Review: further down the spiral
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 2, 2014
I received this book as an arc in exchange for an honest review....You know you are in the presence of a master storyteller when you start a book at 8 a.m., before breakfast, and suddenly realize a hundred pages pages later that you have been reading for two hours, you’ve not yet eaten anything, and you are still in your pajamas. Such was my experience. No matter what religious or literary preferences you may hold, I challenge anyone to put this novel down after twenty minutes. The action and characters suck you in so quickly it is almost impossible to stop reading. I read a great many novels at varying levels of literacy and enduring values, and my opinion is Martin Adil-Smith is the hottest new talent in the “weird fiction genre” - he tells the most absorbing stories among modern writers. This is the story of our world; why there is war, death, and disease… and why “God” doesn’t care (It’s ok, don’t get your Fundy Pants in a bunch – it’s not really the Big Bearded One). We see the lead up to major world events, and the darkness that coaches and coaxes the greatest cataclysms . We see the meager forces of humanity that try to hold back that darkness. And yet there are divisions amongst these brave fools, with some holding that one path leads to victory, whilst other factions believe in a different route. And it’s tearing them apart. There are epic battles, betrayals, unlikely alliances… and the unraveling of reality. In less capable hands, this could be only a suspenseful and scary story of good versus evil, but the author makes it so much more. It's about family—loving families, dysfunctional families, brothers formed without regard for blood connection. And it's about inheritance - what comes to us through genes, and the things we pass on to those we love. And it's about lies; it’s about living with those who lie to us. Telling lies to smooth a way. And the lies we tell ourselves – the things we ignore and try to put up with. In addition to this moving and suspenseful story, there numerous little asides which seem to be such true aphorisms that one is tempted to be believe that they have genuinely been said. For example: "Aren’t we all architects of our own downfall?"; and "You don’t just meet someone and confess to having a mental illness"; and "We watch and we wait… for as long as it takes.” An additional plus; the narrative of how terrorists orchestrate their campaigns not just to kill, but to keep a population in fear… is very close the mark in today’s climate If you are a fan of Stephen King or James Herbert, and are looking for your next fix, then you will love this. And you’ll never look at your work-colleagues in the same light again.