Maurice Broaddus & Wrath James White, Orgy of Souls (Apex Publications, 2008)
Orgy of Souls is a book that one might expect never would be written. After all, the co-authors stand at opposite ends of the spectrum of faith, White being an avowed atheist while Broaddus blogs under the nom de Web "The Sinister Minister." To find two more unlikely writing partners for a sex-and-gore drenched tale of love, sensuality, and the hope of redemption, you'd have to go pretty far afield.
The plot of the book echoes this dichotomy. On one hand, we have Samson -- a beautiful, hedonistic underwear model, living the high life and throwing away anonymous sexual encounters like they're used Kleenex. On the other, there's his brother, Samuel, a priest ravaged by AIDS, yet still ministering to those weaker than he. One's a sinner, one's a saint, or so it would seem. But that's where it gets sticky.
In order to save his brother, Samson strikes a deal with the devil: twenty souls, brutally delivered, in exchange for Samuel's life. That deal is the hinge the book turns on, and the focus of the moral questions it raises. Is Samson driven by selfless love for his brother, or selfish fear of being alone? How can an act of love, the most divine of emotions, yield such damnable results? And what are we, the readers, to make of this one expression of selfless, non-sexual love adrift in the sea of loveless carnality in which Samson dwells?
Then there's Samuel, the suffering priest riddled with doubt and self-medicated with vodka. Even as Samson closes in on being driven by the faith that he can save his brother, Samuel slips away from his own faith, his own undoubting belief.
It is from that essential tension that the action of the book flows. It's short -- only 144 pages, including foreword and afterword – but to run longer would have merely padded things out. Instead, the tight focus keeps the story's power intact and concentrated. Unstinting and unsentimental, Orgy of Souls plays the two authors' strengths and viewpoints off against each other to great effect. It's not for the timid or the squeamish or the prudish, but Orgy of Souls is a worthwhile read for those willing to brave what it offers.
