This is K. Trap Jones’ first full length book. He claims he is influenced by Dante Alighieri, Edgar Allen Poe, Bram Stoker, and H.P. Lovelace. His book follows the same macabre tradition as used by those authors. Today this tradition is classified as horror; a hundred years ago, it was often used by authors who wanted to get a point across.

The book starts out with the protagonist dying in a cave. He gradually becomes aware that God has imprisoned him in the cave to encounter the seven deadly sins, which will be presented to him by seven demons. He encounters wrath presented by Amon, greed presented by Mammon, sloth presented by Belphegor, gluttony presented by Beelzebub, lust presented by Asmodeus, envy presented by Leviathan, and pride presented by Lucifer. Jones develops these encounters in interesting circumstances, showing the protagonist starting off as a more or less morally upright person becoming gradually influenced by each demon until, finally, the protagonist is beguiled enough to commit a serious sin. This story looks to me like a morality story, and it touches on real topics that influence human destiny. In “The Sinner,” God, of course, is real. So are the demons Amon, Mammon, Belphegor, Beelzebub, Asmodeus, Leviathan, and Lucifer. All of these are named in Biblical Tradition, which has influenced humans for thousands of years.

“The Sinner” presents a believable portrayal of how easily humans can be influenced to pursue their passions to an extreme and wind up committing very serious sins. Looking around at trends in society today, one can see a very strong presence of the seven deadly sins operating in all phases of human activity. Murders are committed, even by young people; rapes are perpetrated, even against young girls some of whom are forced into prostitution; thefts are rampant; lust and all kinds of sexual pursuits permeate society; and pride is everywhere, especially pride exhibited by some heads of government, by some celebrities, even by some super heroes and super villains who act as though they were god when they pursue their own objectives: indeed, all seven deadly sins are very evident everywhere in society. Jones presents food for thought on how this is possible.

One thing that struck me is how was it possible that the Nazi government influenced so many of its citizens to co-operate with the extermination of humans they felt were inferior. Those who participated worked at it day by day for years on end to capture these humans, transfer them to extermination camps, and liquidate them, even young children. I’m astounded that they could do it day after day collecting them and gassing them with no qualms that what they are doing is evil, a deadly sin. I think they would have continued until all those they thought inferior were liquidated had not the Allies defeated the Nazis. How can this be? Jones’ story, even though it is fiction, gives an insight on how sin can misdirect human ambitions.

Jones paints a grim picture when the protagonist encounters Lucifer, who tempts him with pride. I know God pitted humans against demons when God cursed Satan in the Garden: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, between her seed and your seed.” “The Sinner” is marketed as a horror story, and if humans are destined to be succumbed by devils and be abandoned by God, it would be a horror story indeed. But there is another side to this story that draws on real traditions that are already ingrained into human expectations. It is true that God allows humans to be tempted, but it was not to trip humans up; it was that God wanted humans to confront evil at its source. In this struggle between good and evil, God lets all of us be presented with basically two choices: choose God or choose Satan.

I think, in our culture where very little Biblical revelation is still believed, it is good to remind people of this. I think Jones’ writings will stimulate imagination and present sobering food for thought. ( )