Customer Reviews

PILATE: A Brutal Bible Tale

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book based on the fantastic reviews; but was soon very disappointed in the interpretation of the crucifiction.
It is mostly black ghetto talk about shorties and niggas and it lost me and was not what I was expecting. I couldn't connect with the characters. I found that the author was jumping about with dialogue and people and it was hard to follow who was saying what and lost it's appeal for me.
I didn't feel there was any fluidity of events as it seemed all over the map.
I didn't connect with anything, or any character particularly the character portraying Christ!
I skimmed the last half of the book since I knew the ending of course, but was VERY,VERY tired of reading about niggas and 9mm.
I see enough of it on the daily news and this seemed more of the same.

This brilliant alteration of biblical accounts into a modernized tale of drugs, death and deception is not for the easily offended or faint of heart. With graphic scenes of violence, sex and torture Steven Rage has given us a view of Christ's final days had he lived in our modern world. His unique cadence and elaborate descriptions vividly animates every aspect of his writing. Whether offended or captivated, whoever reads this book will not soon forget it.

www.AllTheseBooks.com

The Harbor is a crime filled, drug infested place. In that environs Pilate is a notorious drug dealer working for mob kingpin Herod. Over the past few months Pilate has failed to meet his assigned quota so his superior fires him and replaces him with an even more ruthless soul. He also has Mary Magdalene murdered. Pilate brings Mary to Immanuel, whose disciples insist she is the Christ. She raises Mary from the dead and kisses Pilate resulting in his remembering his past lives.

Except for his first life, Pilate was a vampire performing evil deeds during the Inquisition; during the California Gold Rush and he feasted while the plague devastated London. He kept on making the same errors and Immanuel knows her time has arrived to fulfill her mission on earth. Will Pilate betray her as he has done when she was Jesus or will he finally learn the eternal lessons?

This is not an inspirational work nor is it blasphemous (at least in my liberal mind). The story line uses biblical villains and places them reincarnated in the present where they repeat their evil deeds as they have done often in the past, but documented two millennia ago. Immanuel and the disciples with the exception of Judas, who finally remembers his first betrayal, are treated with respect and honor in this unique religious horror thriller. Steven Rage has written an enthralling tale that brings back the time Jesus walked Israel to his walking the present United States.

Harriet Klausner

Reading the first couple of chapters, I told The Wife, "This is absolutely the most violent thing I've ever read!" Reading more, the violence continued unabated but it all fit in. This wasn't just savagery for the sake of being shocking. Once you get over the initial impact, the story is compelling and extremely well written. Between work, The Wife, and The Boy, I'm kept pretty busy so I had to hide out in the bathroom to finish the book.

My advice to you: sneak this book and some snacks and drinks into your private hiding place (or bathroom) and settle down for a good read.

Downloaded and read PILATE. I thought it was excellent. Being brought up Catholic, I was very familiar with "the source material". In its own right that is a very powerful story. Compound that with street violence and mega-violence of the most extreme horror variety and you get a story that any horror fan would eat up. I highly recommend it.

Ok this is my second go at writing a review about Pilate, so here goes. I read Pilate over a few weeks, and after reading this book I actually read it again a few weeks later. There is so much going on in Pilate, and sometimes I got a little lost in the story. But although I am not myself a religious person, I think Stephen did an excellent job of taking a known figure and story and twisting it into an original and entertaining (if not devilishly dark) tale that can be enjoyed by anyone lacking a weak constitution. The details and exacting descriptions he gives in the telling of this story are graphic and perfect, unlike anything I have ever read so far. The imagery in this book is awesome, and everything comes together nicely at the end. I like the buildup to the climax, its heady, dark and heavy, and fitting to the tone of this writing. Kudos to you Stephen, keep up the twisted writing!

This story illuminates in our modern world one of the most powerful stories ever told. Rage is a natural story teller and with his compelling and clear voice, he spins imagery so detailed and brutal that it grips the heart, mind, soul and body at once. Then, in the moment of pain and discomfort the light and courage of Christ shines on the darkest part of humanity. If you liked the Passion of Christ or any other painful tales of horror, you will love Steven Rage.

This enthralling story elaborates on Pontius Pilate's ill-fated destiny and carries the reader into the vivid depths of utter horror in this modern day Biblical vampire story. A truly well-written fable with a good moral message for our detached society...when good people do nothing; evil flourishes. Looking forward to the second installment in Rage's series!!!

This book is filled with sex and violence that will keep you turning the pages. With a vampire feasting on an embryo,and so many other dreadful acts you have to check it out

Overall, I found this to be a great, rather grizzly book with a fine grasp of horror, modern culture and even a certain reverence. Rage blatantly gawks at the darker side of our modern world and draws certain biblical parallels...using vampires. He adeptly mixes our current youth venacular with graphic, brutal horror imagery, a respectable dark poetic prose and a decisive intelligence. This is an author I'd like to see more of. The violence, and sex references are raw, explicit and he just holds nothing back. His grasp of the underside of our culture and the drug trade filter through in a gritty, unapologetic in-your-face prose. But he's not afraid to display an impressively morbid poetic side. The plot is well-thought-out. It is a grimly well paced thrill ride of horror and suspense. You just have to keep turning pages to see what happens next. His parallels to the modern story and the biblical text of the last days of Jesus are inventive and inspired, in a grotesque deformed sort of way. There is material here that I'm sure would cause religious conservatives to say, "There is blasphemy here that would make Jesus roll over in his grave (you know, if he hadn't already risen from the dead)!" Yet, there is a strong, revery that shows a certain connection to faith. Personally as an agnostic, I would have enjoyed the book more if Rage had avoided the religious connections and just stuck with a straight vampire story. But that's just my personal opinion. There is a religious connection that comes together as the book rolls along, but it is still a graphic, nasty horror tale with vampires, drug lords and even a little sex. Rage's command of story and pacing shows a lot of promise for the future. And although I'd like to see him stick to more strictly secular horror stories, this is a brutal, graphic author I'd like to see more from. As someone who enjoys graphic, explicit horror, I can strongly recommend this book...and keep 'em coming, Steven! Never let your fangs go dry!