Michael Phillips, the prolific author of both fiction and nonfiction, offers longtime fans a lovely and telling story in the same style as his literary models and heroes, George MacDonald and C.S. Lewis. Phillips cautions readers (by quoting from Lewis in his preface to THE GREAT DIVORCE) that HELL AND BEYOND is a work of fiction and his imagination, not even a “guess or speculation at what may actually await us” in the afterlife. This is an excellent reminder, and yet the reader will be so captivated by Phillips’s excellent prose that they will wonder how much could be or will be true.

Phillips opens his fantasy with a reflection coming from the main character, in which he reflects upon the writing getaway several months in the making. He also recalls how difficult his schedule had been ever since his book, THE CHRIST MYTH, topped the New York Times bestseller list. Even before the release of his book, the narrator had been an outspoken atheist. Still, even he was thrilled with the reaction of “thinking men and women” to his book’s premise that religion was a damaging influence. Thus, ready for a break from interviews, traveling and promoting his work, he leaves for a two-week reprieve from the world. Little did he realize how far out of this world he would travel.

"Surely, this story is compelling because it could be real. Only Phillips could conceive of a tale that reads so true to life (and death)."

Settling in to regain his physical health compromised by the constant travel, the writer considers how to begin eating better, hiking to increase his stamina, and to simply regroup after such an intense season of relentless work. Sipping at his Starbucks, he ruminates over the niggling problem of “proving” either the Hexistence of God or disproving it. He realizes that both atheism and deism attempt to prove the unprovable. The next evening, the narrator dreams…of another world. Flying and traversing through the air, sights and sounds, everything feels so vivid, and finally he realizes he is not dreaming. A figure walks toward him, and this atheist now understands how wrong he has been.

From this pivotal juncture, the narrator begins his own particular journey through the heavens, where he is forced to confront his earthly choices and the effects they had on him, his family, and the world at large. Revelation after revelation, he is stripped of his pride, ego, and every other worldly accruement until he is left bare. Surrounded by memories of what kind of man he was in life, he is now forced to come to terms with his personhood and his life’s work. Shamed and broken, he slowly finds redemption but not until he participates in the unthinkable: crucifying his Savior.

Though Phillips warns his readers that HELL AND BEYOND is speculative fiction, the consequences of our everyday choices that reap eternal repercussions are profound and profoundly disturbing. Surely, this story is compelling because it could be real. Only Phillips could conceive of a tale that reads so true to life (and death).