on Norman Shurtliff's Amazing Scriptures

The above image, the controlling image for Irreantum 21.4, is from Norman Shurtliff’s abandoned sequel to his 2018 book Amazing Scriptures (Cedar Fort).

I originally intended Amazing Scriptures to be a trilogy—that’s why on page 44 there are connection points to expand that maze into future books—but while working on book two, I realized that my favorite version of the Book of Mormon is the original, authentic one. There won’t be a sequel because I don’t want the way I imagine things to intrude on how anyone else might envision these stories. The connections we make with the word of God are among the most important things anyone can find, and I decided I don’t want to tamper with that process.

Chances are, you’ve never read a book quite like Amazing Scriptures. Originally inspired by Dungeon Crawl Classics and Warhammer 40,000, it is also a bit like a Choose Your Own Adventure and a bit like Dungeons & Dragons and a bit like old Sierra On-Line-style adventure games with the vibe of Where’s Waldo. Essentially, it is a maze too big for one page. Norman thus initially cut it into sixteen pieces, but Cedar Fort asked him to to expand the book to forty-eight pages. He only had about six weeks before the book went to print, but he’d already finished the “Sam and the Secret Mine” story, so he incorporated that story into the book—and it’s available now to download separately as a tutorial on his website.

In Amazing Scriptures, you the reader go on an adventure, collecting stuff to solve problems in hopes of acquiring the Brass Plates.

Amazing Scriptures is great, because it represents my personal connections with the Book of Mormon. My brothers and I would pretend to be these prophets and invent our own adventures in the land of the Nephites. I’m the oldest of four brothers. My youngest brother is named Nephi. No wonder my first retelling of a Book of Mormon story would be centered around Laman’s perspective.

Some eastereggs to search for when you pick up a copy:

Norman’s favorite character is the thief on page seven
the banana joke on eleven is his favorite moment
the rope ladder is his favorite item to collect
Norman’s family makes a guest appearance at their favorite place: the library
there’s a group playing a role-playing game on the same page
a character from his unpublished sci-fi maze comic makes a guest appearance

Two other Book of Mormon stories I would love to make maze adventures out of: the story of Ammon re-discovering the Land of Nephi, and the story of Moroni wandering the land alone, avoiding Lamanites for forty years. Amazing Scriptures is fun for me, but might seem weird for everyone else, because it’s probably different from how they imagine the story.

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Norman Shurtliff grew up in Northern British Columbia, Canada, where he spent his time exploring the forest around his family greenhouses and daydreaming while riding a lawnmower. He now draws comics in Idaho where he lives with his wife and their four children. Together they enjoy creating board games, telling stories and going on adventures along the canyon.