The Society

About the Book

Human beings, regardless of intelligence, have a remarkable capacity to wholeheartedly accept completely irrational beliefs, even when all the evidence is against them. There are so many things that cannot be explained rationally (as least, not yet) and this is where religion becomes important.

The more irrational the belief, the more prepared people are to defend it, even die for it, or kill for it. As science slowly illuminates more of the universe for us, we seem to retreat more deeply into extra-rational systems of thought. Since scientific fact offers no emotional support or no sense of an overarching meaning for our lives, it seems cold and clinical when compared to the sometimes overwhelming experience of religious worship, especially when practiced in a group.

The Society tells the story of Nick Bowne, who joins a religious cult as a teenager, seduced by the promise that he can get anything he wants. Anything … including girls, money, cars… it doesn’t matter what you pray for, he’s told. The act of prayer itself will develop his inner potential.

During Nick’s five years as a member of the Society for World Peace, he learns that what you want is not always what you think it is … and that the truth has an infinity of layers. Peel one back, and there’s always another layer underneath.

This is a novel not only about religion and belief, but about love and desire. It’s a fast-paced easy read, and I think you’ll enjoy it.

This novel was inspired by my experiences in a religious organization but it is a work of fiction, not a memoir. With the exception of two minor details, nothing in it happened as described. The characters, while inspired by real persons, are concoctions of my imagination.

“Nothing is true; everything is permitted.”
—Hassan i Sabbah