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Earth: Legend of the End

Name: Earth: Legend of the End
Author: Adam Hatefi
ISBN: 978-1-68273-748-4

From the Legends of Existence series , Vol. 1

by Adam Hatefi ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 15, 2017

This scanty apocalyptic tale has heroes galore but not much substance.

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Legendary figures battle over the fate of the world in Hatefi’s debut fantasy novel.

In just a little more than 100 pages, this short work attempts to tell an epic story of a clash between gods, mythical figures, elves, monsters, and demons. When the human Teoe receives a call from Odin on the “end-of-the-world phone,” telling him “it is time,” he begins gathering heroes at Stonehenge. The cast of characters includes Hercules; Thor; King Arthur and Merlin; Kay Khosrow, the mythical king of Persia; the Egyptian goddess Bastet; and so many others that Hatefi includes a guide to them all as an introduction. On the other side, the “anti-God,” or “Great Evil,” awakens Lilith and frees her from her coffin prison. She begins gathering together her demon children and various other evil beings, who wreak havoc on Earth. Meanwhile, Teoe sends out teams of heroes on missions to retrieve items that he’ll need in the final battle over the “last interuniversal gateway” that could let the Great Evil in. The story’s fast pace, sometimes-snappy dialogue, and short scenes give it the quality of a comic book. Hatefi also frequently adopts a rhythmic prose style, stringing sentences together in a cadence that echoes myths or religious texts. However, the author doesn’t take the time to flesh out the story or build suspense, and with so many heroes and villains crowding the stage, there’s not much space for meaningful character development. One of Lilith’s demon children, Celestia, has an intriguing part to play: she turns against her mother and joins the heroes when she sees her brother die. Her speedy romance with Kay Khosrow, however, seems forced. The book also rushes pivotal scenes of conflict; one chapter, for example, describing the planet coming “to the brink of destruction” is only a paragraph long. After all the buildup, the final battle feels anticlimactic, although Hatefi clearly leaves the door open for a sequel.

This scanty apocalyptic tale has heroes galore but not much substance.

Pub Date: Feb. 15, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-68273-748-4

Page Count: -

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2016

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

by Harper Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 1960

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A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.

Pub Date: July 11, 1960

ISBN: 0060935464

Page Count: 323

Publisher: Lippincott

Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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BETWEEN SISTERS

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2003

Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles...

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Sisters in and out of love.

Meghann Dontess is a high-powered matrimonial lawyer in Seattle who prefers sex with strangers to emotional intimacy: a strategy bound to backfire sooner or later, warns her tough-talking shrink. It’s advice Meghann decides to ignore, along with the memories of her difficult childhood, neglectful mother, and younger sister. Though she managed to reunite Claire with Sam Cavenaugh (her father but not Meghann’s) when her mother abandoned both girls long ago, Meghann still feels guilty that her sister’s life doesn’t measure up, at least on her terms. Never married, Claire ekes out a living running a country campground with her dad and is raising her six-year-old daughter on her own. When she falls in love for the first time with an up-and-coming country musician, Meghann is appalled: Bobby Austin is a three-time loser at marriage—how on earth can Claire be so blind? Bobby’s blunt explanation doesn’t exactly satisfy the concerned big sister, who busies herself planning Claire’s dream wedding anyway. And, to relieve the stress, she beds various guys she picks up in bars, including Dr. Joe Wyatt, a neurosurgeon turned homeless drifter after the demise of his beloved wife Diane (whom he euthanized). When Claire’s awful headache turns out to be a kind of brain tumor known among neurologists as a “terminator,” Joe rallies. Turns out that Claire had befriended his wife on her deathbed, and now in turn he must try to save her. Is it too late? Will Meghann find true love at last?

Briskly written soap with down-to-earth types, mostly without the lachrymose contrivances of Hannah’s previous titles (Distant Shores, 2002, etc.). Kudos for skipping the snifflefest this time around.