Flood comes at you like a storm. There’s a simplicity to its tumult, a feral edge to its beauty. Nor does it break when you expect. In this telling of Brennan McPherson, the saga of Noah opens not with the voice of God, but with the torches of the God-King, demonic ruler of an antediluvian Earth. His plot to thwart the Almighty depends upon a pitiless harrowing of the family chosen to redeem mankind. The struggle is generational and the stakes apocalyptic, but the battleground is in the heart, the objective in the mind. Can even a righteous man withstand the onslaught of such provocation? This second installment in the Fall of Man series is a tour de force of character drama. Strong personalities, vivid descriptions, and lifelike dialogue steady the reader amidst ravaging action and deceptively placid interludes.

Best for: Adults eager to examine those old bloodstains behind the flannelgraph.

Discern: Strong violence, sexual references, non-graphic nudity, brief language, realistic depictions of intense grief and rage.