The Spider in the Laurel (Rafael Ward)

In Tomorrow's America, Belief is the New Enemy.Even a Silent Prayer can get you Black-Bagged.In the Citizen's Republic of America, religion is outlawed. Historian Rafael Ward is a good citizen, teaching students the government approved narrative of the nation's history. But when he is tasked by Relic Enforcement Command with destroying the artifacts he cherishes, he begins to question the regime's motives and soon finds himself caught up in a secret revolution. It will take the uncompromising faith of an outlaw Believer as an ally, and the acceptance of his guilt for his mother's death, to help Ward break free of the government's yoke. If he's lucky, he might also prevent an apocalyptic future for which his secular world is completely unprepared. The Spider in the Laurel questions the methods of both governmental authority and those attempting to subvert the status quo. It presents two unique visions: a new, never-before-heard fairy tale; and an alternate creation mythos inspired by Genesis and other ancient and Dark Age mythologies.*****"A fascinating dystopian tale from one of speculative fiction's rising stars." C.T. Phipps, author of Lucifer’s Star"Michael Pogach’s debut novel THE SPIDER IN THE LAUREL plays with conventions of the thriller genre in a post-religion dystopia that thrusts history professor Rafe Ward into a global scavenger hunt for religious relics that aren’t supposed to exist. Pogach deftly breathes life into his characters, including and into vivid American and European locales while maintaining a non-stop pace that has Rafe questioning everything he knows as he struggles to survive."Amara Royce, author of NEVER TOO LATE, ALWAYS A STRANGER, and ONCE BELOVED