Black Easter and The Day After Judgment by James Blish
"Black Easter" and "The Day After Judgment" are two interconnected novels by author James Blish, forming part of the "After Such Knowledge" trilogy, which explores complex theological themes such as innocence, sin, knowledge, and power. In this narrative, magic is portrayed as a tangible force, with both white and black magic operating under a mysterious covenant that allows certain interactions between them, including the ability for priests to observe demonic summoning. The story begins with an American businessman, Baines, who seeks the help of an expatriate magician, Theron Ware, to commit a murder using a demon, leading to a catastrophic event where forty-eight demons are unleashed during an Easter ritual.
The plot escalates into a battle between Heaven and Hell, as characters grapple with the consequences of their actions and the emerging chaos that follows. The story incorporates elements from Dante Alighieri's "Inferno" and John Milton's "Paradise Lost," with the appearance of Pandemonium and Satan who claims a divinely assumed role in God's absence. The conclusion is ambiguous, leaving the characters in a state of spiritual potential amidst the ruins of their confrontation with evil. This exploration invites readers to reflect on the nature of good and evil, the role of humanity in a divine context, and the implications of wielding power over life and death.
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Black Easter and The Day After Judgment
First published:Black Easter (1968) and The Day After Judgment (1971)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Fantasy—apocalypse
Time of work: The late twentieth century
Locale: Primarily Italy and California’s Death Valley
The Plot
James Blish considered Black Easter and The Day After Judgment to be one narrative unit. As one unit, they are part of the After Such Knowledge trilogy (1991), which also includes A Case of Conscience (1958) and Doctor Mirabilis (1964). The three parts of the trilogy are connected more by theme than by plot. Doctor Mirabilis is a historical novel about thirteenth century scholar Roger Bacon; A Case of Conscience is a science-fiction novel about an alien society that seems to be free of sin. All the books deal with theological themes of innocence, sin, knowledge, and power.
In Black Easter and The Day After Judgment, traditional European ceremonial magic actually works. This magic requires summoning spirits or demons. Both “white” (good) magic and “black” (evil) magic exist. White magicians have limited power and call on demi-urges. Black magicians have extensive power obtained through the use of demons. A covenant governs the relationship between white magic and black magic. Blish is vague about the precise terms of the covenant, but it allows a priest to be an observer at the summoning of demons as long as he does not interfere with the ceremony. Blish’s “Author’s Note” explains that he has tried to present magic as it would be if it were real, using historical sources. Blish also cautions that he has not presented enough information for readers to attempt the rituals for themselves.
In Black Easter, an American businessman named Baines approaches an expatriate magician, Theron Ware, who lives in Italy. Baines is accompanied by his special executive assistant, Jack Ginsberg. As a test of Ware’s powers, Baines wants him to commit an untraceable murder, with a demon as the killer. After the success of two test murders, Baines commissions Ware to “let all the major demons out of Hell for one night.” Another major character, Father Domenico, belongs to a religious order that practices white magic, primarily treasure hunting. Father Domenico’s order sends him to observe the ritual commissioned by Baines. On Easter, Baines conjures forty-eight demons, unleashing Armageddon. When Ware tries to send the demons back to Hell, Satan appears and mocks him. Father Domenico’s crucifix explodes in his hand. Black Easter ends with three sinister words, “God is dead.”
As The Day After Judgment begins, Baines, Ware, and Domenico try to deal with the triumph of Hell in the final battle against Heaven. Simultaneously, at Strategic Air Command headquarters in the United States, General D. Willis McKnight and various scientists try to understand what has happened in the nuclear exchange that was part of Armageddon. General McKnight and his aides discover that the City of Dis, the fortified lower circles of Hell in Dante Alighieri’s Inferno (part 1 of The Divine Comedy, c. 1320), has appeared in California’s Death Valley. An intense military assault upon the walls of Dis ends in defeat.
Baines, Ginsberg, Ware, and Domenico travel separately to the United States. They meet in Death Valley and together enter Dis. At its center, they find Pandemonium (thus combining poet John Milton’s Hell with Dante’s). At the center of Pandemonium, they find Satan. Speaking in Miltonic verse, Satan informs them that, in God’s absence, he has been forced to take on the divine role. He begs them to take it from him, saying that God had always intended humans to assume divine status. The novel ends ambiguously: After Satan’s verse monologue, Dis vanishes, and the men are left in the desert. The narrative suggests that they have been spiritually renewed.