The Book of Joby

Ferrari’s rather grim debut blends Arthurian legend into the age-old tale of a bet between God and Lucifer. Nine-year-old Joby Peterson has a fairly ordinary childhood until he becomes the focus of “the same stupid bet” that Lucifer has suggested thousands of times before: if Lucifer can make Joby renounce God, he gets to destroy the earth and remake it his way. God isn’t allowed to interfere, but fortunately, his allies, from angels to Merlin, have fewer strictures. Joby grows up miserable and constantly accused of being gay and “not man enough” when he refuses to physically fight those who goad him. He finds brief respite in the quiet coastal town of Taubolt, the Camelot of his childhood dreams, but soon Joby must leave his haven and return to the struggle for his soul and the fate of the world. This dark fantasy for Left Behind fans achieves its narrow transcendence only at the cost of many pages and many lives. (Aug.)