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A review by jennaelf
No Lasting Burial by Stant Litore
5.0
(This review was originally posted on Amazon.)
This will be one of the more difficult book reviews I've endeavored to write. The book touched me that personally, and that is not something I can say of many books - not even of the many books that have shaped my reading tastes since childhood.
Stant Litore's Zombie Bible series doesn't do what you might think it does. We've seen zombie-insertion fiction before. This is not that. "No Lasting Burial" is a Biblical story about struggle, suffering, pain, hopelessness, need, and hunger - not just on the part of the Dead, but especially on the part of the Living. It's also a story about hope, healing, and forgiveness.
As someone who long ago had a split with religion and faith, this story was not at all "preachy", but there was definitely a message. What that message may be is certain to vary based on the needs of the reader, but the message I saw was the reflection of the Dead in the Living and the ways in which pain and loss work in our lives. There is no need for a belief in the Christian faith to see the pain and beauty that Litore so carefully crafts into this very human story.
Stepping back from the emotional examination; this is a very well crafted tale. As I read, I had questions that came up and each of them were answered through the telling of the story. Everything was pretty neatly tied up without feeling contrived toward that end. The characters are well-developed and I found myself easily relating to many of them. The PoV shifts, and this change of character perspective helps fill out the narrative all the more.
All in all, this was a wonderful reading experience. Technically, the story was well executed and rendered, and emotionally, it reached down into places I'd forgot could be touched by words.
Additional, Good Reads Only Bonus section: I have, since reading the book and writing this review, seen other reviews with questions about why the Dead were necessary and what was going on with the character of Yeshua. Reader experience will heavily influence - as with any text - whether these are questions every reader has. For me, it was easy to see the Dead as an external execution of the internal conflicts of the Living characters. In addition, it was not a far stretch for me to imagine the burden of being a prophet (of being exposed to the voice of a deity, of bearing the expectations of that role from so many people) creating a person who is a little bit off-kilter from our expectations. It certainly humanized Yeshua for me in a way that never quite happened for me otherwise. Each of these aspects, however, are influenced by my own life experience and academic orientation.
I encourage anyone on the fence to give this book a try. Litore's prose is beautiful to read without being overwhelming or pretentious, and the story is very deeply human.
This will be one of the more difficult book reviews I've endeavored to write. The book touched me that personally, and that is not something I can say of many books - not even of the many books that have shaped my reading tastes since childhood.
Stant Litore's Zombie Bible series doesn't do what you might think it does. We've seen zombie-insertion fiction before. This is not that. "No Lasting Burial" is a Biblical story about struggle, suffering, pain, hopelessness, need, and hunger - not just on the part of the Dead, but especially on the part of the Living. It's also a story about hope, healing, and forgiveness.
As someone who long ago had a split with religion and faith, this story was not at all "preachy", but there was definitely a message. What that message may be is certain to vary based on the needs of the reader, but the message I saw was the reflection of the Dead in the Living and the ways in which pain and loss work in our lives. There is no need for a belief in the Christian faith to see the pain and beauty that Litore so carefully crafts into this very human story.
Stepping back from the emotional examination; this is a very well crafted tale. As I read, I had questions that came up and each of them were answered through the telling of the story. Everything was pretty neatly tied up without feeling contrived toward that end. The characters are well-developed and I found myself easily relating to many of them. The PoV shifts, and this change of character perspective helps fill out the narrative all the more.
All in all, this was a wonderful reading experience. Technically, the story was well executed and rendered, and emotionally, it reached down into places I'd forgot could be touched by words.
Additional, Good Reads Only Bonus section: I have, since reading the book and writing this review, seen other reviews with questions about why the Dead were necessary and what was going on with the character of Yeshua. Reader experience will heavily influence - as with any text - whether these are questions every reader has. For me, it was easy to see the Dead as an external execution of the internal conflicts of the Living characters. In addition, it was not a far stretch for me to imagine the burden of being a prophet (of being exposed to the voice of a deity, of bearing the expectations of that role from so many people) creating a person who is a little bit off-kilter from our expectations. It certainly humanized Yeshua for me in a way that never quite happened for me otherwise. Each of these aspects, however, are influenced by my own life experience and academic orientation.
I encourage anyone on the fence to give this book a try. Litore's prose is beautiful to read without being overwhelming or pretentious, and the story is very deeply human.