The Holy

By Daniel Quinn

They knew us before we began to walk upright. Shamans called them guardians, mythmakers called them tricksters, pagans called them gods, churchmen called them demons, folklorists called them shape-shifters. They’ve obligingly taken any role we’ve assigned them, and, while needing nothing from us, have accepted whatever we thought was their due – love, hate, fear, worship, condemnation, neglect, oblivion. 
Even in modern times, when their existence is doubted or denied, they continue to extend invitations to those who would travel a different road, a road not found on any of our cultural maps. But now, perceiving us as a threat to life itself, they issue their invitations with a dark purpose of their own. In this dazzling metaphysical thriller, four who put themselves in the hands of these all-but-forgotten Others venture across a sinister American landscape hidden from normal view, finding their way to interlocking destinies of death, terror, transcendental rapture, and shattering enlightenment.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9781581952391

Reviews for The Holy

[giglio5danny · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"The Holy" , first and foremost, beautifully interweaves the storylines of (perhaps 10?) different characters. This alone is an incredible feat of the author, and reason enough to give the book a read. It tells the tale of an old man who hires a detective to find out why the Jews abandoned their old Gods some 2000 years ago. This seems an impossible task at frist, but the detective slowy uncovers the true identity of these "gods" left behind by the semites, and the magnitude of the situation at hand. The entertaining plot alone keeps the reader turning the pages. Simultaneously, the reader searches to discover not only the answer to the detective's question, but also the underlying theme that we know Quinn is using the book to put forward.In summary, the book provides an enthralling plot, while at the same time revealing an important message Quinn wishes to tell the reader regarding the ideas outlined in the "Ishmael Trilogy".

[chadreasco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Somehow this guy wrote a paranormal detective story that doesn't act all that paranormal. Quinn doesn't bother over a debate as to what these "others" or "gods" are, which is always disappointing, but there's so much examination as to how individuals would react to sudden changes in their moral compasses and the world they understand, I wonder how he kept this as a novel. Comparing it to Story of B and Ishmael, I didn't think he had it in him. Read this to enjoy a series of obscure allegories playing with concepts that we, day in and day out, consider as real as dirt. Although I still don't understand what half of them mean. The other half are perfect, but the transitions between these ideas is not so fluid, which might be a strength for Quinn's purposes, but doesn't play with the conventional idea of what makes a good piece of fiction. Also, what the hell is that timid middle-finger exposition at the end of the book; if you don't like objectivity, don't write in the third person, okay, Dan? Christ.

[codenameevan · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

You know, The Holy is pretty much where Daniel Quinn jumped the shark for me. I loved Ishmael and My Ishmael. I liked Story of B and Beyond Civilization. The Holy, however, just didn't work. It didn't suck or anything, though people not pre-inclined to agree with Quinn might disagree. It just wasn't that good. The story was 'whatever,' and the philosophical underpinnings, usually the high point of a Quinn book, were some pretty weak tea.