hammond's _The Falling Star_ receives three stars from me, while it was enjoyable it fails to go far enough.
The basic story is that this is the old testament from the perspective of Satan. Satan is the narrator of the book, and does make commentary. However, the book fails to really push our thinking. There is nothing truly new here, in terms of Satan--he feels toyed with by God, feels he is God's rival, and wants to prove God's not what he claims to be. The jealousy Satan has for humanity is also not new. What I had hoped for and didn't get was a real discussion of these events from Satan's perspective.
For example, Lot offers his daughters to the masses for them to rape instead of the visitors. Satan here says clearly that he couldn't believe what Lot does to protect the visitors from the masses. That's it. Not a word else. Just that. Where was the short dissertation on what this reveals about God's morals? etc.
The book gets better toward the end.
Major problem for me that I hope will be fixed in the future with this publisher. I had a very difficult time reading the text at times. The words were too small on the page (it's a comic book) so I would zoom in. However, the words would be blurry for a moment before it would clear up. I often turned a page when I didn't want to.
Recommended? I"m not so sure. While I recognize that the art work is good, and the written text isn't bad rather fine, the fact that it doesn't do what it could really do, bothers me. If you have never thought about the Bible from an atheist vantage, this could all be very new to you; however, if you have, you might find this like I did.
The basic story is that this is the old testament from the perspective of Satan. Satan is the narrator of the book, and does make commentary. However, the book fails to really push our thinking. There is nothing truly new here, in terms of Satan--he feels toyed with by God, feels he is God's rival, and wants to prove God's not what he claims to be. The jealousy Satan has for humanity is also not new. What I had hoped for and didn't get was a real discussion of these events from Satan's perspective.
For example, Lot offers his daughters to the masses for them to rape instead of the visitors. Satan here says clearly that he couldn't believe what Lot does to protect the visitors from the masses. That's it. Not a word else. Just that. Where was the short dissertation on what this reveals about God's morals? etc.
The book gets better toward the end.
Major problem for me that I hope will be fixed in the future with this publisher. I had a very difficult time reading the text at times. The words were too small on the page (it's a comic book) so I would zoom in. However, the words would be blurry for a moment before it would clear up. I often turned a page when I didn't want to.
Recommended? I"m not so sure. While I recognize that the art work is good, and the written text isn't bad rather fine, the fact that it doesn't do what it could really do, bothers me. If you have never thought about the Bible from an atheist vantage, this could all be very new to you; however, if you have, you might find this like I did.
July 30, 2021
Makes good points but can be lazy.
The author does make good points and I appreciate that, but the art suffers laziness, especially during the Ten Commandments part, where you can see they traced over a few characters from the Cecil B Demille movie and left the background and other characters unaltered. It could also be hard sometimes to figure out which order the narration boxes to read.
The author does make good points and I appreciate that, but the art suffers laziness, especially during the Ten Commandments part, where you can see they traced over a few characters from the Cecil B Demille movie and left the background and other characters unaltered. It could also be hard sometimes to figure out which order the narration boxes to read.
December 29, 2020
Amazing artwork
Hammond’s art and story telling are magnificent. His style, visually, reminds me a bit of Joe Madureira, but with a ton more detail. The story line provides a new take on the first few books of the Pentateuch and how we should all be keeping a reluctant side-eye on God.
I can’t wait to read the next one!
Hammond’s art and story telling are magnificent. His style, visually, reminds me a bit of Joe Madureira, but with a ton more detail. The story line provides a new take on the first few books of the Pentateuch and how we should all be keeping a reluctant side-eye on God.
I can’t wait to read the next one!
August 13, 2019
I like the idea of this book, I like the narrative of YHWH being the villain of the Bible story. But this was preachy and poorly written.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews