Christ Clone Trilogy
The Christ Clone Trilogy by James Beau Seigneur is a Christian End Times novel series, fictionalizing the story of Bible prophecy being fulfilled Twenty Minutes Into the Future. As such, it technically qualifies as Science Fiction, but reads more like Techno Thriller mixed with Disaster Movie. The overtly supernatural content is introduced gradually from the second book onwards.
The story is told primarily from the viewpoint of the journalist Decker Hawthorne, and spans over several decades; it begins with chronicling his work on a scientific expedition to analyze the Shroud of Turin. An old friend of his, Professor Harry Goodman, is a member of the expedition, and later reveals in private that he has found living cells on the Shroud, which he plans to cultivate. Decker, though not particularly religious, is uncomfortable with the implications, and the two don't see each other for another several years. When he later meets the Goodmans' "adopted grand-nephew," Christopher, he can't help but suspect ... um, well.
Despite his initial unease, Decker quickly comes to think of Christopher as a very nice boy and good person. When the Goodmans die in a car accident, he becomes his legal guardian. But shadowy forces are at work, thinking the boy important to their vision of the world they wish to create. Moreover, as Christopher discovers that he has apparently inherited extraordinary abilities, it becomes clear to all that he has an important part to play in what is to come.
The trilogy spans (obviously) three volumes:
- In His Image
- Birth of an Age
- Acts of God
- The Antichrist: Christopher Goodman.
- Anyone Can Die: Major characters, viewpoint characters, friends and family of the above, and Decker himself all bite the dust at various points throughout the series.
- Apocalypse How: Beautifully done done particularly in the second book, where a series of asteroid strikes manage to provide an almost-to-the-letter-literal interpretation of various Biblical prophecies while still being one hundred percent grounded in scientific fact.
- Author Filibuster: Several characters make long speeches about why (fundamentalist) Christianity is the most reasonable faith there is. Perhaps unusually for Christian fiction, the villains also get to make their case, and it's not generally full of strawmen.
- Briar Patching: Christopher Goodman uses this liberally mixed with clever manipulation of the actual truth with some outright but plausible lies to get people to fall for his leadership.
- Caught Up in the Rapture: Subverted. When "the Disaster" (never referred to as "the Rapture" before the final installment) happens, the people who are raptured actually die. It's just their souls that are taken up to God.
- Church of Happyology: Some the actual doctrine of the Trope Codifier is mixed with a liberal dose of New Age beliefs, perverted Biblical scripture, and some outright lies to create something plausible enough for people to believe in instead of Christ. It proves quite successful.
- Clone Jesus: Well, duh.
- Cult: The Koum Damah Patar, an all-Jewish ascetic sect with apparent psychic powers. They dress in sackcloth and tattoo the name of God (YHWH) in their foreheads.
- Demonic Possession: The prophecy about 200 million horsemen (Revelation 9) is interpreted this way, on a continental scale. The result is High Octane Nightmare Fuel.
- The Dragon: Robert Milner, A.K.A. "The False Prophet." Technically Decker co-shared the role unwittingly, but gets pushed aside when he's no longer needed.
- Easy Evangelism: One Orthodox rabbi is converted to Christianity by convincing him that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament Messiah prophecies.
- Evolutionary Levels: The basis of much of the Antichrist's ruling ideology.
- Flat Earth Atheist: Averted. Instead of disbelieving God when the divine judgments start hitting Earth, the populace turn into Nay Theists and join the vaguely supernaturalistic but assuredly anti-God Path of Inspiration instead.
- Prophecies Are Always Right: Played straight. Beau Seigneur offers a more "realistic" take on many of them than, say, Left Behind, but they all show up in order.
- Religion Is Right: Premillennial futurist Christianity, that is.
- Shown Their Work: The author really shines at this when writing about many of the global disasters, particularly in the second book (see above). Not so much when it comes to the geopolitics, however.
- Strawman Political: The UN is portrayed as an evil empire in being, infiltrated to the bone with various New Age cultists ... who don't themselves exactly come across as sympathetic.
- Bizarrely, the entire organization itself is not shown to be utterly incompetent until the villains need it to be otherwise, nor it is shown to be absolutely evil by virtue of existing, even doing some sensible and legitimate good before it gets co-opted.
- Take That: Most prominently, the major villains early on are "Alice Bernley" and her Tibetan "spirit guide."
- Taking You With Me: Christopher Goodman realized from very early on he was literally damned, and so elected to at least do this to as many humans as he could drag down with him.
- Twenty Minutes Into the Future: Most of the series is this (with the background set in the past and semi-present). The script was originally written in the 1980s, which shows in some sections.
- Wandering Jew: The mysterious leader of the Koum Damah Patar, Yokhanan Bar-Zebadee, also known as the disciple John.
- We Can Rule Together: The Antichrist makes this offer to Jesus. Predictably, it doesn't work.
- Wham! Line: Christopher Goodman finally drops the mask to the world with the line (in referring to those he duped into believing in him} "My whores and sluts." The reaction to this is appropriately horrified.