Title: In The Beginning: The Early Days of Religious Beliefs
Author: Jamie Reyes
Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 9781643618289
Genre: Fiction, Historical
Pages: 119
Reviewed by: Arthur Thares

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At first glance I thought this would be a non-fiction novel about spirituality, but it turned out to be a wonderful fictional account of the beginning of religion. The author envisions the sparks of belief in deities as far back as the Neanderthals. His imagination alone in the creation of gods is enough to keep a reader interested, but it is only one facet of an incredibly interesting read.

The story begins with a Neanderthal named Og. The author, possibly purposefully, never reveals Og’s age but we are lead to believe he is old for a being of his kind. Knowing that he is too old to be a hunter, but not yet ready to move on to the great beyond, Og devises a plan to trick his village into believing in gods that he can communicate with to put himself in revered standing. Og’s plan works better than he could have ever imagined. The old Neanderthal quickly becomes a revered member of his community, and with it comes both accolades and jealousy.

As a newly revered member of his community, Og gets attention like never before, and he soon chooses a mate and starts a family. As Og’s family grows so does his influence in his tribe and the neighboring peoples. He and his family continue to build the lore of their God’s and share it with their people. The spiritual aspect of this book almost takes a back seat as we explore further worlds, new beings, and the genealogy of Og and the rest of his tribe. If there is one thing that I didn’t like about the book, it was the loose timeline that sometimes felt too short and others too long.

I did not always love the tempo of the author’s writing, but he always delivered. After reading a short bio in this book, it is easy to see that he has led an interesting life, and he injects his experienced worldview into his fiction. The book itself was not complicated, but it tackled many complex ideas in a simple manner.

I think that Jaime Reyes has not yet reached his peak in storytelling. He is a natural and needs only to polish a few structural areas of his writing. I look forward to reading more by this author, and I hope that he will continue to share his imagination with the world.
It is hard to place this book in a single genre because it casts such a wide net. While there are some aspects of this book that I didn’t love, I deeply enjoyed the story. In actuality, I would love to see this book adapted into a movie. Until that time, I endorse this book as a fantastically fun read that lays somewhere between fiction and reality and plays with themes of love, violence, and one man’s theory of the origins of religion.