Ambitious and otherworldly, though a storyline worth following rarely shines through.
A twisting quest winds through varying realms in Cramer’s debut.
Waking up naked, alone and without much in the way of a memory, Horus finds himself in a world both magical and violent. After defeating a mysterious foe, Horus learns that he is in a place outside traditional understandings of the afterlife. Having done something in a former life to obtain a position outside the Wheel of Life, Horus is in a world no longer bound by the rules of Earth. As a servant girl explains to him, “Once people gets here, there aint but two commandments: love God with all your heart, and Do not kill…lessin it’s for food, defendin your property, yourself or someone else (sic).” Taking up with a family of cherubs ruled by the beautiful Valkyrie Kyenna, Horus embarks on a journey that takes him to bizarre regions of both heaven and hell. Hunted by a cruel, powerful figure named Raphael, Horus embarks on a complex journey of discovery, combat and shifting geographies. Featuring creatures ranging from the purely mythological (such as the god Mercury) to the disgusting (such as hand-sized cockroaches), the story includes a wide range of characters, settings and motives. Impressive in its use of such a diverse array of ideas, the imaginative story proves difficult to follow. Clouded by lengthy explanations of everything from magical weapons to a group of black Confederate soldiers to a talking Satan that was “a composite of a male model and a body builder in his late 20’s to early 30’s with blond hair,” there is often little to ground readers in any understanding of the main characters and their motivations.
Ambitious and otherworldly, though a storyline worth following rarely shines through.Pub Date: Jan. 30, 2014
ISBN: 978-1494856021
Page Count: 414
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 17, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
Hoffman (The Red Garden, 2011, etc.) births literature from tragedy: the destruction of Jerusalem's Temple, the siege of Masada and the loss of Zion.
This is a feminist tale, a story of strong, intelligent women wedded to destiny by love and sacrifice. Told in four parts, the first comes from Yael, daughter of Yosef bar Elhanan, a Sicarii Zealot assassin, rejected by her father because of her mother's death in childbirth. It is 70 CE, and the Temple is destroyed. Yael, her father, and another Sicarii assassin, Jachim ben Simon, and his family flee Jerusalem. Hoffman's research renders the ancient world real as the group treks into Judea's desert, where they encounter Essenes, search for sustenance and burn under the sun. There too Jachim and Yael begin a tragic love affair. At Masada, Yael is sent to work in the dovecote, gathering eggs and fertilizer. She meets Shirah, her daughters, and Revka, who narrates part two. Revka's husband was killed when Romans sacked their village. Later, her daughter was murdered. At Masada, caring for grandsons turned mute by tragedy, Revka worries over her scholarly son-in-law, Yoav, now consumed by vengeance. Aziza, daughter of Shirah, carries the story onward. Born out of wedlock, Aziza grew up in Moab, among the people of the blue tunic. Her passion and curse is that she was raised as a warrior by her foster father. In part four, Shirah tells of her Alexandrian youth, the cherished daughter of a consort of the high priests. Shirah is a keshaphim, a woman of amulets, spells and medicine, and a woman connected to Shechinah, the feminine aspect of God. The women are irretrievably bound to Eleazar ben Ya'ir, Masada's charismatic leader; Amram, Yael's brother; and Yoav, Aziza's companion and protector in battle. The plot is intriguingly complex, with only a single element unresolved. An enthralling tale rendered with consummate literary skill.
Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4516-1747-4
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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