by Harold Robbins
The novel's main character is called "Preacher" by everyone who knows him. He says he's supposed to tell people about God's love. He enjoys sex with female followers, smokes dope and even does some dealing. When he hooks up with a rich, bigoted Texan who builds the preacher a sort of religious Disneyland, the charismatic hero becomes a TV star. As usual, Robbins has unearthed his characters and much of his plot in the celebrities and events of the last few years. But the author has no understanding of how people with real religious convictions, or any other people, feel and behave. This is trash, crude as a comic strip—as easy to read and as vital. Read it if you must, but don't let any sincere churchgoer see a copy. The ending is an especially tasteless, exploitive blasphemy. (Simon and Schuster, $14.95)
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