Publisher: Solaris
Age Group: Adult
Pages: e-novella
Format: e-book
Source: Received from the publisher in excange for an honest review.
It’s not just gods who answer prayers
in Lovegrove’s Pantheon series…
In another e-novella exclusive from Solaris, James
Lovegrove adds to his New York Times
bestselling Pantheon series – which has
sold over 100,000 copies worldwide – where gods are made real and men have to
contend with their rule.
The latest stand-alone title in this action-packed
military SF series brings you a world where Lucifer is all too real and after
an ill-judged cry for help, one man is caught up in the morning star’s
machinations.
1968. Guy
Lucas, son a murdered British diplomat, is sent to an old-fashioned boarding
school, where he is bullied and abused. A fellow student persuades him to
perform a black mass and plead with Satan to intervene, with horrific
consequences. For the next ten years, the shadow of Satan is cast across his
life; he flees, across the sea and into obscurity, but tragedy follows him.
Eventually, he must confront the Devil, and learn the truth about himself...
Lovegrove takes his ‘godpunk’ series to its next
logical next step in a sinister new e-novella that will delight readers of the Pantheon series as well as fans of
classic films such as The Omen and The Exorcist.
Review:
“Age of
Satan” was in no way how I expected it to be. It is, for the most part, a
rather depressing story and looking back on it, it wasn’t really my thing.
Guy,
after years of living abroad, is put in a boarding school in England after his
father died in an execution in Vietnam (we’re in the sixties). The three school
bullies decide Guy would be a perfect next victim and make his life a living
hell. Their previous victim, Milward, wants to help and instead of praying to
God to stop the bullies, drags Guy along and makes him help with a satanic
ritual.
After
that Guy is certain he is claimed by Satan and blames every horrible event in
his life (and there are quite a few) to this connection.
There
are some rather grim scenes described throughout the book and even though I’m a
fan of grim novels, these just weren’t my cup of tea. The ending was a bit of a
“light at the end of the tunnel” but it didn’t really pull me out of my
depressed mood. I don’t like finishing a book and feeling down or confused. The
upside, for me, was how thought-provoking the novella was. You can’t just read
this one, put it aside and never think about it again. It keeps running around
in your head, forcing you to think about all that has happened and what the
meaning of it all is.
The writing
is beautiful. James Lovegrove succeeded in holding my attention even though the
story wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed or would pick when I’m browsing a
bookstore. He writes very lively and with the perfect amount of humor to keep
you flipping the pages. There is a constant intelligent undercurrent that lifts
this story to a higher level and that is something I really like in my books.
I am a
bit curious how the other books in his “Pantheon” series would suit me. The
fact that I really enjoyed the writing makes me want to try some of his other
work. I’ll probably investigate this series and Lovegrove’s other work further
once I’ve reduced my TBR pile a little more.
Rating:
I just started reading his first Pantheon story Age of Ra. It's a little heavy on the military action but it's not bad. I'm interested in pick up the rest of the series to see how he incorporates the other gods into his stories.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of mythology, so I'm interested in his Pantheon series, but this novella just wasn't my thing storywise. I liked the idea behind it, but it didn't touch any strings with me. I am curious how the other Pantheon books are though, so I'll be keeping an eye out for your review of "Age of Ra".
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