In Divine Murder, “Ordog apparently realized it missed these easy human targets and they weren’t crushed dead under its foot. It spied them running toward a door in the near wall. But before the beast struck again, Ahriman sprinted from the computer area and leaped on the monster’s ankle. ”
The characters of Ordog and Ahriman originally came from myths of two different cultures. Both characterize evil in the world and are very similar to the Christian Satan.
Ordog controls the dark and evil forces of the mythological world in Hungarian folklore. He shifts shapes to meet his long-term goal of collecting as many souls as he can. Wikipedia describes Ordog as a “humanoid with the upper torso of a human male and the lower portions of a goat. He is pitch black with cloven hooves, ram-like horns and a long tale. He carries a pitchfork.” Ordog often shifts into the shape of a fox, a flame or a shepherd when coming into the human world to trick souls.
Ahriman brings chaos, death and disease into the world according to Persian mythology. He was the god of evil and darkness in Persia and the ancient religion Zoroastrianism. Ahriman pushes the negative emotions including anger, greed and envy. Demons followed him and did his bidding. Ahriman desired the destruction of humans through their own harmful emotions.
Divine Murder: A theological science fiction/fantasy
Divine Murder: A theological science fiction/fantasy
A theological science fiction/fantasy. Experience the most sinister plot in the history of humanity – fanatics discover how to physically murder God. A search for God by going to the opposite extreme.
Ward Kelley’s first novel is a deliriously inventive theological thriller. It’s sassy, intelligent, charming and phantasmagorical. – Tony Grist, New Hope International
Divine Murder is a fascinating look into humanity’s relationship with God and its own destiny. – Elizabeth Burton, The Blue Iris Journal
Ward Kelley’s Divine Murder is a playground for temptation and a test of moral cues. – Janet I. Buck, author of Calamity’s Quilt
One of the most interesting books I’ve read in a long time. Like all great epics, it deserves the big screen. – David M. Jackson, Artvilla
Movie People Where Are You
This adventure is a descent into the bowels of the earth. Philosophy meets adventure. One of the most interesting books I've read in a long time. Like all great epics it deserves the big screen. The words great literature comes to mind. Before that scares you off, I'll use some other words, great story, wonderful adventure. This book has everything you'd expect to pop up if you were on your way to meeting God while still alive. Beautiful and sexy spirits and demons who bring joy, horror and a great chase, all with the trappings of fine writing. Movie people where are you? Why do we have to wait so long for the great ones to be noticed?
– David M. Jackson
5.0 out of 5 starsMove Over Tolkien: A Review of Kelley's Divine Murder
Ward Kelley's Divine Murder is an odyssey on a par with Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. His style of examining circumstance and perpetuity and the graves we dig in terms of soul is a cross between C.S. Lewis and Dante, an engaging mix of speculation and inner truth. Kelley's poetic pen has an eroticism reminiscent of Nabokov, where scenery is more than scenery. It is a playground for temptation and a test of moral cues.
Kelley opens the novel near the sea, travels through a veritable galaxy of emotion, and the reader falls in love with the complexity of both his protagonists and his villains. In Divine Murder, you will meet both the devil and the god, the beams of light and the complex shades of darkness, but they are at times indistinguishable, and rightly so. It's the reader's job to intuit and draw the line, which adds nothing but fascination to the experience of reading this book. Science fiction has never seen such a startling command of both the earthly and the imaginative.
– Janet I. Buck
A Compelling, Haunting Tale from Ward Kelley
DIVINE MURDER draws the reader ever deeper into a spellbinding web of mystery. It is sheer escapism yet with a disturbing plausiblility and philosophical logic underpinning each strange twist of the tale. The two central characters are well-developed, especially Zoe, who is a
strong and resourceful woman, always one jump ahead of her husband in
unravelling the truth behind everything that happens on her journey with him.
I thoroughly recommend this compelling story concerning the divine, the
diabolical and the struggles of two mortals to discover their momentous
destiny.
Ward Kelley has seen his stories and poems appear in hundreds of journals world wide. He is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee whose publication credits include such journals as: Plainsongs, Karamu, Another Chicago Magazine, Strange Horizons, Spillway, GSU Review, Rattle, The Chaffin Journal, Midstream, Zuzu’s Petals, Ginger Hill, Sunstone, Pif, Whetstone, Melic Review, Thunder Sandwich, Potpourri and Skylark. The recipient of the Nassau Review Poetry Award for 2001, Kelley is also the author of “histories of souls,” a poetry collection, and he has an epic poem, “comedy incarnate” on CD and CD ROM.
Kelley holds a Masters of Creative Writing. He published two novels “Divine Murder” and “Keenly Alive, Tony.” He also published two management theory books, “Warehouse Productivity” (2005Distribution Group, New York NY), and “Zen of Warehouse Management” (2005Distribution Group, New York NY), under the name Pat Kelley.
Elisha Porat was a Hebrew poet and writer who said he’d never thought about writing poetry until he was a solider in the War of Yom Kippur in 1973. The war and even the death of Porat’s father inspired him to begin writing poetry non-stop. According to an interview with poet Ward Kelly, Porat did not write about politics or anti-war, but the human aspects of the war. He wrote about the soldier and his experiences and feelings. He fought in three wars as a solider in the Israeli army.
Porat won the 1996 Israel’s Prime Minister’s Prize for Literature. He wrote books in prose, poetry and even some specifically for children. The author published over 20 volumes of poetry and fiction. At least three of his books have been translated into English. The Messiah of LaGuardia is a collection of six stories of modern Israeli life. Payback the stories of the people who are connected and affected by the 1982 War of South Lebanon. Episode is a semi-biographical novel about the life and work of film director Arieh-Leopold Friedman-Lahola.
Porat was born in 1938 in a kibbutz in Palestine-Eretz Yisrael or pre-Israel and near the city of Hadera. His family was considered pioneers and he explains that he was a second generation of the state of Israel. Before his death in March 2013, he lived and worked as a farmer near his parents’ original tent erected in the 1930’s.
As I rummaged through notes I made 15 years ago, I came across some I made about the inventor of the Dewey decimal System. Where this might appear odd coming from a poet, I think you might agree this note overflows with the essence of poetry. See what you think:
PlayJesus & the Buddha
Melvil Dewey (1851-1931), the author of the Dewey Decimal Systems – which reformed the classification efforts of libraries during the late 19th century – got the idea for his system while listening to a sermon in church in 1873, then hurried home to format it by imagining what questions a prehistoric man would have about his life: 100-199 “Who am I? (philosophy and psychology); 200-299 “Who made me?” (religion and theology); 300-399 “Who is the man in the next cave?” (social science); 400-499 “How can I make that man understand me?” (language); 500-599 “How can I understand nature and the world around me?” (natural history and mathematics); 600-699 “How can I use what I know about the world?” (technology); 700-799 “How can I enjoy my leisure time?” (art and recreation); 800-899 “How can I give my children a record of man’s heroic thoughts and deeds?” (literature); 900-999 “How can I leave a record for men of the future?” (geography, biography and history).
“Our protagonist wonders if it were possible to physically engage with an angel. Two problems present themselves here: where does one find an angel, and then wouldn’t his strength overpower her? She solves both problems in the song.”
PlayShe Wrestled An Angel
Two perspectives for the existence of angels in our world would probably answer the two problems in different ways. If you believe in mythological angels or Hollywood angels, then you might believe that anything is possible in the spiritual realm of angels. But, if you look at angels from the faith-based perspective, religions attribute specific characteristics to angels.
Angels are some of the most misunderstood beings in our world. Because of movies and children’s stories, angels have been depicted in many different forms. Angels are mentioned in many of the world religions including Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Angels in all these beliefs carry out the will of God as messengers, protectors, providers, and guides. They serve and worship God.
The Christian Bible describes angels as “beings” without a body. Humans do not die and become angels and angels don’t “get their wings” when someone does something good as in the plot of one very famous Christmas movie. Angels were created by God at the beginning of creation.
Throughout the Bible, angels appear in human form to carry out the will of God. They have a human form, but not a physical form. They speak to humans but rarely interact in other ways, according to scripture. There is little or no physical interaction. Angels cannot be “found” by humans. They might pray for help or guidance, but they cannot simply go out and find an angel.
Would a human be overpowered by an angel? Angels do not have God’s power, but they do have their own strength and power that exceeds human strength. (Psalm 103:20; 2 Peter 2:11). So yes, they could overpower, but probably wouldn’t have need to do so. Heavenly angels of the Bible are in-tune to the will and desires of God. They would not engage in early pursuits or engage in any human endeavors.
This poem “Love at First Sight” was inspired by “Time & Love Whisper Together” which is an examination of the relationship between Time and Love. And the song suggests that the relationship often occurs without our awareness, sometimes bursting into our consciousness as ‘love at first sight.’
PlayEnjoy Time & Love Whisper Together while reading this poem.
Love at First Sight
When the tingle reaches your toes
and the pull is unexplainable.
Is it real
is it spiritual
When the minutes seem like years
and the pull is timeless.
Is it memories
Is it devout
When the words don’t need to be spoken
and eyes tell the story.
“Matty Groves” is a Border ballad probably originating in Northern England that describes an adulterous tryst between a man and a woman that is ended when the woman’s husband discovers and kills them. This song exists in many textual variants and has several variant names. The song dates to at least the 17th century, and under the title Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard is one of the Child Ballads collected by 19th-century American scholar Francis James Child. Source: Wikipedia
Matt Groves & Rich Jane Song
Matt and Jane engage in a fateful tryst. We borrowed the plot of this song from Fairport Convention’s “Mattie Groves” who, in turn, borrowed their plot from an old English folk song. The idea was to produce a modern version of Mattie’s fate.
Matty Groves" is a Border ballad probably originating in Northern England that describes an adulterous tryst between a man and a woman that is ended when the woman's husband discovers and kills them. This song exists in many textual variants and has several variant names. The song dates to at least the 17th century, and under the title Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard is one of the Child Ballads collected by 19th-century American scholar Francis James Child. More info →
In this broadcast of Wardco Studios Showcase, we are featuring Indie Music by Indie Artists Jeff Stafford and the Short Bus Criminals, Verity White and Dave Vargo. Learn more about these Indie Artists at WardcoStudios.com and get links to the artists’ websites and social media. Indie Artists are welcome to submit music to our podcast. […]
In this broadcast of Wardco Studios Showcase, we are featuring Indie Music by Indie Artists Jeff Stafford and the Short Bus Criminals, Verity White and Dave Vargo. Learn more about these Indie Artists at WardcoStudios.com and get links to the artists’ websites and social media. Indie Artists are welcome to submit music to our podcast. […]
In this broadcast of Wardco Studios Showcase, we are featuring Indie Music by Indie Artists Lonesome Train, Tracy Colletto, and Francesco Zane. Learn more about these Indie Artists at WardcoStudios.com and get links to the artists’ websites and social media. Indie Artists are welcome to submit music to our podcast. Comment on the Podcast using […]
Elisha Porat was a Hebrew poet and writer who said he’d never thought about writing poetry until he was a solider in the War of Yom Kippur in 1973. The war and even the death of Porat’s father inspired him to begin writing poetry non-stop. According to an interview with poet Ward Kelly, Porat did not write about politics or anti-war, but the human aspects of the war. He wrote about the soldier and his experiences and feelings. He fought in three wars as a solider in the Israeli army.
