The Gospel of the Knife [Hardcover]

Will Shetterly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2007

Christopher Nix is 14 years old, and it's 1969. His life is a turbulent echo of the times as he discovers sex, drugs and rock 'n roll in the heart of Florida.  But into this struggle between the young long-haired hippie and the rednecks who'd just as soon kill him comes a strange offer that will completely change his life.

 

The Nix family is contacted by a mysterious benefactor who wants to send Chris to an exclusive private school, no expense spared. Mr. Jay Dumont claims that Chris's grandfather saved his life during WWI, and though Grandpa Uvdall is dead, the debt remains to be paid.  But as Chris will discover, there is a great deal more to it than that. He will have to accept and understand the Powers that have surrounded his family all his life, and learn to use his own magical gifts, if he is to survive Dumont's plan.

 

As he did with Dogland, Will Shetterly has used a deceptively simple tale to explore some very deep issues. The Gospel of the Knife explores questions of faith and responsibility, and the always complex relationship between man and God and the world. 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Shetterly's sequel to Dogland (1997) finds Christopher Nix, a troubled adolescent, struggling through the cultural turmoil of 1969 Florida. While running from a trio of hippie-hating bullies, Chris manages to ride his bike across a murky pond while a pursuer sinks, but he later finds a hidden branch under the water and tells himself it must have supported him. Running away from home after a fight with his father, Chris winds up romantically and then literally entangled with CC, a wild young woman trying to escape her aunt's obsession with Jesus. Then his life changes radically when a rich stranger offers to fund his education at a fancy prep school. Chris soon learns the reason for the generosity, and the small miracles that appear to follow him wherever he goes: he's actually one of the elohim, a divine being in human guise. Shetterly seems to want to make some sort of point about adolescence and faith, but like the pond, his intent is often occluded, and not every reader will be able to make it to the far side.
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From Booklist

Shetterly's return to the story of Christopher Nix, from Dogland (1997), begins as historical fiction and quickly diverts into weirder territory. Now 14, Chris is invited to attend boarding school at the behest of Jay Dumont, who claims to owe the Nix family a debt. Accepting takes Chris far from his usual life. Under Dumont's tutelage, Chris discovers he can walk on water, heal, and manipulate others. Dumont explains that Chris is one of the nefilim, a magical race charged by God to rule the world. Yet Chris is uncomfortable with Dumont's assertion that these powers give the nefilim the right to rule as they see fit; he has seen how easily the powerful, including Dumont, are corrupted. The second-person, present-tense narration, off-putting at first, quickly becomes transparent, and Shetterly's blending of Vietnam-era realism and religious mysticism makes compelling reading. Ultimately, the tale becomes confusing, at times so incomprehensible that it flirts with boredom. Patient readers will find much to ponder, though, as Chris struggles to do what is right. Hutley, Krista

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (July 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312866313
• ISBN-13: 978-0312866310
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,404,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Does absolute power corrupt?, August 29, 2007

By 

R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Gospel of the Knife (Hardcover)

1969, a time of turbulence for the nation and in particular for Mark Christopher
Nix, who has just turned 14. He's a longhaired kid in a town full of rednecks. Chris is just learning about drugs, just getting interested in girls, and just testing his wings on his own for the first time.

In an ill-conceived attempt to establish his own power, he runs away from home on Halloween night. On that fateful Hallows Eve, he discovers CC, a young Black girl who he falls for. His relations with CC are interrupted by her Aunt and Chris is returned to the family late that evening.

Shortly after, Chris' family is contacted by Jay Dumont, a wealthy benefactor who wants to provide Chris an education in one of the best schools in the nation in return for his grandfather saving his life in World War I.

Chris discovers his mysterious benefactor is a good deal more than he seems. Indeed, both he and Chris are of the Elohim, a rare race gifted with godlike powers. Dumont styles himself the King of the World and declares Chris his heir since his own son Josh has recently been murdered.

Chris goes to the school--dubbed merely The Academy--and is immediately entangled in trying to find out who killed Josh. He uncovers more than he expected and must make choices with repercussions not only for him and his family but for the world.

The "Publishers' Weekly" reviewer who described this book said that not every reader would easily make it across the 'pond' metaphor in Shetterly's writing. I admit freely to being mired in more than once by "Gospel."

Having conducted a bit of research on Shetterly's website, I discovered "Gospel" was going to be two books and had about 80% of the contents edited out. I'm certain a good deal of my own confusion resulted from that compression of the larger work. One particular instance was where the writing referred to a time period of ten months when it seemed as though only a few weeks had passed in the manuscript.

Still, what I have read in "Gospel" has given me a good deal to think about even if I had to work a bit harder to tread water across the pond. "Gospel" is not my favorite of Shetterly's work--that would go to "Dogland", but I do believe that this book is well worth the read even if you do get 'dunked in the pond' a few times.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great fun; some good thoughts, May 20, 2010

By 

M. Hollingsworth (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Gospel of the Knife (Hardcover)

It's a sort-of sequel to Dogland, in that this is apparently the same Christopher Nix, but where the earlier work had a vague sense of background magic at work, this one gets up close and personal. You see, young Chris has been chosen to be the next God. Seriously. That's quite a premise, and I for one wondered if the book could possibly live up to it.

The mysterious happenings and happy coincidences of his youth are presumably explained by this, or perhaps it was his family's magical ancestry which unconsciously drew them to an area teeming with the supernatural. Chris' life changes now, though, as he's semi-adopted by a wealthy man and then sent to The Academy to learn--well, it's not really clear what they study. Chris himself is exempt anyway, since the headmaster worships him. Literally.

Other complications manage to abound despite the basic premise being quite complex enough. There's a lot going on, and I felt that the wrapup was a bit rushed. If it was really intended to be two books originally, it may have been more satisfying in that format. Still, it's a long way from bad. It supports its ambitious premise admirably.

So, does absolute power corrupt absolutely? No spoilers here, but I'll just say that I liked the way the door was left open.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you like Neil Gaiman, you'll like this..., July 13, 2007

By 

G. R. Fry "(SF fan with no name)" (New Albany, IN United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Gospel of the Knife (Hardcover)

"The Gospel of the Knife" is the Judeo-Christian version of "American Gods". Shetterly has told a tale of fantasy woven so well with reality that you almost find yourself believing that it is real. You are so glad that you read this story because you know that somehow a portion of your mind has been transformed. After you've read it you will want to buy one for your library because you only hope that others find it and its message. You can only wonder what Shetterly will do next.