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The Jehovah Contract
Dell Ammo, a professional assassin living in the war ravaged world of 1999, is approached by the devil, who wants him to kill God
277 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 25, 2013
I don't know quite what I expected from this book, but it didn't deliver. It had a lot of ingredients that I really enjoy, but it never really came together & grabbed me. The POV was tough-guy, almost noir detective, better than Mike Hammer, but of the same ilk. Still, he never really popped for me. He was always two dimensional. The action was very much like a space opera, which I also like, but it didn't work well in this situation. I think that was the main problem. I didn't find enough humor to make the convenient way events play out just fun as they need to be in such yarns.
The overall attitude about gods & religion are much like my own. If you're religious, don't read this, it's probably just offensive. The basic idea being that there is only one god with many names & the overall contradictions they hold in common are pointed out. Korman stuck mostly to Christianity for details, although he picked on them all.
The ending was pretty good, but I was more than ready for it & it wasn't a surprise.
The overall attitude about gods & religion are much like my own. If you're religious, don't read this, it's probably just offensive. The basic idea being that there is only one god with many names & the overall contradictions they hold in common are pointed out. Korman stuck mostly to Christianity for details, although he picked on them all.
The ending was pretty good, but I was more than ready for it & it wasn't a surprise.
October 6, 2011
Assassin Dell Ammo gets a contract to kill God, from the devil; the devil recants (figures out it would do him in too), but the contract cannot be unilaterally canceled and Ammo goes ahead with it, figuring out a way to remove God and let a more hands-off "Creatrix" come back to power (very hands off, wants humans to run their lives without religion). Some interesting ideas and philosophical ramblings.
August 16, 2017
A fun premise, competently executed. It is solidly entertaining throughout - OK, it loses its way somewhat in the middle, but gets back on track quickly. The story echoes works by Michael Moorcock and Robert Anton Wilson, and seems to prefigure certain novels by Terry Pratchett and James Morrow. Obviously, this is not Great Literature: the prose does the job but is nothing special, and the characters are fairly bland and one-dimensional. But it is very entertaining.
Edit: Whenever I think back to this book, I wish it had been made into a crappy-yet-amazing 80s action movie starring Kurt Russell or Steven Seagal. Imagine a trailer:
Fade into: a dingy, poorly lit office with old furniture. Behind the desk sits Dell Ammo, a hardboiled assassin with a rugged face, graying hair, and a leather jacket. He smokes a cigarrete.
"Whats the deal, Zack?"
Facing Dell is Reverend Zack, looking smart in a cream suit.
"I have a job for you, Mr Ammo," he says. "The project involves a single killing. One being."
"Being?"
The Reverend smiles. "He is known by many names - Jehovah, the King of Kings, Allah..."
"But - I don't even believe in God."
The Reverend leans forward. "You don't have to believe. Just assassinate him."
The affective trailer music begins. If your imagination is failing to provide the music, here is some that will suffice.
Cut to: Dell Ammo and his love interest, Ann Perinne, are having drinks in a bar.
Anne says, "I don't think you're a mental case for believing that gods can literally die. Zeus is dead, after all."
A waiter approaches. "Mr Ammo? I have a phone call for you."
Cut to: Dell on the phone. "Ammo," he says.
The voice on the line: "Get off this God caper of yours. Get wise - you're up against people who mean business."
Ammo: "What's it to you? If He exists, I'm no match for Him. If He doesn't, I'm only wasting my time."
The line clicks, followed by the buzzing silence of disconnection.
Cut to: Explosions. Military helicopters above. On the ground advance well-armed young men. Some are wearing the Star of David, others wear Crosses, others a Star and Crescent...
Cut to: gunfights. Dell shooting at the soldiers.
Anne: "They'll destroy the whole block to stop us!"
Cut to: dogfights. One helicopter attacking the others.
Cut to: Three couches arranged in a U-shape around a fireplace. Sitting on them are about a dozen men in a strange variety of clothes, comprising a fairly thorough ethnic spread.
Cut to: Dell and Anne in someone's office. Shelves constructed of bricks and boards against every wall strained under the weight of books. Their host, Randolph Corbin, speaks excitedly: "The Ecclesia. You won't find it in any reference book, even the ones fairly replete with information about the Freemasons and the Illuminati. Anyone you ask either won't know or will deny its existence. The Ecclesia is a loose association of high-level bishops, rabbis, imams, roshis, and various others who have a vested interest in maintaining the power of religion. They consider any threat to the philosophical foundations of any faith to be a threat to all. They leave the lip service concerning holy wars to the lower echelons... And you've got them worried."
Series of shots, throughout which the trailer music crescendos and reaches its peak: Fistfights. Car chases. A Satanic mass. Dell shooting at strange flying things, while Anne slashes at them with a large knife. Blood raining from the sky; people panicking. Dell and other characters running, down corridors, streets, and dark tunnels. Gunfights. Witches. Men in priest robes smashing up a room. A spaceship taking off. Dell smoking cigarettes and looking hardboiled.
Cut to: a posh lounge area. Dell and Anne are sat with Theodore Golding, who for the purposes of this trailer might as well be Richard Dawkins.
Dawkins: "No god is dead so long as one person has faith. You'd have to convince EVERYONE that God doesn't exist. That's the enormity of your mission."
Cut to Title: THE JEHOVAH CONTRACT
COMING SOON
Edit: Whenever I think back to this book, I wish it had been made into a crappy-yet-amazing 80s action movie starring Kurt Russell or Steven Seagal. Imagine a trailer:
Fade into: a dingy, poorly lit office with old furniture. Behind the desk sits Dell Ammo, a hardboiled assassin with a rugged face, graying hair, and a leather jacket. He smokes a cigarrete.
"Whats the deal, Zack?"
Facing Dell is Reverend Zack, looking smart in a cream suit.
"I have a job for you, Mr Ammo," he says. "The project involves a single killing. One being."
"Being?"
The Reverend smiles. "He is known by many names - Jehovah, the King of Kings, Allah..."
"But - I don't even believe in God."
The Reverend leans forward. "You don't have to believe. Just assassinate him."
The affective trailer music begins. If your imagination is failing to provide the music, here is some that will suffice.
Cut to: Dell Ammo and his love interest, Ann Perinne, are having drinks in a bar.
Anne says, "I don't think you're a mental case for believing that gods can literally die. Zeus is dead, after all."
A waiter approaches. "Mr Ammo? I have a phone call for you."
Cut to: Dell on the phone. "Ammo," he says.
The voice on the line: "Get off this God caper of yours. Get wise - you're up against people who mean business."
Ammo: "What's it to you? If He exists, I'm no match for Him. If He doesn't, I'm only wasting my time."
The line clicks, followed by the buzzing silence of disconnection.
Cut to: Explosions. Military helicopters above. On the ground advance well-armed young men. Some are wearing the Star of David, others wear Crosses, others a Star and Crescent...
Cut to: gunfights. Dell shooting at the soldiers.
Anne: "They'll destroy the whole block to stop us!"
Cut to: dogfights. One helicopter attacking the others.
Cut to: Three couches arranged in a U-shape around a fireplace. Sitting on them are about a dozen men in a strange variety of clothes, comprising a fairly thorough ethnic spread.
Cut to: Dell and Anne in someone's office. Shelves constructed of bricks and boards against every wall strained under the weight of books. Their host, Randolph Corbin, speaks excitedly: "The Ecclesia. You won't find it in any reference book, even the ones fairly replete with information about the Freemasons and the Illuminati. Anyone you ask either won't know or will deny its existence. The Ecclesia is a loose association of high-level bishops, rabbis, imams, roshis, and various others who have a vested interest in maintaining the power of religion. They consider any threat to the philosophical foundations of any faith to be a threat to all. They leave the lip service concerning holy wars to the lower echelons... And you've got them worried."
Series of shots, throughout which the trailer music crescendos and reaches its peak: Fistfights. Car chases. A Satanic mass. Dell shooting at strange flying things, while Anne slashes at them with a large knife. Blood raining from the sky; people panicking. Dell and other characters running, down corridors, streets, and dark tunnels. Gunfights. Witches. Men in priest robes smashing up a room. A spaceship taking off. Dell smoking cigarettes and looking hardboiled.
Cut to: a posh lounge area. Dell and Anne are sat with Theodore Golding, who for the purposes of this trailer might as well be Richard Dawkins.
Dawkins: "No god is dead so long as one person has faith. You'd have to convince EVERYONE that God doesn't exist. That's the enormity of your mission."
Cut to Title: THE JEHOVAH CONTRACT
COMING SOON
February 1, 2026
I picked this up on a whim and only read it because I was curious as to why Piers Anthony would say this book will surely be excoriated in religious and (not really surprising) literary circles, but this ...[book]...should be pondered objectively by both believers and nonbelievers. It is a good, thought-provoking effort that is a rarity in fiction: philosophy that entertains. Granted, had I read various articles about him and his works (https://hradzka.livejournal.com/39247..., https://litreactor.com/columns/themes... https://www.avclub.com/revisiting-the... https://haljohnsonbooks.substack.com/...), I might not have read this book, hahaha! But enough about Piers Anthony as he did not write this book (but why would he include this book will surely be excoriated in literary circles?).
The cover art is laughably atrocious. The story was a weird mix of boring-but-enough-to-keep-me-reading. Based on the title, I wasn't very surprised at the cursing and blasphemy that does occur throughout the book; I think I was more surprised at the lack of verbal blasphemy that occurred, but perhaps the entire book is (or should be considered) "blasphemous" and that makes up for the lack of screamed blasphemies in the book? The author references other ... "head, male gods" of other religions and not just the "god" of Christianity. I did not care about any of the characters . It was published in 1987; it takes place in 1999 and ends shortly after 2001. I guessed part of the end of the book, which was disappointing , but not the "whole" end.
It is weird. It felt like the book just dragged and took forever to read despite being ...WOW! It's actually 277 pages long! Okay, nearly 100 pages longer than I thought it was. It felt like it took more than the three days it took to actually read it (in my spare time). Some of it was good; not that much, but some of it. There were moments of humor in it (again, not much) that were diamonds in the rough because of how poor the book is.
I also felt like the author "stole some ideas" from other authors (probably more charitable to say he might have been influenced by other writers/authors, hahahah!).
That ending, though.
This was an unexpectedly interesting perspective:
I also found this exchange to be funny:
I could probably work up a launch window a few hours sooner if I calculated a greater liftoff thrust. But with this jalopy, we might blow a fuel pump, and you'll wind up scattered across the Midwest.
Give me the odds.
One in ten.
The odds of the people on our tail knowing about Strato-Dyne are fifty-fifty. They aren't interested in taking prisoners.
Then the sooner you let me go, the sooner I can reprogram...I'll get the flight programmers working on it immediately. Head over to Flight Prep and find Gunther. Tell him I'll be over in a while.
Make it quick.'
I'll make it right, if you don't mind (222-223).
I'm not sure why, but I found this to be clever and humorous.
There was also a moment before this happened where Dell Ammo was able to provoke two gunmen of different faiths into killing each other instead of him and his party that was clever and amusing.
I would probably rate it between 1 and 2 stars. I wasn't that impressed with it. Maybe 2 stars out of generosity because it held my interest enough to see how it ended. I guess the concept is creative after a fashion but not well executed. Ultimately, I wasn't that impressed with the story or its logic. Perhaps that is why Piers Anthony said both religious and literary critics would excoriate the book, hahahah! Ah, well. On to the next book.
The cover art is laughably atrocious. The story was a weird mix of boring-but-enough-to-keep-me-reading. Based on the title, I wasn't very surprised at the cursing and blasphemy that does occur throughout the book; I think I was more surprised at the lack of verbal blasphemy that occurred, but perhaps the entire book is (or should be considered) "blasphemous" and that makes up for the lack of screamed blasphemies in the book? The author references other ... "head, male gods" of other religions and not just the "god" of Christianity. I did not care about any of the characters . It was published in 1987; it takes place in 1999 and ends shortly after 2001. I guessed part of the end of the book, which was disappointing , but not the "whole" end.
It is weird. It felt like the book just dragged and took forever to read despite being ...WOW! It's actually 277 pages long! Okay, nearly 100 pages longer than I thought it was. It felt like it took more than the three days it took to actually read it (in my spare time). Some of it was good; not that much, but some of it. There were moments of humor in it (again, not much) that were diamonds in the rough because of how poor the book is.
I also felt like the author "stole some ideas" from other authors (probably more charitable to say he might have been influenced by other writers/authors, hahahah!).
That ending, though.
This was an unexpectedly interesting perspective:
I also found this exchange to be funny:
I could probably work up a launch window a few hours sooner if I calculated a greater liftoff thrust. But with this jalopy, we might blow a fuel pump, and you'll wind up scattered across the Midwest.
Give me the odds.
One in ten.
The odds of the people on our tail knowing about Strato-Dyne are fifty-fifty. They aren't interested in taking prisoners.
Then the sooner you let me go, the sooner I can reprogram...I'll get the flight programmers working on it immediately. Head over to Flight Prep and find Gunther. Tell him I'll be over in a while.
Make it quick.'
I'll make it right, if you don't mind (222-223).
I'm not sure why, but I found this to be clever and humorous.
There was also a moment before this happened where Dell Ammo was able to provoke two gunmen of different faiths into killing each other instead of him and his party that was clever and amusing.
I would probably rate it between 1 and 2 stars. I wasn't that impressed with it. Maybe 2 stars out of generosity because it held my interest enough to see how it ended. I guess the concept is creative after a fashion but not well executed. Ultimately, I wasn't that impressed with the story or its logic. Perhaps that is why Piers Anthony said both religious and literary critics would excoriate the book, hahahah! Ah, well. On to the next book.
May 22, 2015
An assassin is contracted to kill God in a Blade Runner-ish millennial Los Angeles. Part noir, part scifi, part quasi-philosophical ramblings. I wanted to like this one for it's somewhat novel concept and a couple of very good future predictions, but unfortunately the rather bland writing style and uninteresting characters ruin the experience. The characters are particularly disappointing as they seem potentially very interesting at first, but then nothing happens. It's not a horribly bad book as this type of scifi goes, but it's nothing more than that.
September 30, 2021
This is the book that got me. Having grown up in a coercive religious household that worshiped Jehovah explicitly, it formed the basis of my break with the cult. It's silly and irreverent, which is just what the doctor ordered. I became a life-long sci-fi fan and reader in general after learning that the stuff the 'society' was producing did not represent reading material at all. I will be forever grateful to Mr. Korman for that title.
January 19, 2022
A very odd hard-boiled and not very good weird sci-fi detective novel set in 1999. Dell Ammo an accomplished private dick and assassin is commissioned by a wildly successful TV evangelist to kill god on millennium eve. I don't know who I read that recommended it but it is a turkey.
May 22, 2024
The Short Version
A pulpy noir novel about an atheist private eye/assassin that is hired to kill God. Thick with all the noir stereotypes this book goes on a rollicking psychedelic adventure. Manages to tick all the boxes in a satisfactory way that is genuinely enjoyable to read, but missing a little something to make it really tick.
If the concept intrigues you and you love pulpy sci-fi or pulpy noir then this book is a lot of fun and worth trying out. But won't win over new converts.
The Long Version
A friend picked this out for me to read because they thought the premise sounded hilarious. A tough talking character named Dell Ammo being hired to kill God Himself? Well I'll give it to them, this book was a hoot.
The book is pulp through and through. You have the tough private eye, the femme-fatale, the mysterious client, and the impossible task that somehow is way more dangerous than expected. Oh, and don't forget a few trips to the casino. This book has it all and more.
It's also deeper than a lot of pulp, which doesn't necessarily mean it's a deep book overall, but I appreciate that it makes a competent try at the philosophical and religious arguments it's trying to make. The book itself has a fascinating stance. I've never seen a book argue that there is and isn't a god both at the same time. . If you really think about it there are some definite holes and contradictions that this book doesn't bother to patch up, but it at least manages to make a compelling case for many of it's arguments, which is more than can be said for some better known books like PerelandraPerelandra by C.S. Lewis.
The story itself twists and turns and mostly works. Much like the philosophy there are some loose ends, and I wish a few areas had been explored better, but all in all it was still a very fun read. The book is also helped by a solid ending. The ending was good enough that I wish there had been more bits like it tossed throughout the rest of the book. The way everything is set up the ending could easily have a been a huge letdown, but it sticks the landing and doesn't overstay its welcome on the other end.
If you love pulpy crime sci-fi, and you feel like going on a journey to try and kill god and don't want to take yourself too seriously, then this is a surprisingly satisfying read. Check it out.
A pulpy noir novel about an atheist private eye/assassin that is hired to kill God. Thick with all the noir stereotypes this book goes on a rollicking psychedelic adventure. Manages to tick all the boxes in a satisfactory way that is genuinely enjoyable to read, but missing a little something to make it really tick.
If the concept intrigues you and you love pulpy sci-fi or pulpy noir then this book is a lot of fun and worth trying out. But won't win over new converts.
The Long Version
A friend picked this out for me to read because they thought the premise sounded hilarious. A tough talking character named Dell Ammo being hired to kill God Himself? Well I'll give it to them, this book was a hoot.
The book is pulp through and through. You have the tough private eye, the femme-fatale, the mysterious client, and the impossible task that somehow is way more dangerous than expected. Oh, and don't forget a few trips to the casino. This book has it all and more.
It's also deeper than a lot of pulp, which doesn't necessarily mean it's a deep book overall, but I appreciate that it makes a competent try at the philosophical and religious arguments it's trying to make. The book itself has a fascinating stance. I've never seen a book argue that there is and isn't a god both at the same time. . If you really think about it there are some definite holes and contradictions that this book doesn't bother to patch up, but it at least manages to make a compelling case for many of it's arguments, which is more than can be said for some better known books like PerelandraPerelandra by C.S. Lewis.
The story itself twists and turns and mostly works. Much like the philosophy there are some loose ends, and I wish a few areas had been explored better, but all in all it was still a very fun read. The book is also helped by a solid ending. The ending was good enough that I wish there had been more bits like it tossed throughout the rest of the book. The way everything is set up the ending could easily have a been a huge letdown, but it sticks the landing and doesn't overstay its welcome on the other end.
If you love pulpy crime sci-fi, and you feel like going on a journey to try and kill god and don't want to take yourself too seriously, then this is a surprisingly satisfying read. Check it out.
January 1, 2025
Dell, a contract hitman (and occasional private detective), is visited by a famous evangelist who recently had a "breakdown" in which he declared Earth belonged to us and not God. At first, Dell turns down the contract to bump-off Jehova, but when he learns his cancer miraculously disappeared, agrees. Dell is a non-believer and is a hitman who always researches before taking action. His studies don't either convince him what God is, where he is, how to complete the contract, etc. Then he encounters three different women. One is an accountant, one runs a store about witchcraft and one is a 12-year-old with psychic powers that she has used to make men think she's been a prostitute with him. The witch uses her skills to make a prediction of what is needed (as is normal with predictions, it needs some effort to make it usefully understood.)
The book has elements of a hard-boiled detective / hitman with his comments (although he's certainly more inclined to books and libraries than Sam Spade.) It has its twists and turns. And it has discussions over religious ideas. Dell and his associates are faced with threats and actions by a religious elite that is motivated more by privilege than faith.
Different readers may find one of several possible resolutions in the book satisfying and others unsatisfying. In this case, the resolution is not the maintenance of one of the world's major religions, nor is it the establishment of a secular world, or a world without supernatural beings. Rather, we find ourselves with different supernatural being(s) that (we're told) behave differently.
The means to the resolution is involved and
The book has elements of a hard-boiled detective / hitman with his comments (although he's certainly more inclined to books and libraries than Sam Spade.) It has its twists and turns. And it has discussions over religious ideas. Dell and his associates are faced with threats and actions by a religious elite that is motivated more by privilege than faith.
Different readers may find one of several possible resolutions in the book satisfying and others unsatisfying. In this case, the resolution is not the maintenance of one of the world's major religions, nor is it the establishment of a secular world, or a world without supernatural beings. Rather, we find ourselves with different supernatural being(s) that (we're told) behave differently.
The means to the resolution is involved and
May 27, 2020
Not for the fainthearted, or those religiously inclined, this book is about a gumshoe/assassin who's been contracted to kill God.
The entire religious community, covering all faiths, is seriously against him and his mission and is trying to wipe him out.
He's teamed up with a strikingly beautiful woman (whom the majority of people fail to even acknowledge as their gaze seems to just slide over her without actually seeing her), a child psychic prostitute who's actually a virgin as she seriously screws with her client's minds, an elderly wicken practitioner, and an entrepreneur of dubious character and beliefs.
It's set in an Earth with a slightly different history to this one, near the end of the last century.
A quick-paced, fascinating read that's well worth the effort as long as your sensibilities can handle it.
Highly recommended.
The entire religious community, covering all faiths, is seriously against him and his mission and is trying to wipe him out.
He's teamed up with a strikingly beautiful woman (whom the majority of people fail to even acknowledge as their gaze seems to just slide over her without actually seeing her), a child psychic prostitute who's actually a virgin as she seriously screws with her client's minds, an elderly wicken practitioner, and an entrepreneur of dubious character and beliefs.
It's set in an Earth with a slightly different history to this one, near the end of the last century.
A quick-paced, fascinating read that's well worth the effort as long as your sensibilities can handle it.
Highly recommended.
November 24, 2018
The premise: protagonist Dell Ammo -- an assassin who masquerades as a private detective -- is given a contract to kill God. Very fun book. I'm glad my husband and I bought it and added it to our private library. I've read this twice and would read it again! (I'm guessing on the earlier read date.)
July 20, 2025
How does one kill God? Not just God but All Gods. Set in a Dystopian Earth trying to survive after a nuclear terrorist attack. Interesting concepts mixing Sci-fi with assassins and private eyes and witches. An interesting read. Koman tells a good story.
May 13, 2026
What the hell did I just read?
October 2, 2014
The 4 stars are for the clever concept, plot and general execution of a fantasy about a professional assassin in a future Los Angeles who is hired to kill God - even though he doesn't believe God exists. His path to locating God and figuring out how to kill the idea of God, if not God himself, is cleverly constructed. Given the date of publication, some of the observations are positively prescient and readily applicable to our present. The dialogues on religion -- all religions past & present - are clever fun if you have an open mind. The points aren't new and have been made for centuries by philosophers, but are handled in a light accessible way - fitting for a sci fi fantasy. The climactic confrontation with God, portrayed as a spoiled child and later as a tired regretful being works well. If you are easily annoyed by grammar errors and mostly two dimensional characters, you will probably rate it closer to 2 stars. But, I found the book to be worth my time and a pleasurable distraction.
February 10, 2008
This is the edition I have. An excellent read. His portrayal of God as a spoiled little brat, is straight out of the old testament. Brilliant!
November 29, 2009
A professional assassin is hired to kill God. If that idea intrigues you then you will enjoy the novel. If the idea shocks and appalls you then you should probably leave the book alone.
August 6, 2011
This book was certainly different. The writing is nothing special, but with sci-fi like this is all about an interesting idea and the Jehovah Contract certainly has that
June 2, 2014
I haven't updated this in a while. I like this thinly veiled philosophical bent hard boiled detective novel about killing God.
October 8, 2016
I loved this book. It was ridiculous and over the top, but in a self-aware way. And it also got strangely philosophical...
February 28, 2022
Someone put out a contract on god! Has some Long Beach, CA specific jokes along with other silliness. A good read, that may be dated.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews