Lord of the World


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(4.7 stars; 95 reviews)

“Mr. Benson sees the world, four or five generations hence, free at last from all minor quarrels, and ranged against itself in two camps, Humanitarianism for those who believe in no divinity but that of man, Catholicism for those who believe in no divinity but that of God.”

This apocalyptic novel from the early 1900's is sometimes deemed one of the first modern dystopias. (Summary from an original London Times review and Wikipedia) (10 hr 35 min)

Chapters

00 - Preface and Prologue 26:10 Read by Maria Therese
01 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 1, Part 1 14:34 Read by jgoffena
02 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 1, Part 2 12:39 Read by Linda Hogan
03 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 1, Part 3 9:00 Read by Nadine Eckert-Boulet
04 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 2, Part 1 14:12 Read by Matthew Reece
05 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 2, Part 2 11:19 Read by Matthew Reece
06 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 2, Part 3 16:55 Read by Matthew Reece
07 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 3, Part 1 9:34 Read by jgoffena
08 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 3, Part 2 11:02 Read by jgoffena
09 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 3, Part 3 10:15 Read by jgoffena
10 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 4, Part 1 8:28 Read by jgoffena
11 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 4, Part 2 6:17 Read by Mike Okonek
12 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 4, Part 3 10:04 Read by Linda Hogan
13 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 5, Part 1 12:18 Read by Kalynda
14 - Book 1 - The Advent: Chapter 5, Part 2 9:57 Read by Kalynda
15 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 1, Part 1 15:19 Read by Nadine Eckert-Boulet
16 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 1, Part 2 10:10 Read by Nadine Eckert-Boulet
17 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 1, Part 3 7:49 Read by Nadine Eckert-Boulet
18 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 1, Part 4 7:45 Read by Nadine Eckert-Boulet
19 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 2, Part 1 12:36 Read by A. J. Carroll
20 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 2, Part 2 7:37 Read by A. J. Carroll
21 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 2, Part 3 10:30 Read by jessecoy
22 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 2, Part 4 13:49 Read by jessecoy
23 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 3, Part 1 17:11 Read by Neacail
24 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 3, Part 2 14:00 Read by Maria Therese
25 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 3, Part 3 14:07 Read by A. J. Carroll
26 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 4, Part 1 8:35 Read by A. J. Carroll
27 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 4, Part 2 7:42 Read by Justin S Barrett
28 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 4, Part 3 14:25 Read by Mike Okonek
29 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 5, Part 1 10:26 Read by Maria Therese
30 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 5, Part 2 13:28 Read by Maria Therese
31 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 5, Part 3 5:51 Read by Maria Therese
32 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 6, Part 1 5:53 Read by Maria Therese
33 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 6, Part 2 8:52 Read by Maria Therese
34 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 6, Part 3 8:56 Read by Maria Therese
35 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 6, Part 4 7:50 Read by Maria Therese
36 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 7, Part 1 11:48 Read by jessecoy
37 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 7, Part 2 12:52 Read by jessecoy
38 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 8, Part 1 10:08 Read by Maria Therese
39 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 8, Part 2 11:25 Read by Maria Therese
40 - Book 2 - The Encounter: Chapter 8, Part 3 10:09 Read by Maria Therese
41 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 1, Part 1 10:53 Read by mevans
42 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 1, Part 2 11:38 Read by mevans
43 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 1, Part 3 11:18 Read by mevans
44 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 2, Part 1 6:29 Read by Maria Therese
45 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 2, Part 2 10:34 Read by Maria Therese
46 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 2, Part 3 11:22 Read by Maria Therese
47 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 3, Part 1 7:06 Read by Maria Therese
48 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 3, Part 2 6:24 Read by Maria Therese
49 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 3, Part 3 10:25 Read by Maria Therese
50 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 4, Part 1 9:51 Read by Maria Therese
51 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 4, Part 2 10:17 Read by Maria Therese
52 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 4, Part 3 7:28 Read by Maria Therese
53 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 5, Part 1 6:35 Read by Maria Therese
54 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 5, Part 2 10:53 Read by Maria Therese
55 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 5, Part 3 9:43 Read by jessecoy
56 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 6, Part 1 12:14 Read by Maria Therese
57 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 6, Part 2 9:35 Read by Maria Therese
58 - Book 3 - The Victory: Chapter 6, Part 3 10:25 Read by Maria Therese

Reviews

Phenomenal


(5 stars)

Thank you to all of those who spent their time to record this prescient novel, particularly the young lady who at the end sang the Pange so well, if not in a man's voice. Considering that it was written over a hundred years ago its amazing how accurately Benson gets the "history" of the last century. The only thing he misses is the depths of sexual depravity to which we have sunk and the fact that the "smoke of Satan" would even infiltrate the Church. Benson takes for granted that sad little men like Fr Francis would have the honor to exit the Church before starting to work against her or that prelates would force them out. Sadly these two developments place the Church in an even weaker position than Benson imagines at the beginning of this novel. Marana Tha!

amazing!!


(5 stars)

Completely blown away by this book. I consider it life changing. Fantastic reading by Maria Therese. I was mesmerized the entire time.

Amazing


(5 stars)

Wonderful book, wonderful narration. 100% recommend to all Catholics.

well written, moving, whether catholic or not.


(5 stars)

Strange mirror of today and history


(4 stars)

It was interesting to imagine what the future (20th century) would be like from the perspective of the 19th century. I think it is funny the contrast between the technology the author considered to be breakthrough and futuristic at his time didn’t revolutionize the world in the way that he thought. On the other hand, I think that the humanitarian aspect of the story is accurate. Historically, however, it was fascism (then socialism after) that led to the persecution of religious in Europe and other places. This story highlighted for me that, in the last century, the sentiment that, “We’ve evolved beyond all that evil and superstition,” that develops into new evil and new superstition. Maybe it’s a lesson humanity must learn every century. The end of the book, though, was not what I wanted. The rest of the story, including the last sentence, had me on the edge of my seat. The Catholic Church considers herself to be a church of martyrs so I suppose it was a fitting end. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis, dona nobis pacem.

Bravo from Borneo


(3 stars)

This is a very deep and complex book and requires full concentration. However, it is certainly an experience and I appreciated the attempt to cast a dystopian view of faith and the challenges this might bring and conflicts created with governments. The book becomes even more impressive upon reflecting that it was written more than 100 years ago. I must give a nod to the narrators who all did a good job.

Excellent depiction of the end of the World


(5 stars)

This book, although dated in some aspects is a wonderful depiction of how the end of the world may look, with Christ coming in his glory. It contrasts the truths of Catholicism with those beliefs of naturalism and pantheism held by the world. Thank you to all the volunteers who read the chapters in this book!

too many readers and Father Elijah much better


(3 stars)

read Father Elijah over this, it had its moments but pales in comparison.