This is a review of the book, Dropping the God Bomb 2.0. The review was featured at Suite101.com's Reading & Lit Center, and in its e-newsletter. The book is a controversial look at religious and evolutionary theories in the wake of theistic evolution.

Author Teddy Lee Brown has given us a hero in serious need of behavior modification. In chapter two, our hero Greg spews insults directed at his wife Debbie. She questions why she must give up personal plans in order to leave for Buffalo with him on short notice. Although his insults are weak attempts at avoiding her questions, they will leave you with the understanding Greg is not far from being a devil incarnate. The entire book subsequently centers on what is known as “the find” in Buffalo. Greg - strict evolutionist and poster child for repressed trauma – feels he must “defraud the find,” or there might be “a global holy war.”

A conference is being presented in Buffalo concerning “the find.” As it turns out, it is the discovery of the actual remains of Adam, Eve, and Abel. Questions from all sides of the biblical coin abound, and the author presents his best case through Greg’s old science buddy Billy Lee. Billy resides in Buffalo, and has invited Greg and Debbie to stay with him for the conference. The case is as follows: if there are only a few transition fossils – fossils that complete the link of one species to another - “punk-eke” (punctuated equilibrium) is prevalent. Translation: an explosion of quick change in species like ourselves. Further translation: there may have been a creator who created Adam, Eve, and Abel to begin our species.

Enter Bear, a supernatural shaman who can transform himself into material or immaterial form. He is Billy’s guardian, who knows all there is to know about Greg’s rudimentary psyche, and who keeps him in line while Billy is dropping his “god bomb” to those concerned. “Those concerned” include strict-evolutionist Greg, and Reverend Jack Frye, right-wing evangelist whose wallet is bigger than his morals. With the two opposites going head-to-head, debate is inevitable.

The arguments that occur to serve the various sides of the coin are at times so heated, hysteria is reached. Jack Frye throws his hands in the air, exclaiming, “Thank you, Jesus” every time a Frye follower claims they have faith in his ministry. His son believes it is a lot of hooey for a lot of money, and he shows his outrage by forcing his father to wake up and smell the money during angry confrontations in his father’s hotel room. Then there are two quibbling nuns, Sister Anne and Sister Mary, who do so with the adorable integrity of Disney characters. Their harmless bickering concerns Sister Anne’s prior kicking of a hockey player’s groin (for righteous reasons).

These events may sound ludicrous for a book that calls religion into question, but the silliness somehow works to create three-dimensional characters struggling with controversy.

The question of where Bear fits into the debate is up for grabs. He is godlike, able to control obnoxious people’s thinking through whispered threats only they can hear. Perhaps he is God’s messenger? We are never told in this book (another book soon to follow).

Finally, there is some stunning imagery worthy of mention. It is of Buffalo’s Niagara Falls. While Greg is at the conference, Billy takes Debbie there for pleasant diversion. They are on wooden planks nearly touching the falls. Debbie rubs the mist of water into her skin, feeling its youthful powers, thus suggesting higher forces are at work.

By book’s end, we are convinced Jesus not only existed, he fully intended the bible to be interpreted symbolically (“last days” meaning “last years,’ for instance). This interpretation is so convincing: at one point, Billy Lee reaffirms the idea by stating that the masses, through time, have understood the bible because of its simplicity.

One last subplot needs a limelight. I’ve saved it for last, as its true eminence isn’t presented till the end. It has to do with Greg facing his own molested spirit, accomplished so by a bible-shoving father. It is best put from Billy’s mouth: “…hopefully [through spiritual change], Greg’s future efforts are going to help allow us to end the ongoing feud between the scientific and religious communities, and make an enlightened peace possible. A peace we believe to be absolutely essential in helping the human race cope and deal with the myriad of issues facing us in the 21st century."

I must confess, this last idea seems a long shot, even with Bear’s close watch over Greg, but this book has proven long shots can be rationalized in new ways. All in all, this is a heated, unpredictable book in which the reader is hanging on the edge of their seat for the next character’s explosive reaction. The only fault is in unpolished editing. There is the occasional misspelling and period where it doesn't belong, yet you will still be immersed in this plot. The next book potentially addresses questions this book doesn’t (such as, is Bear from another planet? Universe? Realm?).