Letter to the Future
- Fiction
- Publisher: Ignatius Press
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Publisher's Description
Best-selling novelist Michael O’Brien returns to the theme of people of faith striving to find their way through a societal collapse during the rise of new dimensions of totalitarianism. Set in the near future, all of North America is plunged into crisis as basic communications and other services suddenly and inexplicably fail. As the tension mounts, a disparate group of people come together from several directions, apparently by coincidence. Many of them are strangers to each other, and some are very young—whom their parents and guardians call “our pied piper children.” Moved by grace and dreams, they leave behind all securities and endure numerous alarming trials as they follow the thread of inspiration, seeking refuge in the mountains of British Columbia. Their choice to proceed in blind faith will bring about unforeseen consequences that are fully revealed only in the distant future.
Endorsements (7)
“Michael O'Brien is a superior spiritual storyteller worthy to join the ranks of Flannery O'Connor, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, and C. S. Lewis.”
“A harrowing and compelling tale—not unlike the classic 1984 or the Booker Prize Winner Prophet Song —of a future that feels impossibly foreign while within reach. Yet O’Brien’s tale differs from the traditional dystopian genre by offering an unbreakable thread of hope—a hope born of sacrifice, community, love, and the resilient beauty of human nature when surrendered to God in faith. An epic and gripping adventure!”
“Flight becomes Quest in O'Brien's multi-layered narrative, and terrified escape from the chaos and cruelty of societal collapse provides a meditation on humanity and the fruitfulness of faith.”
“Michael O’Brien has become the greatest storyteller of our times: he urges his numberless readers to confront the expanding Babylon of today.”
“Set in a future in which technology is a thing of the past, O’Brien’s novel shows that the first things will indeed be the last things because they are the permanent things. Great storytelling that weaves together prophecy, mystery, time with eternity.”
“A haunting vision of societal collapse, yet with rays of hope shining on every page. O'Brien weaves a tale of faith under fire, where noble characters cling to their deepest beliefs despite overwhelming opposition. Readers troubled by the direction of the world—especially the increasing marginalization of faith—will find solace and inspiration in this story of courage, providence, and the letting go of human securities to grasp onto the only security that matters.”
“In this work, O’Brien does much more than simply bring Father Elijah into the 21st century; rather, he shows how and why humanity has continued on the destructive path begun in the Garden of Eden, ‘self-deification’. Most importantly, though, O’Brien here imagines what the living God might do to save humanity from its own self-destruction.”
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