Pennington, John

English

St. Norbert College

North Wind: A Journal of George MacDonald StudiesVolume 31 Article 71-1-2012Phillips, Michael. Hell and Beyond: A Novel.Colorado Springs: Bondfire Books, 2013. KindleEdition.John PenningtonFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.snc.edu/northwindThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the English at Digital Commons @ St. Norbert College. It has been accepted forinclusion in North Wind: A Journal of George MacDonald Studies by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ St. Norbert College. For moreinformation, please contact sarah.titus@snc.edu.Recommended CitationPennington, John (2012) "Phillips, Michael. Hell and Beyond: A Novel. Colorado Springs: Bondfire Books, 2013. Kindle Edition.,"North Wind: A Journal of George MacDonald Studies: Vol. 31 , Article 7.Available at: http://digitalcommons.snc.edu/northwind/vol31/iss1/7Book Reviews | 103 Phillips, Michael. Hell and Beyond: A Novel. Colorado     Springs: Bondfire Books, 2013. Kindle Edition.John Pennington	 In	Hell and Beyond,	Michael	Phillips	dedicates	his	novel	to	MacDonald	and	Lewis:	“worthy	mentors	with	broad	shoulders	who	paved	the	way.”	Phillips	has	approached	MacDonald	through	the	lens	of	Lewis	for	much	of	his	career.		The	cover	of	Phillips’s	1987	spiritual	biography,	George MacDonald: Scotland’s Beloved Storyteller,	quotes	from	C.	S.	Lewis	(“I	have	never	concealed	the	fact	that	I	regarded	him	as	my	master”).	In	the	Introduction	to	the	biography,	Phillips	writes:	“I	make	no	apology	for	the	fact	that	I	trust	George	MacDonald,	echoing	C.	S.	Lewis’s	sentiments	when	he	said	that	though	MacDonald	was	not	error-free,	he	knew	of	no	writer	who	was	so	continuously	close	to	the	Spirit	of	Christ.”	Phillips	claims	on	his	website—http://fatheroftheinklings.com—that	as	an	“author	and	editor	of	over	100	books,	Phillips’s	efforts	helped	ignite	the	MacDonald	renaissance	of	recent	years.	As	one	of	those	responsible	for	the	widespread	renewal	of	MacDonald’s	influence,	Phillips	is	recognized	as	among	the	world’s	foremost	purveyors	of	MacDonald’s	message,	with	particular	insight	into	the	Scotsman’s	heart	and	spiritual	vision.”		It	would	be	hard	to	disagree	with	that	claim.	One	particular	focus	of	Phillips	to	lead	to	that	MacDonald	renaissance,	for	example,	includes	Phillips’s	redacting	and	renaming	of	MacDonald’s	novels—mostly	realistic	novels—so	that	contemporary	readers	can	better	understand	the	messages	that	MacDonald	evokes	in	his	works.	As	I	look	at	my	bookshelf	right	now,	I	spy	George	MacDonald’s	The Curate of Glaston	(1986),	an	edited	volume	by	Phillips	that	redacts	Thomas Wingfold, Curate;	Paul Faber, Surgeon;	and	There and Back	into	a	unified	story.		 Hell and Beyond	is	a	fantasy	inspired	by	MacDonald’s	Phantastes	and	Lilith,	and	by	Lewis’s	The Great Divorce,	where	MacDonald	appears	as	a	Virgilian	spiritual	guide.	In	fact,	Hell and Beyond	includes	both	MacDonald	(known	as	the	Scotsman)	and	Lewis	(known	as	the	Professor	or	Don)	as	guides	to	the	first-person	narrator.	In	a	sense,	Hell and Beyond	uses	the	structural	mechanism	of	the	movement	from	the	real	world	in	a	fantastic	world—Hell,	for	example—that	is	influenced	by	MacDonald’s	adult	fantasies.	In	turn,	it	follows	the	pattern	of	Lewis’s	work	by	making	MacDonald	a	character	in	the	fantasy,	who	can	engage	with	the	narrator	in	spiritual	discussions.		 A	reviewer	of	a	work	of	fiction,	of	course,	must	be	sensitive	to	the	fact	that	readers	do	not	want	to	know	what	happens	in	the	work—no	spoilers,	so	to	speak.	So	I’ll	rely	on	the	book	description	highlighted	on	Amazon.com:	A	prominent	atheist	dies	unexpectedly	and	goes	to	hell.	Or	so	it	appears	.	.	.	but	nothing	is	what	it	seems	in	this	engrossing	allegorical	novel	about	the	afterlife.	In	the	tradition	of	C.S.	Lewis’	The Great Divorce	and	John	Bunyon’s	Pilgrim’s Progress,	Michael	Phillips	has	produced	a	riveting	tale	of	eternity.	Hell and Beyond	is	a	lively	and	fascinating	trip	through	the	afterlife—one	that	will	inspire	you	to	re-discover	the	significance	of	your	life	here	and	now.What	may	be	most	intriguing	about	Phillips’s	novel,	though,	is	his	use	of	MacDonald’s	fantasy	worlds	that	are	central	to	Phantastes	(fairyland)	and	Lilith	(the	realm	of	the	seven	dimensions).		Once	the	narrator	has	crossed	the	threshold	to	that	other	world,	he	encounters	an	unknown	realm	that	propels	him	on	his	journey	to	discovery,	quite	similar	to	Anodos	in	Phantastes	and,	in	particular,	Mr.	Vane	in	Lilith.	In	the	Final	Word	at	the	end	of	the	novel,	Phillips	tells	us	that	MacDonald’s	“contributions	.	.	.	are	ubiquitous”	to	Hell and Beyond;	in	fact,	often	when	MacDonald	speaks	in	the	novel,	he	is	speaking	words	from	MacDonald’s	own	works,	including	“his	sermons,	The Consuming Fire,	Salvation from Sin,	The Last Farthing,	and	Justice,	as	well	as	a	few	from	Lilith,	italicized	as	the	Scotsman’s	eternal	song	and	description	of	the	emerald	river	and	the	stairway	up	the	mountain	in	the	final	chapters.”	 Hell and Beyond	is	certainly	an	intriguing	fantasy	novel,	but	it	must	be	read	in	light	of	its	purpose:	to	take	readers	on	a	spiritual	Christian	journey.	By	its	nature,	then,	the	novel	is	quite	theological	and,	at	times,	didactic,	particularly	when	MacDonald	teaches	the	narrator	about	the	importance	of	belief.		Many	MacDonald	fans	who	gravitate	to	the	author	because	of	his	spiritual	teachings	will	no	doubt	enjoy	Phillips’s	homage	to	MacDonald’s	fantasy	works,	as	well	as	his	homage	to	MacDonald’s	theological	speculations.	Those	MacDonald	fans	who	are	more	interested	in	MacDonald’s	fairy	tales	and	fantasies,	may	find	the	didacticism	somewhat	off-putting.	But	I	am	sure	that	Phillips	is	prepared	for	such	competing	interpretations	of	Hell and Beyond.	One	thing	is	for	certain:	Hell and Beyond	will	force	you	to	take	notice	of	its	Christian	message—and	force	you	to	take	notice	of	the	importance	of	George	MacDonald	for	contemporary	readers.Pennington | 104

Phillips, Michael. Hell and Beyond: A Novel. Colorado Springs: Bondfire Books, 2013. Kindle Edition.

https://digitalcommons.snc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1195&amp;context=northwind

Phillips, Michael. Hell and Beyond: A Novel. Colorado Springs: Bondfire Books, 2013. Kindle Edition.

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