I chose this book as part of Thomas Nelson’s Book Sneeze. I’m not required to be nice, even though I typically try to be.

I’m a LOST dork. Like in the “Sure-I-Know-The-Numbers” variety, but not in the “I-Know-How-The-Numbers-Relate-To-The-Writers’-Banking PINS” way. I never miss a show, but I never watch a show when it airs. I start it shortly after the kids go to bed, which allows us to watch via DVR and skip through commercials.

I have deliberately waited in writing the review, because the most glaring shortcoming of the book is that I think it was written too soon. All the conjecture about the meaning of the characters’ story arcs are as incomplete as the story itself (which, as of this writing, still has five episodes left to air). I will not be at all surprised if author Seay offers up a second edition, or at least a modified edition with new notes based upon final revelations.

This being stated, the book is still an enjoyable read for anyone who is looking for the deeper meaning behind the characterizations of the heroes and villains of LOST. Ultimately, this is exactly who has chosen to stick with the story through its six seasons…people who have lauded the complex story and the nuanced characters, even if they’ve spent countless futile hours on wikipedia trying to gain a basic understanding of advanced physics as a result.

Who knows is Jacob and the Man In Black/FLocke are parallels to Jacob and Esau or God & Satan in a Job-ian discussion…I have one friend who thinks Jack & Locke will repeat the conversation between Jacob and the MIB. But I have another friend who heard this conversation and told us to get a life.  The Gospel According To Lost, while certainly a niche book written for LOSTies, is a great companion piece that addresses some of the most important recurring themes of the show…love and forgiveness, redemption and condemnation, fate and destiny, free will and predestination.  Seay does an fine job contextualizing these discussions through a biblical lens, leading readers to contemplate these matters in the real-world terms of their own life.