Bruce Von Stiers

What would happen if a group of angels defied God and struck out on their own? What would be the results? That is part of the plot of a novel by author Keith Rommel. This novel is titled Sardurvial Dissenting. This soon to be published novel has a real interesting take on our faith structures.

In the first segment of the novel we are introduced to Sardurvial. He has been beaten and is hiding out. Who and what is he? He is found by a nurse, Faye, who has her own share of tragedies. She is overworked, has a bad back, and is terribly lonely. Faye finds a man in the stairway of her apartment building. This man is Sardurvial, who tells her that his name is Sam. For the time being, all Faye knows is that this is a beautiful man who has been hunted and beaten. She will try to protect him, even though this is not something that she would normally do.

We also get to see what has brought Sardurvial to this point in his life. There is someone he calls Father. Sardurvial had blindly followed the Father and now found that this was not the way things were supposed to be. This entity that Sardurvial calls Father goes by another name. That name is Satan. We learn that Sardurvial is an angel who went with Satan out of Heaven.

Other characters that are introduced into the story are Faye’s sister Megan and Jaiden Michael, Megan’s little boy. Megan has left her abusive husband and his a lot of struggles in her life. But Faye also has had struggles. She has lost her husband. That is why she is so hesitant about the man she knows as Sam. Could she really get involved with someone who is surely in trouble and is very mysterious?

The story goes back and forth between the present day and 2,000 B.C. This is when the events of Sardurvial ‘s life begin to progress and merge into the present. We find out about a group of angels that are becoming disillusioned with what God is doing with the humans on Earth. So what do they do? They strike out on their own. And their leader? None other than Satan. These other angels don’t really know the ultimate plans that Satan has for them and for himself. They follow Satan and perform acts on his behalf, not really knowing the repercussions. But when Sardurvial deviates from his instructions on one occasion, he discovers what it means to have pain and agony. Now he wants to come back home to Heaven and be forgiven by God.

The underlying storyline of the novel is the reason Satan really left Heaven and why he causes so much grief and pain in the lives of the humans. Faye, Megan, Jaiden Michael and Sardurvial become pawns in the battle between Satan and God.

The concept of fallen angels repenting and wanting to get back into Heaven isn’t exactly new. But Keith Rommel has a really interesting spin on what could happen if one of Satan’s minions want to come back to God. The novel also deals with one of my favorite theological discussion subjects, Free Will. Do we really have Free Will or does God just let us think that we do? Keith puts this whole discussion into a different light with Sardurvial Dissenting.

Good versus evil and God versus Satan are age old subjects. They have been written about in numerous way throughout time. But I have never read anything that treated these subjects quite the way that Sardurvial Dissenting does. Keith Rommel has a very active imagination and presents a compelling story of the struggle between God and his fallen angel, Satan.

I haven’t been told an actual publication date for Sardurvial Dissenting. But it should hit store shelves sometime in the near future. Pick up a copy and check it out. The novel will be well worth your effort to read it.