Religious fiction is the hot line in American bookstores. It isn't a new genre - Pilgrim's Progress still sells; what's new is its popularity and profitability; and, most strikingly, its doctrinal aggressiveness. We know that eschatology has filled the vacuum where Cold War ideology used to be. But the Cold War fantasised Mutually Assured Destruction, leaving the faint hope of permanent stalemate; Christian fiction prophesies the coming of the 'end times'. There is no escape. Prepare. The novels will help.

LRB 5 June 2003 | PDF Download