New Book Alert: Resurrecting Cybele by Jenifer Mohammed; A Brilliant Satire About the Dangers of Cults and the God(dess) Delusion

New Book Alert: Resurrecting Cybele by Jenifer Mohammed; A Brilliant Satire About the Dangers of Cults and the God(dess) Delusion

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews




Spoilers: From Charles Manson's Family to Nixivm, cults are a scary bunch. They are mesmerizing, seductive, and incredibly violent. They may start with good intentions to heal the world and teach others. However, the members and leaders get caught up in the delusion that they have a direct pipeline to God and discover the road to Hell (or their version) is paved with said intentions. The weak willed followers under them become susceptible to filling out their most dangerous violent and sexual urges and then the trouble really begins. Jenifer Mohammed's insightful novel, Resurrecting Cybele, is a thought provoking look at the dangers cult produce from their Genesis to their Revelation. This is what Paulo Coelho's Brida and The Witch of Portobello would be like if they were written in a more cynical manner.

Cybele Moondragon and her best friend, Janus Styx are bored with preparing their master's theses, concerned about the state of the world heading towards violence and prejudice, and short of money so they do what any bright idealistic cash poor young adult would do in such circumstances: create their own culture of goddess worshipers.




The cult is created to worship the Phrygian nature and Mother Goddess, Cybele and pull the world out of its patriarchal destruction or at least that's Cybele's intention. Mohammed wrote a memorable deeply flawed protagonist. She sells New Age trinkets like crystals, herbs, and amulets that she hopes will empower every recruit. She also leads courses that are variations of yoga which will lead followers to communicate and meditate to the Goddess. Like those who began religions before her, Cybele sees a need and aspires to fill it.




Which is the opposite of the intentions in Janus her associate. Mohammad cleverly brings out the contrast in the two leaders and their intentions towards the cult and their followers. Besides the fact that Janus has one of those names to run away from really fast because he is named after the Roman two-faced god, Janus is also a psychiatric counselor who could probably use some counseling himself. He works at a soup kitchen but sees it's residents as vermin particularly four dumb guys who serve as Janus’ lackeys that do whatever he forces them to like playing pranks on an ex boyfriend. It becomes clear to the Reader though not to Cybele that Janus sees a financial benefit to heading a cult as well as a lot of gullible people that he can use to do his bidding.




While Resurrecting Cybele is a book that takes a strong look at the dangers of cult worship, it also has time to project other emotions. It also provides its Readers with an underwritten triangle between Cybele, Janus, and Gabriel, an investigative reporter turned administrative assistant for the cult. The triangle is played out in a way that is short on high school romance and theatrics and long on motive as Gabriel is not only attracted to Cybele but shares her ideals to guide the cult in a positive direction. Janus is gay and has no such designs on Cybele but feels that Gabriel is a threat on their friendship and Janus’ influence on his female friend.




Besides romance and drama, Resurrecting Cybele is also a clever satire. Before their friendship implodes, Cybele and Janus are TV addicts and often quote references to their favorite science fiction programs back and forth. When starting the cult, the duo compare the beginnings to the feuds between the Bajorans and Cardassians of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. To shake a depressed Janus after being dumped, Cybele reminds him of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode in which one character said that people are so caught up in their own problems that they don't notice when someone else needs help. Tellingly as the two protagonists end up on opposite sides of the cult debacle, the TV references stop as if to remind the Reader that satire is over and the world is no longer funny.




Using these conflicting emotions of humor, romance, and drama allow Mohammed to open up the conflict on a wider scale so that the resolution towards the cult is less predictable and doesn't follow the particular destructive patterns that real-life forbears had led.