Mark J. Ferrari

God and Satan have entered into yet another bet. The Lord will choose a champion and then promises not to interfere while Satan and all of his minions have approximately forty years to corrupt his soul. The stakes are the Earth and all living things on it. With the odds stacked in his favor, Satan is certain that this time he can't lose. But God's chosen, Joby Peterson, is the reincarnation of King Arthur himself. A heroic soul that is not easily swayed, even after a lifetime spent having his self esteem whittled away by an endless stream of demons. Can Joby/King Arthur rise to the occasion and save humanity from destruction? Or has the Creator finally entered into a bet that even He cannot win?… (more)

This is the debut novel for Mark.J.Ferrari; published back in 2007. It was recommended and loaned to me by one of my young people I work with in my youth work job.
It follows a wager made by Lucifer and the Creator, something they have done many times before. The preface of this particular wager was the existence of creation itself depended on the outcome. Unaware of the weighty decision that will be upon of him in the years to come, we meet Joby Peterson; nine years old and full of life infectious and carried through his love of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Throughout his childhood and adolsence, he is subjected to a life of crippling self-doubt and relentless mediocrity inflicted by an enemy he did nothing to earn and cannot begin to comprehend.

Though imperiled themselves, the angels are forbidden to intervene. Left to struggle with their own loyalties and the question of obedience, they watch Lucifer work virtually unhindered to turn Joby's heart of gold into ash and stone while God sits by, seemingly unconcerned.

And so when he is grown to manhood, Joby's once luminous love of life seems altogether lost, and Lucifer's victory assured. What hope remains lies hidden in the beauty, warmth, and innocence of a forgotten seaside village whose odd inhabitants seem to defy the modern world's most inflexible assumptions, and in the hearts of Joby's long lost youthful love and her emotionally wounded son. But the ravenous forces of destruction that follow Joby into this concealed paradise plan to use these same things to bring him and his world to ruin.

I loved this story for the fantasy of King Arthur and the Knights’ Round Table, the way good and evil is exposed through a simple wager that depends on so many things, the way Ferrari intertwines the lives of all, exposes the twists and unveils the plot. I was hooked from the very first page to the last; rarely noticing the 600 plus pages to this extraordinary fantasy novel. I would happily encourage anyone who has a love of fantasy and historical fiction genres and are looking for something very different, this is a great breath of fresh air and a great story to get lost in... and so as the final struggle unfolds, one question occupies every mind in heaven and in hell and the reader. Which will prove stronger, love or rage?
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