The Merciful Rebuke Satan

Book excerpt: The Merciful Rebuke Satan: The Short Stories And Searing Vision of Howard Riell, is a collection of 59 eclectic, off-beat, startlingly original short stories. They vary to an amazing degree - from variations on Biblical and even Shakespearean texts to parody, pathos, drama, and outright slapstick comedy. Some will make readers laugh out loud, others cry, still others freeze in terror. Among the tales Riell spins: A demon rises from the murky depths of hell and vows to please his master by killing a saintly rabbi A pair of renowned Hasidic rebbes try a bit too hard to impress the prophet Elijah when they encounter him on the side of a lonely country road An old woman's lifetime of anguish ends with a single, horrifying scream A man comes face to face with the crushing realization that he must finally acknowledge the daughter he's never met A man attains wisdom -- and the power of prophecy -- in the final moments of his life amid a rush-hour crowd on the New York City subway The still-hidden Messiah pens some of his most intimate thoughts World famous "psychic detective" Harvey Noodleman fights the farces of evil in a quintet of wacky stories