Redemption Post Mortem
A looming fight between the forces of good and evil backdrops Redemption Post Mortem, an exciting thriller about a soul’s post-life adventures.
About heavenly corruptions and human dreams, Emil Buchman’s enthralling thriller Redemption Post Mortem follows a human soul running among angels and demons.
An unnamed human soul works in the Heavenly Department of Justice’s pilot program. He is sent on missions to dispose of occult and “satanic” groups on Earth. But a mission to destroy the American chapter of the Order of Nine Angels goes awry: He saves the woman they meant to sacrifice, defying Heaven’s orders to leave no survivors.
Azazel, his commanding angel, discovers that the group had passages from the Book of Remedies, an ancient, lost text that is shrouded in mystery. The soul is tasked with finding the book by any and all means necessary. Thus, he falls into a millennia-long conflict between the first human beings and the powerful beings in the task force of God.
Much of the worldbuilding is done from the perspective of the unnamed soul. His voice is both dumbfounded and awestruck as he seeks to understand the interpersonal politics of the angels and demons associated with each heavenly department. He learns that each human soul has a subjective visual of what a particular angel or demon manifests as. He also takes note of a postmortem judgment chamber in which each departed soul, stripped of their animal ego, is shown images from their life.
As the soul undertakes his missions on Earth, the language shifts. He embraces his work and expresses gratitude for having lived, though at first he does not remember his life before death; instead, he feels unbearable shame and guilt based on what he saw in the judgment chamber. He experiences eerie déjà vu associated with scenarios he doesn’t understand, in particular when he saves the woman.
Beyond these emotive moments, though, the prose is straightforward; the soul’s perspective is blunt and bold. Indeed, his characterization is limited by unknowns. He shifts in appearance and talent, assuming bodies with impeccable fighting skills, new language capabilities, and extra reincarnation rights to suit his mission parameters. Who he himself is remains elusive.
Exciting action scenes arise throughout, exacerbated by the soul’s temporary angelic endowments. When he’s with angels or demons, they condescend to him, calling human beings “monkeys.” But much of his time is also spent on Earth, interacting with members of occult organizations, drug lords, and people of dubious moral character whom he has no wish to become close with or trust. More centering is the burgeoning mutual fixation he shares with the woman he saved.
Significant tonal shifts occur to distracting effect. Indeed, the narrative’s supernatural and mystical elements are too obscured at times, and the soul, who does not often connect to others, is an unreliable point of focus. Internally, he is somewhat philosophical, wondering if Heaven is even worth it, if he can vie for a second life, or if he should embrace oblivion. Such musings are too brief to result in lasting insights about what his ultimate goals are. Even so, as he experiences more of the human world, his moralities and priorities shift.
Barreling toward a tumultuous, shocking conclusion, the lively thriller Redemption Post Mortem follows an unnamed soul as he explores his afterlife across action-packed sequences.
Reviewed by
Natalie Wollenzien
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
