War in Heaven

By: Charles Williams

Narrated by: David Pickering

A battle over the most sacred object in Christendom...

In the tiny English village of Fardles, a practitioner of black magic has located the Holy Graal in the sacristy of the local Anglican church. Intent on possessing it so as to amplify his own nefarious powers, he tries to trick its guardian into donating it. When that fails, he resorts to theft.

Thus begins a tug-of-war between powers infernal and celestial, between a magician who would use the Sacred as an instrument of his own will, and an Archdeacon who seeks to protect and preserve what is sacramental and holy.

Along the way, Williams reveals the tug-of-war within us all — the interplay of desire and Desire, the polarity of possession and sacrifice...and the significant gray areas in between.

War in Heaven is the first novel Williams published, and also the most comic. It is everything you’ve come to expect from a Williams novel — suspense, supernatural danger, and a mysticism so real, good, and terrible that nothing can stand against it.

©1930 Bruce Hunter (P)2021 John Mabry

A Good Man

This is my favorite book. The Archdeacon is such a good character. He shines as star in Heaven.

A Theological Adventure in Which Mercy Triumphs

Charles Williams is a master of mixing adventure with theology. Here is a detective story that opens with a man mysteriously murdered, that turns into a spiritual battle over the Holy Grail, after a gentle archdeacon discovers it in his village church. Williams' portrayals of the Satanist Gregory and his black magic are certainly disturbing, particularly Gregory's plan to steal and sacrifice a four-year-old boy. However it is impossible to not know what side Williams is on. Is it "dangerous" to know what one is up against? The final scene of the book is the triumphant Christian characters praying and praising God in a church! This is the opposite of many British detective stories, in which the murderer turns out to be the priest. I wonder in fact if this is why Williams' novels have not been made into movies like Lewis' and Tolkien's fantasy: Williams' are even more blatantly Christian. There is some racist language from one of the characters, but not a savory fellow to begin with. Mr. Pickering reads the different voices so well.

Outstanding performance

Fun thriller, a mix of Wheatley and Bulldog Drummond, which also looks forward to The Da Vinci Code.

The performer Pickering does a fine job with a large group of characters.

5 stars

A classic performed brilliantly

Charles Williams is not well known today and so he’s not fully appreciated. He was a poet and himself dabbled in the occult, this story has the compelling features of one who knows the subject matter well, theologically and culturally.

A favorite book, well read.

I enjoy Charles Williams’ novels. They may not be for everybody. To each their own! I look forward to listening to the other Audible titles by CW.

An audacious story

As with Charles Williams' other writings, this is a bold and visual story that isn't predictable.

I feel like I have to read it again to get all the details portrayed.

Recommend.

I like it as an audiobook

I like it as an audiobook, which is saying something, because I didn't like it when I read it in print. I'm not a fan of C.S. Lewis either. But with this audiobook I like Charles Williams a little more than Lewis. The reader's performance is fine. I'm going to be listening to this book repeatedly.

Don’t be fooled by inkling title

So if you came to Williams because you found out he’s a lesser known inkling author (like I did), tread carefully. Williams was heavily involved in occult secret society and this is saturated in War in Heaven. The focus is on holy objects, mysticism, divine power, satanism, rituals, and symbolism. I did enjoy the way Williams writes, it’s poetic and the narration was amazing. I also enjoyed the dry British humor. However, as a Christian I couldn’t shake the uncomfortableness with the focus on mysticism. And I think it’s bad theology is dangerous.