The Jesus Man: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale of Horror by Keith Anthony Baird

The Jesus Man: A Post-Apocalyptic Tale of Horror Reviews

• 
  Morgan Tanner

  You know when you read a book stays with you long after reading it? OK, so I’ve only just finished this novel, but I can envisage it doing exactly that.
  
  I managed to snag this beauty for free during a promotional couple of days, which was a bonus in itself. I like apocalyptic stuff, I like horror stuff, free stuff is also pretty good. I read an interview with Keith Anthony Baird where he discussed his influences on writing, and this, along with the other aforementioned reasons, certainly piqued my interest.
  
  But this was certainly not what I was expecting.
  
  I’m not exactly an aficionado when it comes to post-apocalyptic stories, I mean I’ve read a few, but this was so very different to what I thought the genre entails. Most of the other stories I’ve read featured zombies or some other strange creatures, a fight for survival across a barren wasteland, a band of other survivors who are less than helpful to the protagonist(s), and a purpose for the main character that gave them motivation and elicited empathy on behalf of the reader.
  
  Well, there was none of that here. And this was surprisingly refreshing.
  
  You see, in this novel, the apocalypse happened years and years ago. What we’re treated to here is not the sudden need to survive the change that’s been inflicted on the characters, but the lives that they have been leading for as long as most of them can remember. For most, the apocalypse was that thing that happened ages ago and if you can remember it, you’re boring and old!
  
  Society crumbled, and it was all mankind’s fault for acting like an absolute dick. Nuclear war ravaged the world and now settlements live independently from each other, scared about what is beyond their ‘safe’ city walls.
  
  The city here is known as ‘the Ark’ and it houses a brotherhood of holy people who still believe that Christianity will save them. The leaders of the city are (surprise, surprise) a little corrupt to say the least, the poor work in the markets scavenging whatever they can to get by, and those considered unworthy of life here and sent to the Furnace, an underground prison that is probably worse than death.
  
  But just when everyone thought things couldn’t get any more desolate, an evil force is approaching to destroy not only their flesh, but their souls.
  
  One of the most brilliant things about this book was the setting of the Ark. Even though this story is set in the future, the lives of the denizens are almost primitive. Well, I suppose they would be, post-apocalypse and all. In fact the only hint of modern living are the guns and other weapons carried by the guards. The brotherhood meet in medieval-like settings, with rituals and practices that wouldn’t seem out of place in a story written a few hundred years ago.
  
  Another thing to mention is the prose. This is Keith Anthony Baird’s first novel, but reading it you’d think he’d been at it for years. At times the descriptions did seem to be, not waffling, more like ‘very descriptive,’ but every time that poisonous thought entered my mind we were back into the action, so to speak. Maybe it’s my short(ish) attention span, but I found the pacing to be perfect.
  
  I heard it said once about the superb prog metal band, Tool, that you don’t listen to them you experience them. I think that’s a good way of describing this book. It was certainly an experience. The day-to-day happenings in the Ark where you just know something bad’s coming, and the journey of the evil force (not really The Devil as such, that’s just the pathetic name mere mortals have given it) are gripping. In fact, the actions of the latter are truly abhorrent and diabolical. There’s certainly no let up on the gore front. Plenty of blood is spilt in harrowing and graphic detail.
  
  I’ve got this far without saying too much about the plot, and I’m not going to as you really need to experience this for yourself. This book is going to whirl around my head for days and maybe even weeks to come. I probably won’t go so far as to leave the light on at night, but I’m pulling the duvet over my face that’s for sure!
• 
  J.J. Shurte

  You'd be forgiven for thinking that The Jesus Man was overwritten, especially if you only read the first chapter or two, but once you get further in you'll realize that the style of writing is perfectly suited to the sheer scope of the narrative and that it would've been a lesser book if it was written any other way.
  
  This book is biblical in both scale and style, and Baird has a way of stringing together sentences that perfectly describe the bleak horror of an ultimate evil stalking you in revenge for a crime you didn't even commit. It's the sort of story where the good guys are so messed up they make you think the bad guy actually has a point. It takes a certain level of skill to have an antagonist that's flaying people alive and imploding heads, while also having them have a reason that's basically valid enough for doing so.
  
  The Jesus Man is a methodical read with a discordant tone that's constantly rising till the very last page - if you want a grating feeling of nihilistic dread that will leave you a little misanthropic, then check out The Jesus Man.
• 
  D.K. Hundt

  Review posted on Kendell Reviews - November 26, 2018
  
  
  The Jesus Man, by Keith Anthony Baird, is his first novel written throughout 2016, initially published in April 2017, and self-published in June 2017. Inspired by such luminaries as H. P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, and H. G. Wells, Baird aims to deliver stories in a classic vein, but with a contemporary slant in both style and content.
  
  The Jesus Man is a post-apocalyptic narrative wherein an evil force in the year 2087 (fifty years after the unleashing of a Low-yield nuclear blast) begins its strategy to claim this broken territory in the Badlands as a piece in a long-waged celestial conflict; a place where the line between good and evil is often blurred or eviscerated entirely. Where does one find salvation in this new world – now plunged into darkness – within a sanctuary, entrenched in the desert, that is ruled by a brotherhood of elders who cling to the shattered remnants of their Christian faith? *Sorry, no spoilers*
  
  The characters who live in this post-apocalyptic world dwell inside a multi-level Ark, where their class determines one’s tenancy within society, and not everyone agrees with this ideology, and who can blame them. There’s not a lot I can say about this novel without giving too much away, as the back cover reveals quite a bit already, so I will put my focus on what worked for me as the reader and what didn’t. I want to start by emphasizing that this is Baird’s first self-published novel, and I honestly feel that with a bit of editing, restructuring, character building, and more showing than telling, this novel could have been, hands down, an excellent read, and I don’t mean that in a sarcastic way.
  
  I can tell you that Baird has a unique writing style, Biblical and a bit Medieval, that I like, though at times it felt a little verbose in places. There are a couple of scenes in this book that I struggled to understand, and the reason for its placement wasn’t definitively clear even upon conclusion. Regarding the characters within the narrative, there was no one character that I can honestly say that stood out as the protagonist within the story. So, I found myself drawn towards the mysterious and malevolent antagonist, despite their evil doings, which is not the character I usually see myself riding shotgun with as I’m being driven further and further into an enticing tale of horror – but – what a ride it was! There are a couple of characters that I was quickly introduced to, by name only, and their purpose is still unknown to me. The area that I think Baird excels at the most is his ability to create vivid and frankly awesome horror scenes that had me cringing within, but, in such a delightful way.
  
  Here’s one example:
  
  “Prompted, [he] lifted the container with the tongs and poured a measure of its contents over both extremities, amid the almost inhuman screams of their victim. Shock momentarily took hold, and he went rigid on contact, but then the rising sear of pain began its unremitting frenzy. He convulsed and screamed in abject torment as the chemical set about its destruction of his thieving appendages…The smell was nauseous, but the torturers merely laughed at the pitiful wretch now sprawled across the table.”
  
  Brutal? Yes. Awesome? Most definitely.
  
  Here’s another excerpt from a different scene:
  
  “He shuddered once, then was stilled. He went rigid then began to convulse and lost his grip on the vessel. It fell and chimed an ethereal falsetto as it hit the ground, which reverberated around his plundered keep. The veins in his temple and neck began to bulge and, as they turned a black hue, they raced across his face and converged upon his mouth, which was foaming around the spectre of a flicking black tongue….”
  
  Love it!!!
  
  In closing, if my review of The Jesus Man sparks your interest, then by all means – take a bite – and delve into the creative mind of the author – you may be surprised by what you find lurking within.
  
  ~ D.K. Hundt
• 
  Lesley Ann Campbell

  The Jesus Man
  5* Book Review
  Keith Anthony Baird
  
  Many thanks to Keith Anthony Baird for allowing me the pleasure of reading The Jesus Man in exchange for an honest review.
  
  “I am the beast who stalks the scourge of man, the wind that hollow breathes... I am every soul’s disease”
  I have to be honest, with the first couple of chapters I was struggling. It was a complicated read, not so much the content, it was just very, how can put this, ‘wordy’ and felt maybe overwritten a touch. But as I got more involved with it and deeper into the story, I began to appreciate the writing style more and more. It actually works very well for the story and I feel adds to it. It’s a brilliant book. The descriptive imagery is quite terrifying in parts. You would not think this was a debut novel. I especially loved the chapter supplemental after each chapter; I thought those were great additions that added even more to the narrative. I feel this is a novel I will need to re read and that I will appreciate it even more. I do think with the complexity of it I have probably missed things essential to the story. I love that though, when you see extra’s you missed first time around. It adds to the thrill as you know there will be something new.
  An example of the imagery and quite frightening descriptiveness:
  “At the rear of the chamber, she skipped in front of a full-length mirror propped against the wall and came to a standstill. It was ornate and its rich surface of polished wood was beautifully carved and she leaned forward and peered into it. No reflection peered back, for she was the construct of evil, plucked from Clay’s most recent vision, the ghost of a soul who’d never existed and she was looking forward to her meeting with Brother Decker. She pulled the cord in the dolly’s back and the voices of the legion of the damned cackled as one.
  ‘Please kiss my tears away’
  And she giggled... and giggled... and giggled...”
  
  So, The Jesus Man; A post apocalyptic vision of our future, hell on Earth, and the end of mankind. This is a great read, a very honest envisioning of life after a nuclear intervention. The world as we know it is over, and we are now living a very primitive life within the sanctuary of ‘The Ark’ (if we are one of the lucky ones). This isn’t set straight after the end of the known world, it is some years later. Mankind has settled into its new routine, a hierarchy of control with a somewhat barbaric judicial system. And of course, we are still fighting over who has the power – when will we learn?
  There is some very descriptive and ‘real’ dialogue concerning us first turning on one another. Splintering into groups, hording rations the astounding paranoia as life falls apart. Before eventually the groups begin the slow descent and turn on one another or themselves. If frightening how close to reality this could be.
  It’s not ourselves it turns out that we need to be concerned about; it’s a higher, dark power, one that comes from the depths and one that cannot be contained, one that has come to seek the ultimate retribution for our sins past and present.
  I was riveted with the story of Clay, his visions, his nightmares and his frightening possession experiences. It’s gripping stuff, very well written and imagined. I won’t say anymore as I don’t want to ruin it for anyone.
  
  I can only hope to put out a debut book as good as this.
  Thank you for allowing me the pleasure.
  
  
  5/5 – A very good read. Take your time with this one, it’s worth it.
  Lesley-Ann (Housewife of Horror)
• 
  Evan

  One of the most smartly written postapoc books I've read in a long time. Mr. Baird simply did an amazing job at creating a world... only to do an even more amazing job destroying it.
  
  I'm not gonna lie, it was a bit of a difficult read for me. I found myself re-reading portions here and there, but truth be told, it was a pleasure doing so. Some passages are just too good not to read twice. I rarely ever re-read a book, but I honestly think that this deserves one or two later on down the road. I have the feeling that I may have missed some things the first time through... there's a lot going on in this story. One of the things that struck me was that not only is it a postapoc tale, but it's rather a horrific one at that. Fans of the horror genre should find this fitting in quite nicely in their library. It is a very, very, dark tale.
  
  I found no typos or grammatical errors that took me out of the story and like before, I felt that it was very well written. I highly recommend this to fans of not only post-apocalyptic stories, but horror stories as well.
• 
  Sarah Huntington

  I started this book off and after a couple of pages, I began thinking I wasn't going to like it. A few more pages and I was completely enthralled. Utterly lost. I love horror, I love anything apocalyptic so I'm so glad I stayed with it. The writer's style is so different (not a bad thing) that it takes you a short while to get into the flow and once I did, wow.
  It's one of the most unique books I ever read. The word use alone deserves 5 stars. It's a wild ride and one I couldn't shift from my mind.
• 
  Valerie

  This one is actually a 4.5 ⭐️! The first few chapters were alittle over the top in vocabulary but once past those the story expanded into the apocalyptic tale that thrilled me! I rather enjoyed the destruction of the Ark, relished the breaking of the brotherhood and the rise of the commoners with the underlying notion of evil!(words of the author) Will look forward to more from Mr. Baird!
• 
  Steve Stred

  DNF'ed at 30%. I gave it a hard go, but ultimately the story just wasn't for me. I think with some reduction of over-written areas and a better flow with the story line I would have held on.
  
  Unfortunately there was just too many spots where I simply had no idea what the hell was going on.