The Master of the Day of Judgement
by Leo Perutz
1930. The Master of the Day of Judgment is about a drug, created in Florence in the 16th century, that makes people see the Master (God). The downside is that they also see the Day of Judgment and all the demons of Hell, which leads them to believe that they are being attacked by the demons of Hell and then they commit suicide. The novel, set in Vienna in 1909, is structured like a murder mystery, with the identity of the victim only being revealed near the end. A Kirkus review said, The identity of the Master provides a solution that, like that of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, is more disturbing than the mystery itself.
Release Date:
December 31, 2004