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"Godless Armageddon" is a visionary and ambitious journey that defies traditional storytelling to deliver a profound and imaginative exploration of the afterlife. At its core, this novel is a battle for redemption, identity, and purpose. Only one that takes place in a realm where individuals exist as ethereal clouds, transforming and uniting into vibrantly colored storm-behemoths that wage cosmic warfare on one another.
Thomas Jefferson Stoneshield VII, a WW2 soldier from a long line of warriors, dies while storming the beaches of Normandy. He ascends to a peculiar afterlife and becomes embroiled in a struggle between two godlike beings, with the future of all existence at stake. Along the way, he confronts haunting echoes of his past life, his own repressed desires, and the power of unyielding faith and despair.
The novel defies convenient classification. In parts, it reminded me of "What Dreams May Come" by Richard Matheson, but more dreamlike, rendered as an acid trip. Scott Coon masterfully balances the surreal and the relatable, seamlessly switching between the gritty horrors of WW2 and abstract realms of ethereal energy. Despite its complex and fantastical premise, the plot is clear and straightforward, grounded and driven by believable characters.
Whether you approach it for its emotional depth, philosophical insights, or sheer creativity, Godless Armageddon is a tour de force. It will challenge your notions of faith, morality, and what it means to truly live — or to truly die. Coon’s ability to render this chaotic, otherworldly setting with such clarity and resonance is a testament to his skill as a storyteller.
Thomas Jefferson Stoneshield VII dies in World War II and enters a godless afterlife where souls are clouds upon a golden ocean surrounding the Earth. He blames himself for ending the legacy carried in his name. He doesn't know why he never married because he's buried it too deep: Thom is gay.
To help him, Thom's dad reaches out from inside a soul well—a monster made of captured souls. But his dad is unable to communicate. Instead, Thom keeps rewatching his dad’s death in World War I, while his dad keeps apologizing for something. Determined to rescue his father, Thom teaches himself how to fight the soul wells with weaponized memories.
His fellow soldier, David Lowenstein, wants to save his parents. Others want Thom to stop the soul wells before they unleash Earth’s Armageddon and consume all souls, living and dead. But Thom just wants to save his dad and atone for ending his family name.
