A small press has put out a thriller, 

SOULS OF TERROR, 

that may cause a large ruckus. 

The story deals with a band of murderous Anthroposophists. 

Some readers will love it; others will be outraged.

On this page, I will report developments concerning the book,

posting reviews and other responses,

and describing any ensuing uproar.

Here is the product description posted at 

Better World Books:

"SOULS OF TERROR is a fast-paced, well-researched thriller with fascinating characters whose lives become strangely entwined as they unravel a frightening mystery. The surprising climax will leave you forever questioning the thin line between fact and fiction. In the beginning . . .

"A brilliant university student is brutally killed in New York as a young boy from an Oregon private school is whisked off to Switzerland. What is the connection and why is it so important to millions of people? Chris Thompson is ridden with guilt while searching for his son. Is young Michael the key to a deeply spiritual and terrifying mission?

"Michael's attractive aunt Kate has a penchant for profanity and martial arts . . . and carries a heavy secret from her past. Dr. Paul Sung is an atheist and authority on the history of the New Age movement. His unfulfilling life in academia is about to change. Detective Mark Julian needs to solve a string of gruesome New York murders, so why was he sent to Europe?

"Karl Heisman and his Group of Forty-Eight are a covert sub-group of a spiritual movement known as Anthroposophy. Does their strange karma include links to Freemasonry and the dawning of a New Age? Are they racist terrorists or is there a method to their madness? And who was Rudolf Steiner?"

Using some of the same language,

the ebook publishing and distribution platform Smashwords 

offers this:

"SOULS OF TERROR is a fast-paced, well-researched international thriller with fascinating characters whose lives become strangely entwined as they unravel a frightening mystery. From Theosophy to Anthroposophy to Freemasonry, the story compels its readers to ponder the thin line between fact and fiction. Fans of Dan Brown, Stephen King and Stieg Larsson will surely enjoy this remarkable new novel. 

"Parental Rating:

"This book contains content that may not be suitable for young readers 17 and under.

"Tags

"thriller, karma, spirituality, reincarnation, new age, occult, terrorism, religion, cult, controversial,vatican, anthroposophy, stephen king, theosophy, dan brown, freemasonry, stieg larsson, rudolf steiner, waldorf schools, robert ludlum, biodynamic, eurythmy"

Here are the first customer reviews at Amazon:

By neponemo:

"An essential and cautionary read for every parent planning the education of their young children. Hopefully this book will help shine the light on anthroposophy, the insidious ideology that is propagated in Waldorf schools without the knowledge of the majority of the parents who innocently send their children there." [Five stars]

By Mary Davies "Mary" (Mahwah NJ, USA):

"This is a fast-paced book that keeps you guessing with its fascinating twists and turns. With story elements involving the Vatican, Freemasonry and Theosophy, there's a touch of Dan Brown meets Stephen King, but the disturbing thing is that Internet research reveals some of the seemingly far-fetched cultic aspects of the story are based on present-day real-life situations. The author has obviously done a lot of research. I found the villains to be especially creepy because of their irrational worldview. I have read a lot of thrillers over the years and I was at the point where they were beginning to seem too similar to each other. I found this book refreshing and original and couldn't put it down." [Five stars]

By Diana:

"Souls of Terror is a rollicking good read, witty, fast paced and intricately plotted. Anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner's occult sect, will be unfamiliar to many readers, and Souls of Terror provides true-to-life details about this group's practices and beliefs, their colorful cosmology, their unique understanding of karma, to their yearning for their leader, who died in 1925, to reincarnate. 

"The intrigue in Souls of Terror is fictional, and certainly most anthroposophists are not homicidal, yet there are troubling aspects of anthroposophy's history and beliefs. Dozens of groups like this fly under the radar; their adherents live in self-contained little worlds, sometimes suspicious of and hostile to outsiders, and only occasionally do the rest of us get a brief peek into the inner workings of such groups. That's the serious part of this well-written and entertaining tale. (Disclaimer: I'm acknowledged in the book for reading and commenting on earlier drafts.)" [Five stars]

By bigfamily:

"Excellent book! Found this by chance and could not put it down. I have heard of Rudolph Steiner but never realized what a nut he was. Needless to say, this action packed story caused me to do my own research on Steiner. Looking forward to a follow up already!" [Five stars]

By Lapwing "Lapwing":

"This book reads like the best kind of screenplay, with a real visual bite. As someone who has had experience of living amongst followers of Rudolf Steiner there are parts of the book which ring exceptionally true. Most people who follow the teachings of Steiner (Anthroposophists) are on the whole kind gentle people until that is, you challenge them... 

"Highly recommended."  [Five stars]

By "SlowReader":

“Souls of Terror, a stimulating story that slices open Anthroposophy to display the frightening essence of its cult nature, is a work of fiction by Anthony Norse. 

“The author uses the inwardness and secrecy of Anthroposophy founded by Rudolf Steiner in the early part of the 20th century as the backdrop of the story. Mr. Norse maintains a balance throughout by not letting the backdrop capture the story line. While achieving its purpose, the sense of balance imparts credence that this is not another modern day conspiracy theory. 

“Mr. Norse's protagonists rise to the occasion pursuing unforeseen and changing directions as they hunt the various locations trying to make sense of elusive antagonists. There is an increasingly urgency of will-they-catch-him-before-he-kills-more-people. However, it is the three dimensional characteristics that Mr. Norse has assigned the ‘bad guys’ that helps to create a believable story. It is sufficient to say there are "bad guys" and then there are ‘really bad guys’ the difference is Mr. Norse's villains are the ones history substantiates. 

“Mark Twain penned the following, ’Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't.’ Read the book and draw your own conclusion.” [Four stars] 

For what little they may be worth, here are some thoughts of my own:

I have read very few thrillers, so I’m not a good judge. Still, this novel seemed to me quite professional: well-constructed, suspenseful, even riveting. Moreover, I was impressed that the author seems to have done extensive and generally accurate research into the doctrines of Rudolf Steiner and his followers.

I am troubled that the book may be open to misreading. Properly understood, I think, the author’s target is not Anthroposophy, per se, but fanatical belief run amok — whether the fanatics are Anthroposophists or members of any other group or sect. Anthroposophists are, in my opinion, no more likely to become violent than any other types of zealous believers — perhaps, indeed, less likely. The portrait the author paints of maniacal zealots is chilling and persuasive, and I certainly agree that there is a strain of zealotry among Anthroposophists. Still, it would clearly be wrong to form opinions about Anthroposophy on the basis of a thriller. The author has taken various steps to offset the chance that his novel will be misread. Nonetheless, the book is certain to outrage Anthroposophists, and not without reason. 

Aside from this concern, I think the book may serve a useful purpose if it inspires widespread debate about — and examination of — Anthroposophy. Discussions of Anthroposophy and Waldorf education have generally been confined to small circles. Expanding the discussion could be highly beneficial.

— Roger Rawlings

Here is a review by the author of a projected book

that may — if it materializes — also ignite controversy:

“A compelling look at the roots of occultism and alternative education in central Europe and its covert reach into the rest of the world. From Theosophy to Freemasonry, we encounter bewildered characters and bizarre links in an intense and racy story with twists aplenty as history and destiny converge. 

"Beyond mere exposé, I could not put this book down as the secret purposes of the inner few are revealed. Right up to the astounding climax, Anthony P. Norse delivers a finely-researched and powerful first novel, bringing Steiner's prophecy of the War of All against All into the real and frightening world of mega-terrorism. Read it!” 

— Jacqueline Davis

Approaching things from the other end of the spectrum,

an author with a professed interest in Anthroposophy, 

who has been published by the Rudolf Steiner Press, 

finds reasons to dislike SOULS OF TERROR:

"I was directed to this book as a possibly interesting novel in the tradition of Dan Brown on a theme I know well. Sadly it is just derivative, boring and silly: a bad novel. 

"I believe a definition of pornography is that the plot only exists to move the action from one sex scene to another. Well this is a pornography of diatribe - the author clearly has a bugbear and writes a story that moves from one unconvincing expose to another. 

"The author confuses sensationalism with gripping narrative. Lesbians, a mad doctor, a messiah figure and a supposed devil, a rape scene and weird murders all make their appearance. 

"In so many ways it strains credulity. A supposedly brilliant leader explains part of a deeply secret plot to a couple of visitors he does not know because it helps the storyline. We get a whole page of arcane quotes (regularly repeated), while a plot to control a Chinese nuclear reactor is covered in a paragraph. And the characters are unconvincing and follow neither police procedures nor realistic human behaviour. 

"The Da Vinci Code was of course a fair amount of fictional nonsense but it was spiced by some interesting curiosities and it was written as a mystery with a smart guy solving riddles that engaged readers. There are no riddles here - just a series of supposed revelations dumped in the reader's lap. Ranting is not a good recipe for exciting fiction. Cyphers do not replace characters. 

"A waste of time." [One star]

Here are some comments/reviews from a blog

[http://zooey.wordpress.com/2011/01/20/anthroposophy-in-the-form-of-a-thriller/]

• "I know that the immediate response is likely to be that anthroposophists should put their own house in order. I don’t entirely disagree but given that the various anthroposophical practical activities are decentralized it is theoretically possible for a group avoiding the anthroposophical 'sins' you all cite to be smeared and slandered by people who don’t understand this as well as you all. Please consider the fact there there will be people who would like to imagine anthroposophy as Opus Dei is presented the Da Vinci Code and that a few google searches will pull up information that, to a conspiracy thinker, will seem to affirm all of his or her beliefs.

"Maybe we all can unite around the 'anti-rationality' of conspiracy theorizing??!"

• "I kid you not, it’s a classic boilerplate melodramatic detective murder mystery written by an author whose real agenda is de-programming people from cults. (He’s no Dennis Lehane, if you catch my drift.) But what he lacks in literary aptitude, he more than makes up for in showing Anthroposophists the errors of their racist ways. So maybe there’s hope for you being de-programmed from anthroposophy by reading this book.

"So, of course the book has to open immediately with a murder. But where does the murder take place??? Ithaca, New York. Home of Cornell University, Big Red, where the indefatigable Peter Staudenmaier forged, lied and bullied his way to a PhD in history. Are you listening, Sune???"

• "I don’t have an opinion about Opus Dei [central in THE DA VINCI CODE] either way because I don’t know much about them. I shared the experience most people had upon reading the book: 'freaky religious cult having something do with the masons who may secretly rule the world —aaaaahhh!!!!???' I googled their organization and found that as a result of the book they spent considerable effort on a FAQ. I wasn’t too interested in pursuing the matter further but if anyone wants to try to convince me that they are a freaky religious cult that secretly rules the world, I’ll read what you have to say and consider it. As for your other quote, I think it is inevitable that the conversation will amplify beyond present bounds so it doesn’t really matter what I think. I do, however, hope that my original point will be considered by those people who were thanked in the book’s acknowledgements and who have written in support of the book. Its my opinion that someone should make a clear statement about where fact ends and fiction begins and why zealot anthroposophists (as Roger Rawlings says) might actually be less likely to commit acts of violence than other zealots. I’ll just lay it out on the line here and say that I am appealing to your common sense of decency and the fact that you yourselves have made a very valid point that ideas have real world consequences for which the bearers hold some kind of responsibility in how they are used and put into action. Its not enough to say 'most anthroposophists are not homicidal' when you actually think that most of them are dimwitted idealists and that (even as critics) you have experienced how their projects contain goodness and beauty alongside the flaws. I guess what I am saying is that its one thing to offer constructive criticism or to try to help others avoid a bad experience you had. Its something entirely different to pursue such (noble) goals while having no consensus on what statements or insinuations might be beyond the pale."

• "To me, the mystery story contains a succinct expression of the prevailing Waldorf Critics/anti-anthroposophical perspective. Is this a fair characterization? If so, the fictionalized world of underground violent zealots and their hidden infiltration of Waldorf schools and a Waldorf family is a reasonable extension of the critics’ worldview. I couldn’t possibly expect you to qualify much more of the book than perhaps the fact that 'most anthroposophists are not homicidal' and that there is no proof of a secret subset of violent zealots because to do so would erode the crux of the critics’ arguments. It would undermine this idea that, upon further reading on the internet, a reasonable person will be able to see how eerily close this fiction is to fact. As the author says, 'the truth is out there'!"

• "Tony Norse takes it all so god-awful serious, which makes his book so unintentionally funny to actual Anthroposophists (only those with a sense of humor, of course!); whereas Tarjeidirectly satirizes the pretentious, maudlin and melodramatic projections of the critics, who also take themselves so god awful serious."

Here is a statement posted by the novelist

on February 12, 2011:

"I have enjoyed reading some of the responses to SOULS OF TERROR. Thanks. I think it’s important to keep in mind that although it contains plenty of fact-based information, it is – in fact – a novel. While the majority of reader feedback has been very positive, some readers seem concerned about or question the amount of violence in various scenes throughout the book. I’d like to address these concerns now:

"The antagonists are a small sub-group of occult-driven fanatics who cling to their unwavering interpretation of Rudolf Steiner’s anthroposophy. While the majority of Steiner’s (1861 – 1925) spiritual message dealt with encouraging people to overcome materialism, he also made numerous pronouncements regarding racial hierarchy and the necessity of 'violent struggles.' Steiner’s prediction of an upcoming 'War of All Against All' is an important element of SOULS OF TERROR. Thus, the violence in the novel is not used simply for effect but rather as a graphic example of the need to critically think about and discuss strongly held beliefs – especially those dealing with violence and war. When predictions of violence and war are connected to karma, that need-to-discuss becomes even more important."  [http://soulsofterrorbook.com/blog/?p=33]

The following is excerpted from a review in THE AUSTRALIAN RATIONALIST, #88:

"Anthony Norse has written a fine thriller based on the megalomaniacal activities of an obscure occult group, in the tradition of Dan Brown. The only difference is that unlike the subjects of Brown’s two best-known works, The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons, the group in Souls of Terror exists. The ‘Priory of Sion’ in the former of Brown’s books and the ‘Illuminati’ in the latter have little basis in reality, whereas Norse’s book revolves around a very real and very active contemporary group called by its founder Rudolph Steiner, ‘Anthroposophy’. This is a double edged-sword. Although it does give the book a greater degree of authenticity, it also means that actual people may be offended by the contents of the novel. There’s no record of disgruntled members of the Priory of Sion knocking angrily on Dan Brown’s door, or secret members of the Illuminati breaking cover to confront the hapless author. There is, however, anecdotal evidence that members of the Anthroposophy movement have tried to discredit Souls of Terror and to scuttle its sales...

"This is, I believe, a first novel and as such is an excellent initial venture into fiction. The prose is assured, if occasionally a little wooden, and the narration keeps the reader’s interest almost all the time. The only limitation is the over-use of long quotes from Rudolf Steiner himself: these are clearly inserted to forestall any allegations that Steiner is being treated unfairly, which is an understandable motive, but I felt they slowed down the momentum and could have been used more sparingly. Once the author has established his credentials as a trustworthy witness we are more than willing to take him in good faith and don’t need him to justify every nuanced statement with extensive quotation. Just a few well-chosen phrases would suffice. If it were felt the full texts needed to be there, perhaps they could have been relegated to an appendix, which is not uncommon in books of this type. 

"All in all, this book is, however,  a compelling read and a meritorious addition to the thriller genre." [http://www.rationalist.com.au/images/archive/88/63-64_books.pdf]

[R.R.]