Reviewed by: Pete Barber
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Approximate word count: 55-60,000 words
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Author:
Bryan L Dekker is a longtime resident of Indiana. He has
two passions, writing and motorcycles. Raising
Hell is his first paranormal thriller, and the first book in the Arcana
series.
Description:
Nate
LaCroux, a powerful wizard, lives as a hermit, shying away from life since his
wife’s murder, three years prior. Three days before the convicted murderer is
due to die by lethal injection, Nate is summoned to meet with a messenger from
the magical order of Arcana. Nate is presented with a scroll, sent from Heaven.
When he breaks the first seal, a sequence of events begins to unfold, which may
end in the destruction of Earth. The story follows Nate as he learns the
meaning of the scroll.
Appraisal:
Mages,
Faeries, Archangels, God (El), Satan, Giants, Heaven and Hell. Those are the
components of the world, and the author has a good grasp on how they all
interact and their special powers and limitations. On the face of it, to me,
this sounds like a set of ingredients for a tale I’d enjoy. Sadly, though, the
execution of the story ruined my chance of becoming engaged with the world.
The tale
was narrated by the author (omniscient). I was told about the characters, told
about their backstory, told about the three partitions (Heaven, Hell and
Earth). Told, told, told! Consequently, I never had the enjoyment of
experiencing the events through Nate’s eyes, or through any other character’s
eyes for that matter.
When the
viewpoint changed to one of the characters, it stayed there only for as long as
needed for one or two thoughts, then it switched back to exposition, or just as
often, back into another character. This book is a head-hopping jamboree.
I stopped
counting the typos and grammatical errors once I burst through forty.
Such a
shame, because the premise is solid and the characters could be engaging if
only they were allowed to speak. The world would be fascinating and cogent, if
only it were experienced.
Wait. Is
that whimpering I hear? Ah, yes, it’s the sound of a story crying out for an
editor.
Format/Typo Issues:
Typos and
grammatical issues. I read on Kindle, and the lines were double spaced.
Rating: ** Two stars
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