At first glance, I judged "Shattered Urn" to be a work of fantasy. As such, the author would be free to write a novel whose story line would have some spiritual implications woven into the narrative. But I was wrong. The book is, as its subtitle ("An Allegorical History of the Universe") states, a true allegory, with heavy overtones from Bunyan's classic writings in that genre. Moreover, it trivializes the book to allude to spiritual implications. The allegory is far more direct than that. Indeed, it is more than a classic good vs. evil story. True, there are good characters and bad. But to complicate things, there are good characters that turn to the dark side, and then are restored by the intervention of Shaddai. Much of the action in the book is, if not fictionalized, then certainly allegorized. The literary devices are used - much alliteration, for example. Poetry - some borrowed from Wesley and Bunyan, and some written by the author - is used to emphasize characters and truths. I was unprepared for the explicit language used in passages describing evil. And yet the explicitness never degenerated into that trigger point of obscenity - an appeal to prurient interests. No, the evil in the narrative is described in more detached, matter-of-fact terms. It is not a book for readers who insist on political correctness, or on contemporary notions of what is acceptable when speaking of wrongdoers. What the Jewish and Christian scriptures present as evil, this allegory reflects. The danger of allegories is the temptation to force a literal story line to find a consistency with some truth stated in more expository fashion. Runyon does not do that. However, there are points in the book where he interprets scripture through the hazy lens of allegory. Repeatedly, my initial reluctance to read this contemporary example of an old literary genre was rebuked. I had flashes of insight that, coupled with a familiarity both with Bunyan and the scriptures, made this a highly rewarding read. I strongly recommend it. This deserves a place on the shelf reserved by some of the finest writers in English literature. And that is only appropriate, for the author is himself a student of that literature. His writing is evidence that great writing derives from ... well, great writing.