The Chasm

Alcorn offers a companion to his novel, Edge of Eternity, in this Pilgrim's Progress–style allegory about a man who comes to see his own wasted life through a series of misadventures, battles, and sins. These lead him to a chasm he cannot cross without the help of trusted—should he trust them?—guides, most importantly a Christ figure, the Woodsman, and a tempter, Joshua. The end is not utopia, but a life with unexpected joys and faithful companions. For those who appreciate allegory, Alcorn's fills the bill even as it also includes the realities of contemporary life: "I gazed into the emptiness of my daughter's eyes. I started pushing and shoving. I wanted to kill the men who lusted after her—vile men whose daughters I lusted after." Nothing here tops classic Christian allegories, but noteworthy is a "new creation" view of afterlife: "You will live on a new earth—the old earth made new.... I came not to destroy but to redeem my fallen creation." (Feb.)