These are the second two reviews I promised, again, by two of my favourite bloggers.
Firstly The Shameful Narcissist Speaks, link here, who writes about gaming, books and her own writing projects. If you’re a Final Fantasy fan, then you definitely have to pay her a visit. Or if you’re just fond of good writing and cats. Here’s her review.
If you want to delve into the machinations of how a cult can draw in and take over “normal” people, this is the book you want to read. Looking at it from the outside, it’s easy to see what’s going on, but if you really want to believe something because you have nothing else, you will. That’s how these kinds of people prey on the most vulnerable. This novel is a disturbing journey, but that’s what makes it worth the read.
And last but not least, Darnell Cureton’s Writing Block, link here, who writes stories and explores writing ideas, always an entertaining read. His latest story, The Dreamers Door was brilliant, a dark, twisting tale. And the review for my book!
The novel PEDDLING DOOMSDAY by Petra Jacob is a fascinating read. It tells the story of normal people, like you and me searching for a better life. People searching for purpose, for meaning in their lives. Peddling Doomsday tells the story of vulnerable people recruited into a religious cult.
Induction into The Center Of Truth is a gradual process. Our protagonist Deirdre, unhappy with her marketing job, starts reading their media: ‘Youdon’t know how significant you are. We Need You.’ In time she was convinced someone needed her for a higher calling.
Psychology, emotional manipulations, and external stimuli inevitably convinced Deirdre and other followers to sever ties with the outside world. Isolation of recruits leads to reliance on ranking cult members like the Captain, as they are stripped of outside support.
To prevent hiding behind your flaws, followers replaced given names with Cinnamon, Cabbage, Bear, Night and Torque.
Cult jargon – Interference, Brilliance, The Shadows, The Elite, and Defts – only true believers understood the meaning. This cultivated a sense of exclusiveness among members. Everyone wanted to be a believer, to be in the inner circle.
The story tells of Myra, the cult leader sharing the truth that has been revealed to her. She has the answers as to who is really running the world and why a great fight is coming. Deirdre begins to mentally question the soundness of the sect as she is instructed to perform odd rituals. Her paranoia increases while she tries to separate reality from delusion. This story is fiction, but could very well be today’s reality. For that, Peddling Doomsday gets 5 stars – or 5 spectacular Defts as I compel you to like this post.
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inkbiotic 
I like how we both used “normal people.” It shows how scary it is. You think you won’t be taken in, but you just start seeing it as normal and rational, and that’s what’s so unsettling.
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I’m really glad I got that right, I wanted it to make sense why she got so involved. When I researched, I found there’s no real personality type that gets sucked into a cult. It can be anybody who’s at a vulnerable moment in their life. So yes, normal people, it’s great you both picked up on that 🙂
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