Death of Ignorance

by Lauren Santaniello

19 year old Alex Sharrock lives a wild, unbridled existence beneath the neon lights of New York City night clubs and blinding white flashes from paparazzi cameras. Yet neither fame as the lead singer for a popular rock band nor drugs can mask his dark past. Haunted by persistent memories, plagued with relentless nightmares, and on the brink of insanity, Alex attempts to take his life. However, his failure not only results in his record company sending him abroad to rehab, but creates a chain reaction that sends his life spiraling in an unimaginable direction. Alex finds himself caught in the world of the supernatural and he is thrown in the middle of war between the immortal Gods and the Underworld. Now there is no time to waste! Alex must accept his destiny, face his daemons, and combat his ever crippling ignorance before the world falls to ruin....

422 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2011

Reviews

[Aimee]

Alexis Sharrock has it all. He’s a world-famous rock star nearing his 20th birthday. He should be enjoying the good life. Except that for the last 13 years, he’s lived with the horror of his father’s murder right before his eyes, and only constant drug and alcohol use help to keep him numb. They also keep the demons at bay. Literally. You see, Alex has seen grotesque demons all his life, creeping out of the shadows. When the book begins, he’s finally had enough and tries to commit suicide. However, the world is not yet done with Alex. He is special, more special than he knows. His record label sends him to Paris to a fancy rehab facility, and while there, Alex comes face to face with his destiny. It turns out that those demons he’s been seeing are called the Sightless and they are minions of Satan. Yes, THE Satan. He is the only one who can them because he is a Seer, the first one in 2000 years, although he won’t come into his full power until his 20th birthday, if he lives that long. How does Alex come to know all of this? He has his very own Guardian Angel, of course, name Ellie. Through her, he is introduced to a whole pantheon of gods and goddesses. Christianity and multi-cultural mythologies merge here. In the coming war against Lucifer’s armies, the gods will need Alex’s Seer powers. Can he survive Satan’s attempts to kill him before his birthday, and will he be willing to sacrifice himself for his destiny and the survival of the entire human race?

The whole time I was reading, all I could picture in my head was Justin Bieber. (That’s who Alex reminds me of.) Consequently, I had a little bit of a hard time taking his character seriously. I don’t know if it was really the way he was written or the whole Justin Bieber thing. He just seemed like a big brat. I’m not so keen on having the fate of humankind dependent on Justin Bieber, you know? The mythological syncretism was interesting, although the gods and goddesses don’t really seem much more mature that Biebs, um, I mean, Alex. I think humankind is in an awful lot of trouble! Overall the book could do with some editing as there are some errors throughout, but I was able to overlook them. At times the dialogue was forced and unnatural, especially with the conversations between the deities. It will be interesting to see where the next volume in this trilogy takes us. I mean, the whole fact that Alex is the first Seer in 2000 years seems to indicate, to me, at least, that Jesus was the last Seer, so I wonder how this is going to be introduced. It will also be interesting to see how Ellie’s character evolves because she is obviously more than what she seems.