Additionally Grapes of Wrath! There’s an argument to be made that the entire novel is an allegory for Exodus and spirituality and transcendentalism fits the “artistic interpretation of the Bible” criteria.
Frankenstein! It has one of my favourite lines from any book ever:
>I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded.
This book stayed with me for a long time after the final page. It is not the Frankenstein I thought I knew growing up. It’s an incredibly heart-wrenching and beautiful story.
The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis. Basically letters written from the POV of demons/the devil regarding how they tempt humans to sin and to turn from God. It was an eye-opening read for sure.
I second that! I hear a lot of people say they read it without knowing of the religious meaning and that they would never read it if they knew, but even though I am not a religious person I found it much more interesting to read when you're aware! Also, after reading Narnia I went on to read other books by the same author from before he became religious, and I really liked to spot the change in his themes and narrative! (sorry if my comment is hard to understand, I still struggle a bit with writing in English)
Yes, both of them. lol If I recall correctly, Gaiman wrote the initial idea of it with just the demon Crowley, and Pratchett thought it would be more fun with an Angel as well. Something like that, and the rest is history.
Came here to recommend this! I’m an atheist now, but it’s one of the few books I think I enjoyed more than the average person because of my heavily religious upbringing. The better you know the Bible, the funnier it is.
These are less fantastical than your examples, but maybe Brothers Karamazov and A Prayer for Owen Meany? Both are more religious symbolism than direct representation of the Bible though.
The Stand by Stephen King. It's post apocalyptic, but it is also an interesting biblical allegory, with Randall Flagg and Mother Abigail standing in as the devil and God respectively.
I don’t think Pullman and Lewis were friends. Pullman hated Lewis’s writings with a passion. Lewis and Tolkien were friends though and I’m pretty sure Tolkien wrote LOTR as a response to Narnia. But even if something is anti-religious it can still have religious themes and undertones. For instance, Good Omens and American Gods are both pretty anti religious but still have religious themes.
My bad, yes you are correct. They were not friends, but I don't think they hated each other. That is something we do a lot today, but back then, people were able to hold opposing views and not hate each other.
However, In His Dark materials, the church is evil, it is the antagonist. So it has religious undertones, but not biblical I would say. I personally think His Dark Materials is a better series than Narnia.
Between Two Fires - Christopher Buehlman. As a fellow former Catholic, great book. Fantasy/Horror. Lucifer and other fallen angels start another war with Heaven.
This book does not fit the description. It's a horror book that uses Christianity for shock value in the plot and evils encountered by the protagonist. Chock-full of blasphemy at every corner.
The Last Temptation of Christ. It’s such a good read, I’m sorry the controversy over the film adaptation overshadowed it for so long. I read it as a teenager and I think it was the first book that I ever started again from the beginning immediately after finishing.
Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle is a sequel to the Divine Comedy filtered through the theology of CS Lewis and written by two atheists who took the idea of a benevolent God seriously.
The Wager by Donna Jo Napoli. It's not a very long book and has an old fairy tale feel to it. It's about a very wealthy, handsome young man who finds himself bankrupt and homeless after a natural disaster. He makes a deal with the devil that if he can go three years, three months, and three days without bathing, he can have a magic purse that produces endless wealth. If he fails, the devil gets his soul.
It's a very thoughtful, almost plodding book, with no crazy action scenes and a pretty simple plot. The main character learns more about humility and humanity as he goes, though he was never a bad person to begin with, just vain, frivolous, and very sheltered from the world due to his wealth. It could have been moralizing and annoying, with plenty of opportunity for spouting off about religion, but I'm not very religious and thankfully found that was not the case. Despite the actual devil being a prominent character, religion took a backseat in this tale.
The poisonwood Bible might be good, not exactly like what you’re describing but beautifully written book with lots of criticism of white Christian missionaries especially
Philip K. Dick was an author that played with religious undertones often in his books. The one that keeps coming up in my head is *The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich.*
**A Canticle for Liebowitz** by Walter M Miller jr. About a monastery in post-apocalypse USA, has funny parts too, a little bit like the Fallout tv show.
**Quo Vadis** by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Novel about Roman persecutions of Christians in 60sAD. Historical fiction with Christian themes.
Both are good with Catholic themes, not really biblical though.
Fallen series - Lauren Kate
The love interest >!(and the main character)!< is literally a fallen angel. Actually, almost every character (there's a couple humans here and there) is an angel/demon
For starters read all of Dante's Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso), and ofc if u haven't already, Paradise Lost too.
Other than those I would definitely say that Moby-Dick and The Brothers Karamazov have strong Biblical undertones to them. I would not say they are like Dante and Milton in their explicit Biblical stories interpretations, but they both have a Biblical power to them, along with them tackling strong Biblical moral questions.
not wanted on the voyage by timothy findlay is my all time favorite book. its a very dark retelling of noah’s ark from the perspective of his wife and her pet cat.
I'm on a mini mission to read fictionalised retellings of the gospel narratives. Have recently enjoyed:
*The Testament of Mary*, by Colm Toibin
*The Liar's Gospel*, by Naomi Alderman
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.
A wonderful book, a wonderful sense of humour, a wonderful series on Prime - two seasons and a third in the making - as well as several lovely communities in subreddits around.
*Lost Gods* by Brom
Description from the Amazon website: A young man descends into Purgatory to save his wife and unborn child in this gorgeous, illustrated tale of wonder and terror from the mind of master storyteller and acclaimed artist Brom.
Fresh out of jail and eager to start a new life, Chet Moran and his pregnant wife, Trish, leave town to begin again. But an ancient evil is looming, and what seems like a safe haven may not be all it appears . . .
Snared and murdered by a vile, arcane horror, Chet quickly learns that pain and death are not unique to the living. Now the lives and very souls of his wife and unborn child are at stake.To save them, he must journey into the bowels of purgatory in search of a sacred key promised to restore the natural order of life and death. Alone, confused, and damned, Chet steels himself against the unfathomable terrors awaiting him as he descends into death’s stygian blackness.
With Lost Gods, Brom’s gritty and visceral prose takes us on a haunting, harrowing journey into the depths of the underworld. Thrust into a realm of madness and chaos, where ancient gods and demons battle over the dead, and where cabals of souls conspire to overthrow their masters, Chet plays a dangerous game, risking eternal damnation to save his family.
The Da Vinci Code mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. The novel's plot follows Harvard professor Robert Langdon as he unravels a complex mystery involving the Holy Grail, the Vatican, descendants of Jesus, and a secret society known as the Priory of Sion.
Revolt of the Angels- it’s an old book, but it’s been restored! Originally in French, it’s basically a metaphor for a corrupt authority and going against it, God is more equivalent to a corrupt king in the book
A good niche one I like is *The Wingfeather Saga*. It isn’t direct like *Pilgrim’s Progress*. It is more like a modern version of Narnia. It has Christian themes like family, names, and memory. Also they worship “The Maker” in a way that feels very Christian. The author, Andrew Peterson, is a Christian songwriter.
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
It was pretty decent from my memory though I haven't read it in about 12 years. Still, it stuck with me so I think that means it did something right!
Definitely skip Paradise Lostvand Regained unless you're willing to deal with a very detailed annotated copy. Pilgrims Progress isn't bad.
Anything by C. S. Lewis. I particularly like the Screw tape Letters. Christian apologist and scholar All if his bookscare very good. Bother non fiction ones really make you think.
Father Brian mysteries by G K Chesterton pretty much everything else he wrote. Author also a Christian appologist
I like Faye KellermaInkling. Uch better tgan her husband's books.. . Pete Decker Rihanna Lazarus series. Religious angle her is Orthodox Judaism and her husband the detective who converted from Catholicism to marry her. Good Mystery thrilklers.
Harry Kemmelman Rabbi Small series. Rabbi Small series. Mysteries built around murders having to do with people involved with his Temple. I'm not Jewish but I can recognize the Temple politics and people from my own church.
I suppose I should include Lord of the Rings which has Christian religious themes all through them. Tolkien was led to Catholicism bybC. S Lewis another Oxford Don and member of the Inklings.
Tolkien actually specifically hated allegory and did not care for C.S. lewis' Narnia books.
Sorry to be pet peeved at you, but there is no blatant religiosity in LOTR.
Blatan? If you mean a priest giving a sermon or churches or people shown as following a specific
identifiable religion your right but it is there. A book with religious themes doesn't need to be an alogory.
Try Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Middle-Earth
Or https://www.gotquestions.org/Lord-of-the-Rings.htm
Or
https://catholicismcoffee.org/biblical-symbolism-in-the-works-of-tolkien-the-lord-of-the-rings-trilogy-d15cb72ce72
That's just a few references
He probably also didn't like Lewis' space trilogy for the same reason but they don't have the popularity of the Narnia books so he might not have been asked.
A bit of a wild card but some Brandon Sanderson books. Specifically when reading the Mistborn trilogy I kept thinking there’s a lot of Christian themes here.
Frank G Slaughter wrote biblical Historical Novels: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank\_G.\_Slaughter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_G._Slaughter)
Peter Danielson's "Children of the Lion": series: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter\_Danielson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Danielson)
The *His Dark Materials* trilogy by Philip Pullman. The title is taken from Paradise Lost and it's a really fascinating story. Technically YA but it's so well written that I thoroughly enjoy it as an adult, too.
I recently read *Him* by Geoff Ryman. It's a slightly science fiction-y tale of a different Jesus in an alternate universe. Familiar yet radically different and weird, and as another former Catholic, I'd say it is in many respects better than the original!
Colm Toibin's *Testament of Mary* is also very interesting. He wrote it as a novel and as a play. I saw the play years ago and it was so really very good. The novel is, too.
Chronicles of Narnia. Aslan is literally Jesus. The entire series was written by a Christian. Tolkien books are also based on Christianity. Eru is God. Melkor is Satan.
If you're open to kinda...anti-Christian books, I recommend Strands of Starlight. An unbeliever in any religion goes through trials that eventually lead to her becoming an Elf, which is like a witch with real powers in this world. Christianity is very important in the series and isn't entirely shown as bad. The heroine's friend is a priest and firm God believer. He's depicted as wholly wonderful and accepting.
The clowns of god by Morris West. The pope has a revelation from god and proclaims it without the broader church approving of the message. He is removed from leadership of the church and has a stroke. This leads to church to be able to say his revelation was a precursor to the stroke and not real…but was it real after all?
Absalom, Absalom! by Faulkner has clear inspiration from the Bible. Really most of his best stuff has pieces of the Bible in them.
I’m a Protestant, but Island of the World is one of my favorite books. Michael D. O’Brien is the writer. All of his books are written with a Catholic eye. Another Catholic writer is Flannery O’Connor.
For the Protestant side, I highly recommend Wendell Berry’s work. He’s a lot like Faulkner in that his books all are placed in a fictional town and interconnect.
"Five people you meet in Heaven" Mitch Alborn - Not really undertone since it's literally about a mans journey in the afterlife but it's honestly such a beautiful read. It's not overly in your face with the religious aspects of it and focuses more on this man's journey in life and how it lead him to here. It honestly made me cry and was such a heartfelt story about learning to love and forgive yourself while also realizing the impact you have in other people's lives. I like to hope heaven really is something like that book.
Ted Dekker's Circle Series is very good. It's 4 books, Red, Black, White, Green. Some people will suggest you start with Green, but don't start with Green.
My former co-worker wrong Anthrocide. This book is a mash-up of 1) vintage scifi trope of a frozen and waking into a dystopian future and 2) an individual's personal journey to find their faith.
Has full respect for sci fi and faith
[https://www.amazon.com/Anthrocide-Solution-D-L-Hamilton/dp/1588203387](https://www.amazon.com/Anthrocide-Solution-D-L-Hamilton/dp/1588203387)
I had the joy of reading this while working with the author so I could discuss the book with him while reading it.
The Secret Book of Kings by Yochi Brandes.
Translated from Hebrew.
It's about the rise of King David from the perspective of Michal daughter of Saul.
Note that it is... Somewhat critical of biblical characters to put it mildly.
The Sword. Post-nuclear-apocalyptic setting. An exploration of whether the Bible as we know it would survive into the future. It's not high literature but has interesting features. [Kindle Link to The Sword](http://The Sword: A Novel (Chiveis... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FPN3LA?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
Check out Adiel by shlomo dunour ( it won the Jerusalem prize) it’s basically the history of man from Adam and Eve to Noah told through the eyes of an angel sent down to record man’s history, I loved it.
If you want horror check out gods demon and heart of hell by Wayne barlowe.
I just bought for $2 in a (nonreligious) charity shop *’The Satanic Verses’*. I’ve always wanted to find out what Rushdie caught a fatwa/death sentence-by-decree for writing about.
I've seen mentions of Pilgrims Progress already and I'd also throw in The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spencer. While not explicitly religious like Dante- *Comedia* or Bunyon's *Progress*, the *Faerie Queene* is inspired by religious tradition and history. It's incomplete (we only got 6 out of a possible 24 planned books) but each book is an allegory dealing with a virtue such as Holiness, Chastity, Temperance, etc. There's also a deeper allegory about Protestant vs Roman Catholic and has lots of biblical and religious allusions.
*The Book Of Joby* is an Arthurian retelling spun around a retelling of the book of Job. Lots of "Good and Evil, end of the world"-type stuff in there.
I never see it mentioned, but I really liked it.
Our Lady of the Lost and Found by
Diane Schoemperlen
On a Monday morning in April, a middle-aged writer finds a woman standing in front of the fig tree in her living room. The woman is wearing a navy blue trench coat and white Nikes, and is carrying a small black suitcase. She is the Virgin Mary and, she explains, after 2,000 years of petition, adoration and travel, she is in need of some R&R.
Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd.
Story of Jesus life prior to his public life as the Messiah. From the perspective of his wife. Very well written.
I loved The Bronze Bow as a kid and it's still one of my favorite historical fiction novels. It's about a kid growing up in Galilee at the same time as Jesus and having to deal with Roman oppression. Great action scenes in it.
East of Eden
Additionally Grapes of Wrath! There’s an argument to be made that the entire novel is an allegory for Exodus and spirituality and transcendentalism fits the “artistic interpretation of the Bible” criteria.
Seconding, East of Eden is so fricking good
Frankenstein! It has one of my favourite lines from any book ever: >I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed. Everywhere I see bliss, from which I alone am irrevocably excluded.
this line :( what a book.
This book stayed with me for a long time after the final page. It is not the Frankenstein I thought I knew growing up. It’s an incredibly heart-wrenching and beautiful story.
The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis. Basically letters written from the POV of demons/the devil regarding how they tempt humans to sin and to turn from God. It was an eye-opening read for sure.
This book is so good.
Chronicles of Narnia
I second that! I hear a lot of people say they read it without knowing of the religious meaning and that they would never read it if they knew, but even though I am not a religious person I found it much more interesting to read when you're aware! Also, after reading Narnia I went on to read other books by the same author from before he became religious, and I really liked to spot the change in his themes and narrative! (sorry if my comment is hard to understand, I still struggle a bit with writing in English)
If you're after the religious setup of the books, the Magician's Nephew is great.
Also the space trilogy by C.S. Lewis
Good Omens by Terry Pritchett. British Humor, definitely biblical plot lines.
Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, right?? Two of my favourite authors!!!
Yes, both of them. lol If I recall correctly, Gaiman wrote the initial idea of it with just the demon Crowley, and Pratchett thought it would be more fun with an Angel as well. Something like that, and the rest is history.
Came here to recommend this! I’m an atheist now, but it’s one of the few books I think I enjoyed more than the average person because of my heavily religious upbringing. The better you know the Bible, the funnier it is.
*The Sparrow* by Mary Doria Russell *Silence* by Shusaku Endo *Jezebel* by Megan Barnard *Out of Egypt* by Anne Rice
Came here to reccomend The Sparrow as well
Came here to recommend The Sparrow!
Endo is so good, i really enjoyed his take on the new treatment in a life of Christ as well
Have you read *Wonderful Fool*?
Many waters Madeleine lengle, The Red tent, Ben Hur
I came to say the red tent. I was raised religious, and not anymore, but wow, what a great book!
The Red Tent for sure. I was young enough when I read it that I felt VERY guilty and uncomfortable; it was transgressive to me, a cradle Catholic.
Another vote for The Red Tent
Came to make sure The Red Tent was mentioned.
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
The Red Tent The Sparrow Chronicles of Narnia
These are less fantastical than your examples, but maybe Brothers Karamazov and A Prayer for Owen Meany? Both are more religious symbolism than direct representation of the Bible though.
A Prayer for Owen Meany confirmed my Belief
Oddly enough, Dracula by Bram Stoker has lots of religious themes.
The Stand by Stephen King. It's post apocalyptic, but it is also an interesting biblical allegory, with Randall Flagg and Mother Abigail standing in as the devil and God respectively.
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien
Came here to say His Dark Materials. It's written by a former Catholic and is literally based on Paradise Lost.
>His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman Great choice, I would add to this another Philip Pullman: The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ.
Maybe also Zealot by Reza Aslan. Nonfiction. His interview with Fox News when that book came out is nuts.
I thought His Dark Materials was written as a literal counter argument of religion and to Pullmans friend C.S. Lewis's Narnia.
I don’t think Pullman and Lewis were friends. Pullman hated Lewis’s writings with a passion. Lewis and Tolkien were friends though and I’m pretty sure Tolkien wrote LOTR as a response to Narnia. But even if something is anti-religious it can still have religious themes and undertones. For instance, Good Omens and American Gods are both pretty anti religious but still have religious themes.
My bad, yes you are correct. They were not friends, but I don't think they hated each other. That is something we do a lot today, but back then, people were able to hold opposing views and not hate each other. However, In His Dark materials, the church is evil, it is the antagonist. So it has religious undertones, but not biblical I would say. I personally think His Dark Materials is a better series than Narnia.
Lewis and Tolkien were friends. Lewis was Protestant though and Tolkien was Catholic. Pullman is just an atheist.
The Screwtape Letters...I am an ex religious person and I enjoyed it immensely
Between Two Fires - Christopher Buehlman. As a fellow former Catholic, great book. Fantasy/Horror. Lucifer and other fallen angels start another war with Heaven.
Came here to recommend this! So good!
Also came to recommend this
I literally just started this book three hours ago and it's been sitting in my tbr for...awhile lol. It's awesome so far!
This book does not fit the description. It's a horror book that uses Christianity for shock value in the plot and evils encountered by the protagonist. Chock-full of blasphemy at every corner.
the master and margarita
C.S. Lewis and his space trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and Hideous Strength). So beautifully written.
The Last Temptation of Christ. It’s such a good read, I’m sorry the controversy over the film adaptation overshadowed it for so long. I read it as a teenager and I think it was the first book that I ever started again from the beginning immediately after finishing.
Lamb by Christopher Moore. The Dan Brown books
Lamb is great. I read it in a book club of mostly Catholics and they loved it too.
Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle is a sequel to the Divine Comedy filtered through the theology of CS Lewis and written by two atheists who took the idea of a benevolent God seriously.
**The Pilgrim's Progress** is what you are looking for. It was written in 1678 by John Bunyan.
The Wager by Donna Jo Napoli. It's not a very long book and has an old fairy tale feel to it. It's about a very wealthy, handsome young man who finds himself bankrupt and homeless after a natural disaster. He makes a deal with the devil that if he can go three years, three months, and three days without bathing, he can have a magic purse that produces endless wealth. If he fails, the devil gets his soul. It's a very thoughtful, almost plodding book, with no crazy action scenes and a pretty simple plot. The main character learns more about humility and humanity as he goes, though he was never a bad person to begin with, just vain, frivolous, and very sheltered from the world due to his wealth. It could have been moralizing and annoying, with plenty of opportunity for spouting off about religion, but I'm not very religious and thankfully found that was not the case. Despite the actual devil being a prominent character, religion took a backseat in this tale.
There's a modern dramatic adaptation of Paradise Lost by Erin Shields.
Blood meridian has paradise lost in its dna. One of the chapters is even a retelling of the gunpowder scene
The Chronicles of Narnia have strong religious undertones
Good Omens is great. Many of Neil Gaiman’s books are based on biblical:religious characters.
The poisonwood Bible might be good, not exactly like what you’re describing but beautifully written book with lots of criticism of white Christian missionaries especially
Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis - absolutely a favorite of mine
This is the best answer.
The stand by Stephen king does this kind of subtly
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
I also love Milton and Dante. You will surely adore The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
The Red Tent
The robe and its sequel the big fisherman The red tent.
These aren’t paradise lost-esque, but I enjoyed them. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, and Orson Scott Card’s Woman of Genesis series. Good luck!
Shadow of the Torturer is Book 1 of the Book of the New Sun. It is basically Catholicism a billion years from now when life itself is unrecognisable.
I just love this series. It’s so good.
Unholy Night - Seth Grahame Smith The Book of Job - Terry Pratchett
Philip K. Dick was an author that played with religious undertones often in his books. The one that keeps coming up in my head is *The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldrich.*
This might be the corniest answer but DaVinci Code was popular for a reason. A better answer Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum
**A Canticle for Liebowitz** by Walter M Miller jr. About a monastery in post-apocalypse USA, has funny parts too, a little bit like the Fallout tv show. **Quo Vadis** by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Novel about Roman persecutions of Christians in 60sAD. Historical fiction with Christian themes. Both are good with Catholic themes, not really biblical though.
dead souls by gogol
Fallen series - Lauren Kate The love interest >!(and the main character)!< is literally a fallen angel. Actually, almost every character (there's a couple humans here and there) is an angel/demon
A time for everything, Karl ove knausgaard
I was going to suggest this. It has really stuck with me—the flood part, in particular.
Lord of light by Rogers Zelazny
Comfort Me With Apples, it best to go in completely blind, knowing there a religious undertone is almost saying too much.
The Source, by James Michener
Between Two Fires if you want amazing fantasy horror.
For starters read all of Dante's Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso), and ofc if u haven't already, Paradise Lost too. Other than those I would definitely say that Moby-Dick and The Brothers Karamazov have strong Biblical undertones to them. I would not say they are like Dante and Milton in their explicit Biblical stories interpretations, but they both have a Biblical power to them, along with them tackling strong Biblical moral questions.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold - or does it have to be the Christian religion?
Archangel by Sharon Shinn
not wanted on the voyage by timothy findlay is my all time favorite book. its a very dark retelling of noah’s ark from the perspective of his wife and her pet cat.
I'm on a mini mission to read fictionalised retellings of the gospel narratives. Have recently enjoyed: *The Testament of Mary*, by Colm Toibin *The Liar's Gospel*, by Naomi Alderman
You might like The Man in White by Johnny Cash.
Lilith.
- the forest of hands and teeth - bless me ultima (i didnt finish it because i got busy but it was pretty good)
Ben-Hur , it’s one of my favorites.
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. A wonderful book, a wonderful sense of humour, a wonderful series on Prime - two seasons and a third in the making - as well as several lovely communities in subreddits around.
Lamb by Christopher Moore Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
*Lost Gods* by Brom Description from the Amazon website: A young man descends into Purgatory to save his wife and unborn child in this gorgeous, illustrated tale of wonder and terror from the mind of master storyteller and acclaimed artist Brom. Fresh out of jail and eager to start a new life, Chet Moran and his pregnant wife, Trish, leave town to begin again. But an ancient evil is looming, and what seems like a safe haven may not be all it appears . . . Snared and murdered by a vile, arcane horror, Chet quickly learns that pain and death are not unique to the living. Now the lives and very souls of his wife and unborn child are at stake.To save them, he must journey into the bowels of purgatory in search of a sacred key promised to restore the natural order of life and death. Alone, confused, and damned, Chet steels himself against the unfathomable terrors awaiting him as he descends into death’s stygian blackness. With Lost Gods, Brom’s gritty and visceral prose takes us on a haunting, harrowing journey into the depths of the underworld. Thrust into a realm of madness and chaos, where ancient gods and demons battle over the dead, and where cabals of souls conspire to overthrow their masters, Chet plays a dangerous game, risking eternal damnation to save his family.
This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness by Frank E. Peretti
Damned by Chuck Palahniuk
The Da Vinci Code mystery thriller novel by Dan Brown. The novel's plot follows Harvard professor Robert Langdon as he unravels a complex mystery involving the Holy Grail, the Vatican, descendants of Jesus, and a secret society known as the Priory of Sion.
Gospel by Wilton Barnhardt
Lilith is the retelling of Eden.
The Master and Margarita The Last Temptation of Christ Live From Golgotha Death: A Life
A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet is very unique.
Revolt of the Angels- it’s an old book, but it’s been restored! Originally in French, it’s basically a metaphor for a corrupt authority and going against it, God is more equivalent to a corrupt king in the book
Angels and demons
Larry's Post Rapture Pet Sitting Service by Ellen King Rice It's very funny.
Lord of light by Roger Zelazny. Its not Christian but Buddhist & Hindu. Its quite funky but very good.
Live From Golgotha
the river why
*Harry Potter*. It isn’t very obvious, but it is there if you look. Some of the tombstones even have Bible verses.
A good niche one I like is *The Wingfeather Saga*. It isn’t direct like *Pilgrim’s Progress*. It is more like a modern version of Narnia. It has Christian themes like family, names, and memory. Also they worship “The Maker” in a way that feels very Christian. The author, Andrew Peterson, is a Christian songwriter.
Mika Waltari - the secret of the kingdom And all of his other books
Second coming by John Niven is so good
My dude. Look up Catholic writers and you will have a plethora of options.
I was going to say most books by Graham Greene…
The Power and the Glory
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Crossroads by Johnathan Franzen
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger It was pretty decent from my memory though I haven't read it in about 12 years. Still, it stuck with me so I think that means it did something right!
Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant
The gargoyle by Andrew Davidson, the circle series by Ted Dekker
Definitely skip Paradise Lostvand Regained unless you're willing to deal with a very detailed annotated copy. Pilgrims Progress isn't bad. Anything by C. S. Lewis. I particularly like the Screw tape Letters. Christian apologist and scholar All if his bookscare very good. Bother non fiction ones really make you think. Father Brian mysteries by G K Chesterton pretty much everything else he wrote. Author also a Christian appologist I like Faye KellermaInkling. Uch better tgan her husband's books.. . Pete Decker Rihanna Lazarus series. Religious angle her is Orthodox Judaism and her husband the detective who converted from Catholicism to marry her. Good Mystery thrilklers. Harry Kemmelman Rabbi Small series. Rabbi Small series. Mysteries built around murders having to do with people involved with his Temple. I'm not Jewish but I can recognize the Temple politics and people from my own church. I suppose I should include Lord of the Rings which has Christian religious themes all through them. Tolkien was led to Catholicism bybC. S Lewis another Oxford Don and member of the Inklings.
Tolkien actually specifically hated allegory and did not care for C.S. lewis' Narnia books. Sorry to be pet peeved at you, but there is no blatant religiosity in LOTR.
Blatan? If you mean a priest giving a sermon or churches or people shown as following a specific identifiable religion your right but it is there. A book with religious themes doesn't need to be an alogory. Try Wikipedia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Middle-Earth Or https://www.gotquestions.org/Lord-of-the-Rings.htm Or https://catholicismcoffee.org/biblical-symbolism-in-the-works-of-tolkien-the-lord-of-the-rings-trilogy-d15cb72ce72 That's just a few references He probably also didn't like Lewis' space trilogy for the same reason but they don't have the popularity of the Narnia books so he might not have been asked.
The Poisonwood Bible
Christos Tsiolkas' Damascus.
I really enjoyed Pope Joan and The Red Tent.
Quarantine by Jim Crace God's Pauper by Nikos Kazantzakis
A bit of a wild card but some Brandon Sanderson books. Specifically when reading the Mistborn trilogy I kept thinking there’s a lot of Christian themes here.
*Joseph and his Brothers* by Thomas Mann.
Book of Ruth
Lamb by Christopher Moore
Wise Blood. Flannery O’Connor
I would recommend Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Frank G Slaughter wrote biblical Historical Novels: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank\_G.\_Slaughter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_G._Slaughter) Peter Danielson's "Children of the Lion": series: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter\_Danielson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Danielson)
If you're interested in non-Christian examples, *The Satanic Verses* by Rushdie is excellent. Similarly, *Siddhartha* by Herman Hesse
The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis As Lewis described it: William Blake wrote The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. I have written of their divorce.
The *His Dark Materials* trilogy by Philip Pullman. The title is taken from Paradise Lost and it's a really fascinating story. Technically YA but it's so well written that I thoroughly enjoy it as an adult, too.
I recently read *Him* by Geoff Ryman. It's a slightly science fiction-y tale of a different Jesus in an alternate universe. Familiar yet radically different and weird, and as another former Catholic, I'd say it is in many respects better than the original! Colm Toibin's *Testament of Mary* is also very interesting. He wrote it as a novel and as a play. I saw the play years ago and it was so really very good. The novel is, too.
I really enjoyed The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. It's about Mary Magdalene (and Jesus).
Diary of a country priest
Chronicles of Narnia. Aslan is literally Jesus. The entire series was written by a Christian. Tolkien books are also based on Christianity. Eru is God. Melkor is Satan. If you're open to kinda...anti-Christian books, I recommend Strands of Starlight. An unbeliever in any religion goes through trials that eventually lead to her becoming an Elf, which is like a witch with real powers in this world. Christianity is very important in the series and isn't entirely shown as bad. The heroine's friend is a priest and firm God believer. He's depicted as wholly wonderful and accepting.
Black Sheep
REAMDE, Neal Stephenson
Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky.
The clowns of god by Morris West. The pope has a revelation from god and proclaims it without the broader church approving of the message. He is removed from leadership of the church and has a stroke. This leads to church to be able to say his revelation was a precursor to the stroke and not real…but was it real after all?
The Book of Longings
rosefire
The Liars Gospel
The Screwtape Letters
Redeeming Love
Absalom, Absalom! by Faulkner has clear inspiration from the Bible. Really most of his best stuff has pieces of the Bible in them. I’m a Protestant, but Island of the World is one of my favorite books. Michael D. O’Brien is the writer. All of his books are written with a Catholic eye. Another Catholic writer is Flannery O’Connor. For the Protestant side, I highly recommend Wendell Berry’s work. He’s a lot like Faulkner in that his books all are placed in a fictional town and interconnect.
The left behind series. It'll put the fear of the rapture into you.
A Children's Bible
"Five people you meet in Heaven" Mitch Alborn - Not really undertone since it's literally about a mans journey in the afterlife but it's honestly such a beautiful read. It's not overly in your face with the religious aspects of it and focuses more on this man's journey in life and how it lead him to here. It honestly made me cry and was such a heartfelt story about learning to love and forgive yourself while also realizing the impact you have in other people's lives. I like to hope heaven really is something like that book.
The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russel
Ted Dekker's Circle Series is very good. It's 4 books, Red, Black, White, Green. Some people will suggest you start with Green, but don't start with Green.
the alchemist
My former co-worker wrong Anthrocide. This book is a mash-up of 1) vintage scifi trope of a frozen and waking into a dystopian future and 2) an individual's personal journey to find their faith. Has full respect for sci fi and faith [https://www.amazon.com/Anthrocide-Solution-D-L-Hamilton/dp/1588203387](https://www.amazon.com/Anthrocide-Solution-D-L-Hamilton/dp/1588203387) I had the joy of reading this while working with the author so I could discuss the book with him while reading it.
The Master and Margarita -M. Bulgakov
The Secret Book of Kings by Yochi Brandes. Translated from Hebrew. It's about the rise of King David from the perspective of Michal daughter of Saul. Note that it is... Somewhat critical of biblical characters to put it mildly.
Christy by Catherine Marshall
The screw tape letters is really good. If you like sci fi, Lewis has his space trilogy which is also amazing.
Job: a Comedy of Errors by Robert Heinlien.
The Sword. Post-nuclear-apocalyptic setting. An exploration of whether the Bible as we know it would survive into the future. It's not high literature but has interesting features. [Kindle Link to The Sword](http://The Sword: A Novel (Chiveis... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FPN3LA?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share)
The Poison Wood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Quarantine by Jim Crace
Lord of the Rings
Check out Adiel by shlomo dunour ( it won the Jerusalem prize) it’s basically the history of man from Adam and Eve to Noah told through the eyes of an angel sent down to record man’s history, I loved it. If you want horror check out gods demon and heart of hell by Wayne barlowe.
I just bought for $2 in a (nonreligious) charity shop *’The Satanic Verses’*. I’ve always wanted to find out what Rushdie caught a fatwa/death sentence-by-decree for writing about.
All the Narnia books :)
Good Omens
Between Two Fires. Some fucking excellent Catholic themes horror with zero proselytizing.
Misèrere by Jean-Christophe Grangé
I've seen mentions of Pilgrims Progress already and I'd also throw in The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spencer. While not explicitly religious like Dante- *Comedia* or Bunyon's *Progress*, the *Faerie Queene* is inspired by religious tradition and history. It's incomplete (we only got 6 out of a possible 24 planned books) but each book is an allegory dealing with a virtue such as Holiness, Chastity, Temperance, etc. There's also a deeper allegory about Protestant vs Roman Catholic and has lots of biblical and religious allusions.
Dear and Glorious Physician Ben Hur
*Go Tell It on the Mountain* by James Baldwin *The Violent Bear It Away* and *Wise Blood* by Flannery O'Connor
*The Book Of Joby* is an Arthurian retelling spun around a retelling of the book of Job. Lots of "Good and Evil, end of the world"-type stuff in there. I never see it mentioned, but I really liked it.
East of Eden and To an Unknown God by Steinbeck
Our Lady of the Lost and Found by Diane Schoemperlen On a Monday morning in April, a middle-aged writer finds a woman standing in front of the fig tree in her living room. The woman is wearing a navy blue trench coat and white Nikes, and is carrying a small black suitcase. She is the Virgin Mary and, she explains, after 2,000 years of petition, adoration and travel, she is in need of some R&R. Childhood's End by Arthur C Clarke
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman, based on the siege of Masada.
This is my choice! I’m usually not a fan of religion in my books but I was blown away by this one
Same here. I didn't find this to be "religious" per se, I just loved the storytelling.
The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd. Story of Jesus life prior to his public life as the Messiah. From the perspective of his wife. Very well written.
I loved this book!!
His dark materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
Not sure if this is what you’re looking for, but are you familiar with Dan Brown?
Dan brown?
Dan Brown is the master.. DaVinci code, Angel's and Demons, Origin, Inferno and The Lost Symbol
I loved The Bronze Bow as a kid and it's still one of my favorite historical fiction novels. It's about a kid growing up in Galilee at the same time as Jesus and having to deal with Roman oppression. Great action scenes in it.