The Plot Against Heaven by Mark Kirkbride

Omnium Gatherum, 2020

ISBN: 13: 9781949054293

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition  ( Bookshop.org | Amazon.com )

Hell is a version of Las Vegas. Heaven is an armed camp. The two places seem to be located side by side, even though elevators going to hell travel downward. Paul is making these observations as he tries to force his way into God’s inner sanctum in order to demand why his wife Kate died in an accident before her time.

The Plot Against Heaven soon becomes more Satan’s plot rather than Paul’s. Mark Kirkbride has written a fast-paced story that can be read in one sitting which, as Poe would recommend, is ideal for steadily building emotion to a climax. There are many surprises along the way. After all, who would expect Paul to accept a media job in hell? How could Paul be so wrong about both his and his wife’s true situation? Was Kate right in thinking that when faced with a choice between doing what is right versus doing what is necessary, doing what is right is always the correct choice?

Kirkbride has an interesting take on the afterlife and how heaven and hell function. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader invested in Paul’s search for justice, entertained by his interaction with Satan, and caught up in the mysteries created by deception. This story is a fable/parable about our misconceptions regarding the nature of good and evil, particularly how human beings are so unaware of the pervasiveness of evil and so blind to its insidious harm. Could it be that an adventure tale is exactly the vehicle to further the deception? A chilling thought! Recommended.

Reviewed by Nova Hadley