The Book of Thomas: Volume One: Heaven

(Paperback)

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"The mind is its own place and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven." John Milton, Paradise Lost

In the beginning, the Church ruled all the Spheres of the Apostles. But that was millennia ago, before the origins of this massive, artificial realm were forgotten. Now, drought, plague and war afflict the Spheres that make up the world of Man, fragmenting society into antagonistic sects that carry out ruthless pogroms.

A young orphan, Thomas, is thrust into the midst of this upheaval and embarks on a journey to the highest of all Spheres, Heaven. As he struggles through his chaotic, crumbling world, Thomas witnesses cruelty and violence beyond measureand chances upon unexpected moments of courage and self-sacrifice. In this turmoil, his belief becomes doubt as he is forced to make soul-rending choices between what his faith tells him he should do, and what he must do to survive.

The Book of Thomas: Heaven is the unflinching, deeply affecting tale of the battle that reason and religion wage for a boy's soul.

Reviews

"The Book of David is an odyssey through realms of science fiction, fantasy, and sheer mind-bending madness. Robert Boyczuk has crafted an epic. Creation mythology and dystopian fiction might not ever be the same after this collision."
--Laird Barron

"Robert Boyczuk is a supremely talented writer."
--Cory Doctorow

"Boyczuk has a real knack for creepy, Twilight Zone-style atmospherics. The scary stuff is often made more threatening by being kept just out of sight, concealed in shadows or half hidden behind a window. [His] stories all have a twist--a turn of the screw--that breathes new life into some of the old forms and results in fiction as clever as it is entertaining."
--Alex Good, Quill & Quire

"Page-turning thrills aplenty. . . . Boyczuk's [Nexus] borrows from sources as diverse as Tolkien, Star Wars, and Alan Moore, and integrates the miscellany admirably into a fast-paced plot. The dystopian human dynamics, on the other hand, are the stuff of an epic nihilistic hangover."
--Publishers Weekly

"Boyczuk builds up his hauntings and often gruesome metaphors and imagery from the base of his stories' human relationships, which imbues his fiction with an uncanniness that mimics the feeling of being trapped in a maze-like dream. Readers need not worry, however. The horror here is very real. Boyczuk just wants you to have a little fun finding it."
--Rue Morgue Magazine

"In [Nexus: Ascension], the writing is vivid, the characters . . . interact in a believable and thrilling way, and there is enough tension to make us suddenly start turning the pages hurriedly. . . . [Boyczuk is] a writer to watch."
--The New York Review of Science Fiction

"As Thomas makes his way through the world [in The Book of Thomas], his backstory is gradually revealed, adding richness and somberness to a dark novel that is reminiscent of Walter M. Miller Jr.'s classic A Canticle for Leibowitz."
--Library Journal

Author Bio

Robert Boyczuk is the author of Horror Story and Other Horror Stories, a critically acclaimed short story collection about love, grief, and loss, which is also available from ChiZine Publications.