An Exploration of the ForbiddenIf a new Messiah were announced, how would people respond? Would there be rejoicing, scepticism or mere indifference? What would be the position of the Church? How would the governments of the world react? More importantly, could people be sure that such a titanic figure was on the side of the light? These are the questions posed in this gripping contemporary tale which starts when advertising executive Ian Drummond takes on the account of the mysterious Katharsis Organisation and a seemingly motiveless break-in at the office leads to threats and a sinister conspiracy to promote the enigmatic Masadan as the new Messiah. Soon Drummond is in fear of his life as the ruthless Tristan Lacroix attempts to manipulate the Second Coming for his own ends. Douglas Lockhart’s exhilarating new novel deals with the eternal struggle between good and evil, while posing a whole series of fundamental philosophical questions about religion, politics and the use and abuse of real power. 368 pages . 234x156mm. Hardback NOT IN PRINT AT PRESENT: Please Check Amazon, Ebay, or your library A TASTE OF PARADISEA review of “The Paradise Complex” The Paradise Complex is quite simply one of the best books I have read this year. Set in contemporary Britain, Douglas Lockhart seeks to question how Western society would deal with the arrival of a new Messiah and about whether such a figure would work for good or choose a darker route in the pursuit of power. He paints a picture of a society on the edge of an abyss. French philosopher and psychiatrist Edouard Duval says he has evidence that it is poised to fall into a chasm of anarchy and madness. But using Asian shamanic techniques he sets up an organisation aiming to train ‘therapists’ who will stabilise the situation and help humanity to survive through the next millennium. He hires a British advertising agency run by Glaswegian former para trooper Ian Drumond, who believes he has had a taste of the impending doom, to educate the country about his methods and philosophy. But there are forces violently opposed to Duval, and who wants to stop Drummond from helping him. Drummond too wonders whether Duval is selflessly seeking to save the world or whether he has other, darker motives. Lockhart’s research has been exhaustive, and the book, despite some of its concepts being distinctly eccentric, is disturbingly believable. The writing is impressive and compelling and despite the complex subject matter – those with no knowledge of psychiatry could find some of it hard going – it is compulsively readable. Some of the passages read almost like a manifesto and its explanations for the proliferation of cults, the decline of the established churches and the failings of science are brilliantly argued and highly cogent. Intelligent, thoughtful and disturbing The Paradise Complex is an exceptional work by an author deserving of a much wider audience. James Moore. |