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I recently dove into Father Elijah, an end-of-the-world fiction novel by Michael D. O’Brien.  I had heard of it from a number of people who spoke highly of it as one of just a few books on the market that was both mainstream in its appeal and Catholic in its perspective.  I was excited to read it, which might explain why I read the 600 page book in about 10 days.

My favorite aspect of the book was how O’Brien portrayed holiness.  Several characters you meet are quite holy, and the author portrays them in a way that seems wholly authentic.  One character in particular, though he is a thinly veiled allusion to Padre Pio, seems quite real, and I found myself hoping to run into him if ever I make it to Assisi.

I greatly enjoyed the plot’s action and intrigue.  It was not overly woven, like your typical 24 season or blockbuster NYT bestseller, but I stayed interested in the mission, and felt myself looking over Fr. Elijah’s shoulder for him, so to speak.  The examples of spiritual warfare were especially riveting, both the corporeal battles and internal struggles.

This is book is, as the subtitle explains, an apocalypse.  It depicts a possible end-0f-the world scenario where the Antichrist rises and decimates the Catholic church and civilized world.  If nothing else, this novel reminds the reader that the war between Heaven and sin is real, and the other side is fighting with everything they have whether we realize it or not.  O’Brien makes a great distinction between the Antichrist as an individual, and the spirit of Antichrist as a constant movement to undermine the work of the church on Earth.  You may find a number of parallel’s between this book and today’s paper, even though it was written in 1998, in anticipation of the year 2000.

My greatest complaint is in the ending.  I will try not to ruin plots for you in these reviews, but this one is inevitable.  There is no ending.  No resolution.  I had hoped to see, at the end of the day, Antichrist struck down, the Kingdom of God descend from Heaven, and everything made right.  I didn’t get it.  That made me mad for quite a while, until I realized that several of the characters in the novel demanded exactly the same but were left unsatisfied.  Count Smokrev, on his deathbed asks ‘why didn’t God stop my hand’, and Father Elijah explains as best he can that God just works differently than we do.

The Antichrist never fully comes to power in the end.  Setting up for a sequel?  Possibly, this is one of six novels in a vaguely organized series.  More likely it comes back to the “spirit of Antichrist.”  The plot sets up one pivotal battle, but the antagonist may have just been one more personification of this spirit which has roamed the Earth since the time of creation, and will continue to throughout time.  The Bible suggests that a final temporal battle will occur, but it makes quite clear that Man will not know exactly when to expect it.  Until then, Father Elijah reminds us to be vigilant and prepared for the many small battles that make up this war.