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Nothing Sacred: A divine comedy
Meet Earl Grey, a down-to-earth but down on his luck small-time newspaper reporter. Earl is a bit of an unreliable mess, albeit loveable, if absolutely necessary.
Much to Earl's lack of surprise, he is suddenly assigned a story far worse than his typical mundane day-to-day drudgery. Two days after the earth-shattering arrival of an alleged God in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2005, Earl is appointed as Media Liaison to this extremely ungodlike man. One who has been apparently working miracles after being found in the Arizona desert clad in Armani.
With 'God' now restricted to a hospital room, Earl suddenly finds himself with exclusive access to the Almighty. And with great access comes great demand, as our less-than-intrepid reporter quickly discovers - meeting a feast of both loveable and despicable characters - each one not entirely what they seem. But one thing's certain, they all want something from this newly arrived God and plan to go through Earl to get it. However, Earl, a lifelong atheist and skeptic, has very different plans and sets about to uncover the true identity of this unusual man before His time on earth runs out.
Thrust into global celebrity and a massive mid-life course correction, it isn't long before Earl is overwhelmed, paranoid, and plagued with crippling self-doubt. But, as usual, he'll have to sort out the whole mess for himself. Hopefully, before the world comes to an end.
Much to Earl's lack of surprise, he is suddenly assigned a story far worse than his typical mundane day-to-day drudgery. Two days after the earth-shattering arrival of an alleged God in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2005, Earl is appointed as Media Liaison to this extremely ungodlike man. One who has been apparently working miracles after being found in the Arizona desert clad in Armani.
With 'God' now restricted to a hospital room, Earl suddenly finds himself with exclusive access to the Almighty. And with great access comes great demand, as our less-than-intrepid reporter quickly discovers - meeting a feast of both loveable and despicable characters - each one not entirely what they seem. But one thing's certain, they all want something from this newly arrived God and plan to go through Earl to get it. However, Earl, a lifelong atheist and skeptic, has very different plans and sets about to uncover the true identity of this unusual man before His time on earth runs out.
Thrust into global celebrity and a massive mid-life course correction, it isn't long before Earl is overwhelmed, paranoid, and plagued with crippling self-doubt. But, as usual, he'll have to sort out the whole mess for himself. Hopefully, before the world comes to an end.
- GenresHumor
436 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 22, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 24, 2022
The poor hapless Earl Grey (yes as in the tea) has a mission he knows nothing about. Yet.
As a reporter, he gets sent to the hospital bedside of a John Doe, who people think is 'god'.
With his trusty sidekick Orlando and the lady of his dreams, Miss Wu, Earl finds out the truth about Doe, but all is not as it seems.
As a reporter, he gets sent to the hospital bedside of a John Doe, who people think is 'god'.
With his trusty sidekick Orlando and the lady of his dreams, Miss Wu, Earl finds out the truth about Doe, but all is not as it seems.
August 23, 2022
I Just Talked To God!
Or so it seemed. All I know is, for a few pleasurable days, I did not feel alone in the universe. Martin J. Featherston, with his new novel, Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy,’ has created a work of literary fiction that flies in the face of the spiritual God we think we know and universal reality. In the book, he outlines the fact that linear time, as we humans experience it, is but a mere illusion, one all five-sensory humans require in order to see themselves through life, while at the same time incorporating the idea of God and the universe as a singularity, a whole within itself that is the sum total of all its parts, a single God for us all in a single wholly (or holy) integrated sphere.
Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ is just that, hardly sacred in the sense of Christian doctrine, but ‘all sacred’ in its attempt to address all things belonging to or connected with God in relation to His view of the universe and current humanity; and it is extremely funny, in a profound, sometimes even cynical, way, but cynical innuendo in the sense of a loving God’s innocent view of present human thought, belief, and conduct. The book, especially during the opening chapters, made me laugh so hard I had to put it down to compose myself before continuing on. Martin J. Featherston takes the prophesy of the return of Jesus/God to a whole new level, transforming it into the return of God in the guise of an unknown man, a John Doe, discovered in the Arizona desert barely clinging to life, then takes the reader on a mystery tour of unknowns, encompassing bad guys, good guys, supposed good guys that are bad, and criminally bad guys that end up being good. When the story inadvertently leaks out that a man calling himself God––a near-death patient in a top Phoenix, Arizona hospital––is healing other patients with only the power of his special touch, word quickly spreads, involving publicity-seeking doctors and hospital administrators, the frenzy of the media, the Vatican, and one mysterious man hell-bent on doing away with the man calling himself God. The story smoothly leaps back and forth through time, from present day to 12,042 BCE and an early Homo sapien named Nog, a magical time of infantile universal awareness and the onset of human enlightenment. The main protagonist, outside of God that is, a low-ranking newspaper reporter from Toronto named Earl Grey, like the tea, is selected through a lottery process to be the only individual allowed to interview and report on the hospital’s elite patient, and ends up being a very special individual indeed to the so-called Almighty, with both men developing a deep, intimate relationship that profoundly changes the reporter’s useless life. So do we end up finding out who and what God really is? Well, I won’t ruin the surprise for the reader, but suffice it to say one comes away from the story feeling satisfied with the answers provided.
Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ is so well researched. It encompasses religion, faith, love, and science in a way that is not only understandable and plausible, but endearing to the reader, opening up one’s mind to thought processes well-beyond our segregated and divided beliefs as human beings today, all of us attempting to find the purpose and meaning to life.
Congratulations, Martin J. Featherston! You are a masterful storyteller with an innate talent for writing and a universal clarity and grasp of the unknown second to none, and one storyteller who managed to capture this reader’s undivided attention. If literary ‘art’ still exists in today’s culture, Martin J. Featherston’s novel is one fine example of it. I highly recommend Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ to any and all readers, no matter what their preferred genre. After all, how often does one actually get to talk to God? Five billion stars for this great read!
Or so it seemed. All I know is, for a few pleasurable days, I did not feel alone in the universe. Martin J. Featherston, with his new novel, Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy,’ has created a work of literary fiction that flies in the face of the spiritual God we think we know and universal reality. In the book, he outlines the fact that linear time, as we humans experience it, is but a mere illusion, one all five-sensory humans require in order to see themselves through life, while at the same time incorporating the idea of God and the universe as a singularity, a whole within itself that is the sum total of all its parts, a single God for us all in a single wholly (or holy) integrated sphere.
Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ is just that, hardly sacred in the sense of Christian doctrine, but ‘all sacred’ in its attempt to address all things belonging to or connected with God in relation to His view of the universe and current humanity; and it is extremely funny, in a profound, sometimes even cynical, way, but cynical innuendo in the sense of a loving God’s innocent view of present human thought, belief, and conduct. The book, especially during the opening chapters, made me laugh so hard I had to put it down to compose myself before continuing on. Martin J. Featherston takes the prophesy of the return of Jesus/God to a whole new level, transforming it into the return of God in the guise of an unknown man, a John Doe, discovered in the Arizona desert barely clinging to life, then takes the reader on a mystery tour of unknowns, encompassing bad guys, good guys, supposed good guys that are bad, and criminally bad guys that end up being good. When the story inadvertently leaks out that a man calling himself God––a near-death patient in a top Phoenix, Arizona hospital––is healing other patients with only the power of his special touch, word quickly spreads, involving publicity-seeking doctors and hospital administrators, the frenzy of the media, the Vatican, and one mysterious man hell-bent on doing away with the man calling himself God. The story smoothly leaps back and forth through time, from present day to 12,042 BCE and an early Homo sapien named Nog, a magical time of infantile universal awareness and the onset of human enlightenment. The main protagonist, outside of God that is, a low-ranking newspaper reporter from Toronto named Earl Grey, like the tea, is selected through a lottery process to be the only individual allowed to interview and report on the hospital’s elite patient, and ends up being a very special individual indeed to the so-called Almighty, with both men developing a deep, intimate relationship that profoundly changes the reporter’s useless life. So do we end up finding out who and what God really is? Well, I won’t ruin the surprise for the reader, but suffice it to say one comes away from the story feeling satisfied with the answers provided.
Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ is so well researched. It encompasses religion, faith, love, and science in a way that is not only understandable and plausible, but endearing to the reader, opening up one’s mind to thought processes well-beyond our segregated and divided beliefs as human beings today, all of us attempting to find the purpose and meaning to life.
Congratulations, Martin J. Featherston! You are a masterful storyteller with an innate talent for writing and a universal clarity and grasp of the unknown second to none, and one storyteller who managed to capture this reader’s undivided attention. If literary ‘art’ still exists in today’s culture, Martin J. Featherston’s novel is one fine example of it. I highly recommend Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ to any and all readers, no matter what their preferred genre. After all, how often does one actually get to talk to God? Five billion stars for this great read!
July 25, 2022
I enjoyed this book a lot, it definitely appealed to my often dry, and a bit dark, sense of humour, so I laughed a great deal throughout.
The main character, Earl, is loveable and frustrating in equal measure, but I do think that the author developed his character really well, and as such I felt very invested in Earl’s story.
The storyline itself was interesting and felt quite unique to me as I haven’t come across a story similar to this one.
Overall I think it’s a good read that I would recommend.
The main character, Earl, is loveable and frustrating in equal measure, but I do think that the author developed his character really well, and as such I felt very invested in Earl’s story.
The storyline itself was interesting and felt quite unique to me as I haven’t come across a story similar to this one.
Overall I think it’s a good read that I would recommend.
August 24, 2022
I Just Talked To God!
Or so it seemed. All I know is, for a few pleasurable days, I did not feel alone in the universe. Martin J. Featherston, with his new novel, Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy,’ has created a work of literary fiction that flies in the face of the spiritual God we think we know and universal reality. In the book, he outlines the fact that linear time, as we humans experience it, is but a mere illusion, one all five-sensory humans require in order to see themselves through life, while at the same time incorporating the idea of God and the universe as a singularity, a whole within itself that is the sum total of all its parts, a single God for us all in a single wholly (or holy) integrated sphere.
Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ is just that, hardly sacred in the sense of Christian doctrine, but ‘all sacred’ in its attempt to address all things belonging to or connected with God in relation to His view of the universe and current humanity; and it is extremely funny, in a profound, sometimes even cynical, way, but cynical innuendo in the sense of a loving God’s innocent view of present human thought, belief, and conduct. The book, especially during the opening chapters, made me laugh so hard I had to put it down to compose myself before continuing on. Martin J. Featherston takes the prophesy of the return of Jesus/God to a whole new level, transforming it into the return of God in the guise of an unknown man, a John Doe, discovered in the Arizona desert barely clinging to life, then takes the reader on a mystery tour of unknowns, encompassing bad guys, good guys, supposed good guys that are bad, and criminally bad guys that end up being good. When the story inadvertently leaks out that a man calling himself God––a near-death patient in a top Phoenix, Arizona hospital––is healing other patients with only the power of his special touch, word quickly spreads, involving publicity-seeking doctors and hospital administrators, the frenzy of the media, the Vatican, and one mysterious man hell-bent on doing away with the man calling himself God. The story smoothly leaps back and forth through time, from present day to 12,042 BCE and an early Homo sapien named Nog, a magical time of infantile universal awareness and the onset of human enlightenment. The main protagonist, outside of God that is, a low-ranking newspaper reporter from Toronto named Earl Grey, like the tea, is selected through a lottery process to be the only individual allowed to interview and report on the hospital’s elite patient, and ends up being a very special individual indeed to the so-called Almighty, with both men developing a deep, intimate relationship that profoundly changes the reporter’s useless life. So do we end up finding out who and what God really is? Well, I won’t ruin the surprise for the reader, but suffice it to say one comes away from the story feeling satisfied with the answers provided.
Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ is so well researched. It encompasses religion, faith, love, and science in a way that is not only understandable and plausible, but endearing to the reader, opening up one’s mind to thought processes well-beyond our segregated and divided beliefs as human beings today, all of us attempting to find the purpose and meaning to life.
Congratulations, Mr. Featherston! You are a masterful storyteller with an innate talent for writing and a universal clarity and grasp of the unknown second to none, and one storyteller who managed to capture this reader’s undivided attention. If literary ‘art’ still exists in today’s culture, Martin J. Featherston’s novel is one fine example of it. I highly recommend Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ to any and all readers, no matter what their preferred genre. After all, how often does one actually get to talk to God? Five billion stars for this great read!
Or so it seemed. All I know is, for a few pleasurable days, I did not feel alone in the universe. Martin J. Featherston, with his new novel, Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy,’ has created a work of literary fiction that flies in the face of the spiritual God we think we know and universal reality. In the book, he outlines the fact that linear time, as we humans experience it, is but a mere illusion, one all five-sensory humans require in order to see themselves through life, while at the same time incorporating the idea of God and the universe as a singularity, a whole within itself that is the sum total of all its parts, a single God for us all in a single wholly (or holy) integrated sphere.
Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ is just that, hardly sacred in the sense of Christian doctrine, but ‘all sacred’ in its attempt to address all things belonging to or connected with God in relation to His view of the universe and current humanity; and it is extremely funny, in a profound, sometimes even cynical, way, but cynical innuendo in the sense of a loving God’s innocent view of present human thought, belief, and conduct. The book, especially during the opening chapters, made me laugh so hard I had to put it down to compose myself before continuing on. Martin J. Featherston takes the prophesy of the return of Jesus/God to a whole new level, transforming it into the return of God in the guise of an unknown man, a John Doe, discovered in the Arizona desert barely clinging to life, then takes the reader on a mystery tour of unknowns, encompassing bad guys, good guys, supposed good guys that are bad, and criminally bad guys that end up being good. When the story inadvertently leaks out that a man calling himself God––a near-death patient in a top Phoenix, Arizona hospital––is healing other patients with only the power of his special touch, word quickly spreads, involving publicity-seeking doctors and hospital administrators, the frenzy of the media, the Vatican, and one mysterious man hell-bent on doing away with the man calling himself God. The story smoothly leaps back and forth through time, from present day to 12,042 BCE and an early Homo sapien named Nog, a magical time of infantile universal awareness and the onset of human enlightenment. The main protagonist, outside of God that is, a low-ranking newspaper reporter from Toronto named Earl Grey, like the tea, is selected through a lottery process to be the only individual allowed to interview and report on the hospital’s elite patient, and ends up being a very special individual indeed to the so-called Almighty, with both men developing a deep, intimate relationship that profoundly changes the reporter’s useless life. So do we end up finding out who and what God really is? Well, I won’t ruin the surprise for the reader, but suffice it to say one comes away from the story feeling satisfied with the answers provided.
Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ is so well researched. It encompasses religion, faith, love, and science in a way that is not only understandable and plausible, but endearing to the reader, opening up one’s mind to thought processes well-beyond our segregated and divided beliefs as human beings today, all of us attempting to find the purpose and meaning to life.
Congratulations, Mr. Featherston! You are a masterful storyteller with an innate talent for writing and a universal clarity and grasp of the unknown second to none, and one storyteller who managed to capture this reader’s undivided attention. If literary ‘art’ still exists in today’s culture, Martin J. Featherston’s novel is one fine example of it. I highly recommend Nothing Sacred: ‘A Divine Comedy’ to any and all readers, no matter what their preferred genre. After all, how often does one actually get to talk to God? Five billion stars for this great read!
December 18, 2022
Sometimes good, sometimes a bit of a slog.
The good: Broadly funny throughout. It has echoes of Python and Douglas Adams. It’s not nearly at those high levels, though some of The Hitchhikers Guide and other pop culture references are fun.
The Not-So-Good: Most of the characters are one dimensional: the doctor who cares more about his own advancement than the health of his patient; the hapless Administrator; the Press as a whole, interested only in headlines; the reporter who, completely out of character, befriends (the protagonist) Earl for no apparent reason, and who then goes on to wear silly costumes, and turn from a serious reporter into an almost clownish figure, also for no apparent reason. Earl has more depth, but his focus on his childhood issues quickly become redundant.
The philosophical discussions between Doe and Earl become “singularly” boring, and are only complex because of the pretzel-like twists it takes to make it try to make some sense. I found the whole thing with Nog - which seems as if it is supposed to mirror Earl’s situation - just as baffling. What could be a fast-paced, humorous novel grinds to a halting slog when these chapters come up.
Based on the premise, I wanted to like this book, but the only truly entertaining part of it was the humor.
The good: Broadly funny throughout. It has echoes of Python and Douglas Adams. It’s not nearly at those high levels, though some of The Hitchhikers Guide and other pop culture references are fun.
The Not-So-Good: Most of the characters are one dimensional: the doctor who cares more about his own advancement than the health of his patient; the hapless Administrator; the Press as a whole, interested only in headlines; the reporter who, completely out of character, befriends (the protagonist) Earl for no apparent reason, and who then goes on to wear silly costumes, and turn from a serious reporter into an almost clownish figure, also for no apparent reason. Earl has more depth, but his focus on his childhood issues quickly become redundant.
The philosophical discussions between Doe and Earl become “singularly” boring, and are only complex because of the pretzel-like twists it takes to make it try to make some sense. I found the whole thing with Nog - which seems as if it is supposed to mirror Earl’s situation - just as baffling. What could be a fast-paced, humorous novel grinds to a halting slog when these chapters come up.
Based on the premise, I wanted to like this book, but the only truly entertaining part of it was the humor.
May 15, 2025
This was an interesting debut from and Indie Author. A mystery man appears in a hospital claiming to be God, but he will only speak to Earl Grey, a small town reporter from Canada.
I have to admit that I was a bit worried at first. I wanted to like this book, because it seemed like my kind of humor. However, reading the first few chapters, I felt as if the humor was too much. Almost like the author really, really wanted to be Douglas Adams. At first it was fine, but then it grew annoying. Every sentence had to be some sort of joke or funny similar / metaphor.
Luckily, after a few chapters, the humor was tuned back quite a lot. The result is a story that is still lighthearted with humorous elements, but with heart as well. Each of the characters had their distinct personalities, and by the end, you are really rooting for them.
As a debut novel, Featherston has shaped a very compelling story about life, the universe, and everything. Why we are here, who we are in the grand scheme of things, and what it all means.
I have to admit that I was a bit worried at first. I wanted to like this book, because it seemed like my kind of humor. However, reading the first few chapters, I felt as if the humor was too much. Almost like the author really, really wanted to be Douglas Adams. At first it was fine, but then it grew annoying. Every sentence had to be some sort of joke or funny similar / metaphor.
Luckily, after a few chapters, the humor was tuned back quite a lot. The result is a story that is still lighthearted with humorous elements, but with heart as well. Each of the characters had their distinct personalities, and by the end, you are really rooting for them.
As a debut novel, Featherston has shaped a very compelling story about life, the universe, and everything. Why we are here, who we are in the grand scheme of things, and what it all means.
July 21, 2022
4 ⭐ / 5
I was very kindly given a free ecopy of Nothing Sacred in exchange for an honest review, and honestly, I LOVED it. It was quite different from anything I've read this year, and would normally choose to read but it really set the bar for modern literary humour. The topic, while possibly controversial, is something I felt was handled very realistically. What would you do if someone walks into a hospital and declares themselves as God? Would you believe them? It's a very convincing rendition filled with questions surrounding the incident, who is this man, why is he doing this, is he telling the truth, and what is God to you?
Overall this was a really interesting and well written take on personal faith and belief, finding connections with people, and following your gut. Also, I have an inkling that there's a tiny bit of time-travel in it...
Happy reading!
I was very kindly given a free ecopy of Nothing Sacred in exchange for an honest review, and honestly, I LOVED it. It was quite different from anything I've read this year, and would normally choose to read but it really set the bar for modern literary humour. The topic, while possibly controversial, is something I felt was handled very realistically. What would you do if someone walks into a hospital and declares themselves as God? Would you believe them? It's a very convincing rendition filled with questions surrounding the incident, who is this man, why is he doing this, is he telling the truth, and what is God to you?
Overall this was a really interesting and well written take on personal faith and belief, finding connections with people, and following your gut. Also, I have an inkling that there's a tiny bit of time-travel in it...
Happy reading!
December 8, 2022
Whew! What a monster roller coaster ride this gem of a book turned out to be! This up and coming author just toppled Christopher Moore from his lofty perch on my "Irreverent Humor" shelf. A real page-turner here, folks, hard to put down from beginning to end, with side-splitting humor as well as mind-bending ventures into cosmology and physics. His wordsmithing and writing style puts him right up there with more established names on the roster. Watch out big dogs, make room - Martin's comin' in HOT!
April 9, 2024
A good idea, well written and, eventually, fairly satisfactorily realised. But eventually is the key word here: it's far, far too long and I wonder how many readers will stay the course to chapter 83 (yes, 83). Several characters are unnecessary and the book needed a stern edit. It jumps about too much. Earl's a nicely drawn character though and I liked quite a lot of it. I'm not sure I'd call it a comedy - you can see that the author is aiming in that direction but the humour is a little spasmodic as if he's not quite sure that's the path to take with this particular subject.
January 27, 2026
The title and story line intrigued me but have to say I was disappointed. It started out good, but I found it too long and slow at times. I was hoping for a different ending.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews