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Messiah

Gore Vidal · 1954 · Novel

Setting: 1954

Synopsis

When a mortician appears on television to declare that death is infinitely preferable to life, he sparks a religious movement that quickly leaves Christianity and most of Islam in the dust. Gore Vidal’s deft and daring blend of satire and prophecy, first published in 1954, eerily anticipates the excesses of Jim Jones, David Koresh, and the Heaven’s Gate suicide cult.

Ideas Explored

Metadata

Source: OpenLibrary

Tags: CultsFictionReligious aspectsReligious aspects of SuicideSuicideMessianismAmerican fiction (fictional works by one author)ReligionAmericansScience fiction

isfdb_id: 1533

openlibrary_id: OL98017W

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