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Descent: The Forty Days After the Crucifixion of Jesus
Descent is about Jesus’ resurrection and ascension that preceded the descent of the spirit—an event that purportedly made saints of ordinary men and women. This is the historical and spiritual landscape upon which two outsiders intruded: Flaccus, a Roman legionnaire and deserter, and Jeshua, a Judean healer and rogue. Both men are wanted by the Roman Empire and both men attempt to hide within a community of disciples. While they evade Rome’s authority, each man responds to this new and evolving faith in a dramatically different way.
145 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 27, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 30, 2019
‘There’s no genius. There’s only God.’
Alabama author D.S. Lliteras has looked at the 20th century and found it wanting. Or rather, the audience for excellent literature has yet to recognize his importance so perhaps it is we, the wanters, who are still lost, searching for a voice to define the last fifty or so years. His credentials are impressive: he has written twelve books since 1992, his first novels were biblical in nature and while they gained accolades from the press it was only when he decided to enter and relate that part of his psyche that was most vulnerable that his books burst into significance. Lliteras joined the US Navy after high school and became a corpsman assigned to the USMC First Reconnaissance Battalion First Marine Division near DaNang, winning a Bronze Star for valor. He was trained as a diver and further endured the Vietnam War in that role. Following his discharge from the USN he gained his BA and MA in Fine Arts from Florida State University and worked as a theatrical director until 1979, resigning to become a merchant sailor. In 1981 he aligned with the USN as a deep sea diving and salvage officer, following which he resigned his naval commission and became a professional firefighter.
One of the many aspects of Lliteras’ writing is the style in which he places words on a page. His dialogue among his characters is set in the usual novel format but each very short chapter stuns, and opens the window for the next. Moving away from his novels about war and Vietnam in particular (and if you have not read them, do!), he take us into the realm of spiritual aspects of Christianity in a manner that places us wholly in the framework of the significance of the concept of the crucifixion and resurrection and ascension and descent of the Holy Spirit in a manner that is revelatory to all people.
Even the synopsis of this enlightenment is well condensed, making the reader prepared for the journey ahead – Descent is about Jesus’ resurrection and ascension that preceded the descent of the spirit—an event that purportedly made saints of ordinary men and women. This is the historical and spiritual landscape upon which two outsiders intruded: Flaccus, a Roman legionnaire and deserter, and Jeshua, a Judean healer and rogue. Both men are wanted by the Roman Empire and both men attempt to hide within a community of disciples. While they evade Rome’s authority, each man responds to this new and evolving faith in a dramatically different way.’
This is yet another work by D.S. Lliteras that provokes a stringent ‘YES!’ from the reader. He sees the world as few are able and shares the meaning of feeling with us. Quite simply, this is a brilliant little novel – especially for those who struggle with the concepts of sainthood and how it happens.
Alabama author D.S. Lliteras has looked at the 20th century and found it wanting. Or rather, the audience for excellent literature has yet to recognize his importance so perhaps it is we, the wanters, who are still lost, searching for a voice to define the last fifty or so years. His credentials are impressive: he has written twelve books since 1992, his first novels were biblical in nature and while they gained accolades from the press it was only when he decided to enter and relate that part of his psyche that was most vulnerable that his books burst into significance. Lliteras joined the US Navy after high school and became a corpsman assigned to the USMC First Reconnaissance Battalion First Marine Division near DaNang, winning a Bronze Star for valor. He was trained as a diver and further endured the Vietnam War in that role. Following his discharge from the USN he gained his BA and MA in Fine Arts from Florida State University and worked as a theatrical director until 1979, resigning to become a merchant sailor. In 1981 he aligned with the USN as a deep sea diving and salvage officer, following which he resigned his naval commission and became a professional firefighter.
One of the many aspects of Lliteras’ writing is the style in which he places words on a page. His dialogue among his characters is set in the usual novel format but each very short chapter stuns, and opens the window for the next. Moving away from his novels about war and Vietnam in particular (and if you have not read them, do!), he take us into the realm of spiritual aspects of Christianity in a manner that places us wholly in the framework of the significance of the concept of the crucifixion and resurrection and ascension and descent of the Holy Spirit in a manner that is revelatory to all people.
Even the synopsis of this enlightenment is well condensed, making the reader prepared for the journey ahead – Descent is about Jesus’ resurrection and ascension that preceded the descent of the spirit—an event that purportedly made saints of ordinary men and women. This is the historical and spiritual landscape upon which two outsiders intruded: Flaccus, a Roman legionnaire and deserter, and Jeshua, a Judean healer and rogue. Both men are wanted by the Roman Empire and both men attempt to hide within a community of disciples. While they evade Rome’s authority, each man responds to this new and evolving faith in a dramatically different way.’
This is yet another work by D.S. Lliteras that provokes a stringent ‘YES!’ from the reader. He sees the world as few are able and shares the meaning of feeling with us. Quite simply, this is a brilliant little novel – especially for those who struggle with the concepts of sainthood and how it happens.
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May 22, 2019MWSA Review
This simple story takes place during the first forty days after the crucifixion of Jesus. Jeshua and Flaccus are both on the run from Roman authorities when they take refuge with a community of Christian disciples. The two refugees, who understand that in Judea any new truth is dangerous, find the views of the disciples confusing. The believers speak of one story, but their listeners hear two different meanings. One sees a struggle for power while the other recognizes a commentary on the inherent nature of people. Christians cannot even seem to agree on the fundamental nature of Jesus. Was he a prophet, a rabbi, the Son of Man, or the Son of God?
Are their beliefs a political or a religious threat to the authorities?
Anyone who has read other works by D. S. Lliteras will recognize his riveting literary style. Descent is a thin volume. Its chapters may be long or as short as a half page, but each offers a single scene, titled by a simple phrase from the text. The sentences are short and direct: “A hungry dog growled.” “A man climbed the stairs.” “An owl hooted.” The vocabulary is simple.
But the ideas! Ah, the ideas spiral up and away, leading readers to perceive several different languages, taking them far beyond the events on the printed page.
In short, Lliteras has written a parable. He tells a fictitious story that serves as a protective shell for a moral lesson or a religious conviction. His words inspire rather than declare. They transform his listeners rather than dictating to them. He suggests an interpretation rather than demanding one. On the day of Pentecost, when tongues of fire descend upon the disciples enabling them to receive a Gift of the Spirit, the two refugees will hear two very different messages—and so will the readers of Descent.
Review by Carolyn Schriber (May 2019)
This simple story takes place during the first forty days after the crucifixion of Jesus. Jeshua and Flaccus are both on the run from Roman authorities when they take refuge with a community of Christian disciples. The two refugees, who understand that in Judea any new truth is dangerous, find the views of the disciples confusing. The believers speak of one story, but their listeners hear two different meanings. One sees a struggle for power while the other recognizes a commentary on the inherent nature of people. Christians cannot even seem to agree on the fundamental nature of Jesus. Was he a prophet, a rabbi, the Son of Man, or the Son of God?
Are their beliefs a political or a religious threat to the authorities?
Anyone who has read other works by D. S. Lliteras will recognize his riveting literary style. Descent is a thin volume. Its chapters may be long or as short as a half page, but each offers a single scene, titled by a simple phrase from the text. The sentences are short and direct: “A hungry dog growled.” “A man climbed the stairs.” “An owl hooted.” The vocabulary is simple.
But the ideas! Ah, the ideas spiral up and away, leading readers to perceive several different languages, taking them far beyond the events on the printed page.
In short, Lliteras has written a parable. He tells a fictitious story that serves as a protective shell for a moral lesson or a religious conviction. His words inspire rather than declare. They transform his listeners rather than dictating to them. He suggests an interpretation rather than demanding one. On the day of Pentecost, when tongues of fire descend upon the disciples enabling them to receive a Gift of the Spirit, the two refugees will hear two very different messages—and so will the readers of Descent.
Review by Carolyn Schriber (May 2019)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews