Scourge of an Agnostic God « Thread Started on Jul 28, 2010, 8:34am »
I'm Michael Juge, the author of the recently published novel Scourge of an Agnostic God, available at select Barnes and Noble stores and online wherever you buy books. Check out the book trailer at http://scourgeofanagnosticgod.com/site/?page_id=24
Synopsis: Washington DC Intelligence Analyst Chris Jung has gone fetal. Tormented by panic-fueled obsessive thoughts and buried in TPS reports, the walls of his cubicle are closing in. Fortunately for him, a mysterious series of EMPs plunges the industrialized world into darkness, saving Chris from himself and spurring him to head for the hills with his pregnant wife. Along the way, Chris meets Rita Luevano, a jaded Unitarian reverend who leads a motley horde fleeing to Monticello. Together with the remnants of a Marine battalion, Chris and Rita help establish communities of urban refugees in the Shenandoah Valley. They and the other lucky few who have escaped civilization’s collapse learn the lost arts of subsistence agriculture, blacksmithing and archery in order to adapt to a world devoid of technology and instant gratification. Faced with the specter of starvation and death, Chris and Rita must face their own demons and conjure the dormant will to live even while pop tunes and TV commercials still ring fresh in their ears and they no longer have Wikipedia to give them the answers. Not everything from the old world has perished. One corporate entity, a black ops military security corporation, weathered the collapse and seeks hostile takeovers of what the burgeoning communities have scraped together. Thrust out of their suburban malaise and into a gritty struggle for survival, a tenacious spirit awakens in the haunted souls of Chris and Rita who find their authentic selves at the end of civilization.
« Last Edit: Mar 15, 2011, 9:02pm by scourgewriter »
May the road gangs never meet you. May the wind be fallout-free. May the sun shine through the ashes, hot rain not fall on thee. And until we meet again, may no one hold your flesh in the palm of their hand.
Joined: Apr 2010 Gender: Male Posts: 1,995 Karma: 43
Re: Scourge of an Agnostic God « Reply #4 on Jan 9, 2011, 6:55pm »
Hey Michael, I just started your book today. According my Kindle, I'm only 10% in, but so far, it's good, really good. If it keeps it up, I'll be sorry I put it off for so long.
May the road gangs never meet you. May the wind be fallout-free. May the sun shine through the ashes, hot rain not fall on thee. And until we meet again, may no one hold your flesh in the palm of their hand.
May the road gangs never meet you. May the wind be fallout-free. May the sun shine through the ashes, hot rain not fall on thee. And until we meet again, may no one hold your flesh in the palm of their hand.
Re: Scourge of an Agnostic God « Reply #6 on Feb 5, 2011, 12:16pm »
Hey Megaton, I read your review and thank you so much! I have to say, you give Scourge more street cred than I could buy with a hundred thousand dollars. BTW, that was very insightful that you caught how the premise had parallels with Dies the Fire. Actually, I was inspired by that story and was reading it when I went through the worst of my own issues, which in the end gave birth to Scourge. Thanks again!
Joined: Apr 2010 Gender: Male Posts: 1,995 Karma: 43
Re: Scourge of an Agnostic God « Reply #7 on Feb 5, 2011, 6:43pm »
Here's the review I wrote for those who haven't seen it yet.
About six months ago, Michael Juge stopped by the Post-Apocalyptic Forum to tell us about his debut novel, Scourge of an Agnostic God. I immediately bought it for my Kindle, but I never got around to reading it because I really didn't know what it was about or what kind of book it was, so I never knew if it would suit my current mood.
Michael described it by saying "How would Metro Sapiens wired for instant gratification and global connectivity cope in a post-apocalyptic reality? Unwittingly living out a mordant version of the movie Groundhog Day, Intelligence Analyst Chris Jung, tormented by panic-fueled obsessive thoughts, stumbles toward suicide until a mysterious series of electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) strikes across the globe and plunges the industrialized world into darkness."
The title, and the part about Groundhog Day, combined with the book's cover, which just shows a guy on a subway train, made me think it was some kind of metaphysical or satirical take on the apocalypse. Boy, was I wrong, and Michael? You need to get a new branding consultant.
Yes, several of the characters had deep personal issues, and their own demons to confront, but the depth of their internal battles only added to the story. Seeing how they were able to succeed in their struggles only made them more real and easier to relate to.
But overall, Scourge of an Agnostic God is a straight up EMP-event post-apocalyptic novel, complete with societal collapse, starvation, plague, and normal everyday people taking up arms to protect their homes and their families from bands of invaders bent on enslaving them and taking what little they've managed to scrape together after the lights go out permanently.
I saw a lot of Dies the Fire in Scourge, and even more of One Second After, with just a sprinkle of the movie version of The Postman. It was also chock full of pop-culture jokes and references, some of them very geeky. I mean, how many times have you seen a US Marine wished "success" in Klingon before heading into battle?
I'm definitely sorry I put off reading it for so long. It's a great addition to the genre, and my favorite book of the last several months. And like I said, don't let the marketing put you off; if you're reading this, then I really do think you should read Scourge of an Agnostic God as well.
May the road gangs never meet you. May the wind be fallout-free. May the sun shine through the ashes, hot rain not fall on thee. And until we meet again, may no one hold your flesh in the palm of their hand.
Joined: Nov 2010 Gender: Male Posts: 555 Location: Australia Karma: 24
Re: Scourge of an Agnostic God « Reply #8 on Feb 5, 2011, 7:09pm »
Thanks for posting your review Megat0n, it's swayed my decision towards reading the book. I was a little put off by the advertising and I think I agree that the person in charge of branding/marketing this book, didn't really understand what they were selling (obviously I need to read it before I can really claim to know what I'm talking about in that regard!).
I look forward to any author that can do what S.M. Sterling should have done (why that guy gets any credit is beyond me, he seems to reinvent the notion of excessively unnecessary verbiage with every novel). Just got to find a local stockist now.
I would fire the brand marketing moron who advised me on the title of the book, but then I found it was none other than myself. Oh well.
Well... That's a little embarrassing now that I've opened my big mouth... <shuffles about to remove foot from mouth... wait a minute, I have a spare foot here, let's see if I can cram that in as well>
Mind you, it wasn't the title that was any sort of issue for me, it was the way the book was presented in the advertising. In fact, I quite like the book title. I also really like the premise i.e. the society that lives for 'tech' now has to cope without it and from Megat0n's review, it sounds like it's a typical although more modern, post-disaster story (and I don't mean that in any negative sense) but with plenty of elements to keep us reading and, ultimately, keep us entertained.
Really, I'll just have to buy the book to find out for myself but I suppose if nothing else, having this discussion here on the forums has made us aware of another author and from Megat0n's review, an author that I'll likely enjoy enough to buy the next book.
May the road gangs never meet you. May the wind be fallout-free. May the sun shine through the ashes, hot rain not fall on thee. And until we meet again, may no one hold your flesh in the palm of their hand.
May the road gangs never meet you. May the wind be fallout-free. May the sun shine through the ashes, hot rain not fall on thee. And until we meet again, may no one hold your flesh in the palm of their hand.
Re: Scourge of an Agnostic God « Reply #14 on Feb 10, 2011, 6:25am »
Just bought this today on my Kindle, after the reviews here, who could pass it up? I will be honest though if I'd gone by title and precis alone, I probably would have passed it by, these forums are a godsend!
Ok started reading it and so far haven't been able to tear myself away for long, so far, so good, see some of one second after, dies the fire and even to some degree aspects of The Stand...... seeing as I like all the above its a great book!
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