Empire of Light

by Michael Bible

“Michael Bible may have hit what a lot of us were trying, a singular new voice for CEOs to slackers. He’s so open, so easy, so fluid, you’ll smile with joy turning every page.”—Barry Hannah

A prequel to Michael Bible’s Sophia, Gaucho feature a young Maloney and his adoptive father, Frank, who often get into trouble together in their small Carolina town—partly due to Maloney’s expansive heart.

Genres: Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2018

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This crawled inside of me and ripped me apart. Totally unexpected.

The writing was fluid and flowed so naturally and the story was so well done.

[Laura Hoffman Brauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent coming of age novella about a teenage boy in North Carolina. I enjoyed the writing style, but wasn't as caught up in the visions/dream world that the main character periodically inserts into the narrative.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice coming of age tale that was, all in all, fine. I did not find myself getting carried away in the story as much as I would have liked. Maybe it was the writing style? Honestly the fantasy snippets could have bank removed and I don't think it would make much of a difference in my reading experience. It has all the pieces of the puzzle (interesting plot, well thought out characters, descriptive writing, etc), I just couldn't make them fit. I definitely think it's worth a read, I just wouldn't go in with crazy high hopes.

[Nick Gregorio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know, man, this thing’s pretty perfect. Devoted to the gut feeling of knowing you’re living the beginning of an ending and just LIVING. And dying. And being a water molecule existing in its endless cycle of a teensy-tiny part of the universe that’s also going through its own endless cycles. A small, devastating story that encompasses literally all of everything. Just amazing.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s alright, but it’s definitely not good. Feels like it was written by an undergraduate student who “likes to read.” Undoubtedly, it was published to satisfy a contract.

It wasn’t completely horrible.

[Pauline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could have liked this more, as the characters and prose were both delightful and inviting, but the predictability of the action slowed my reading down, making this tiny book a bit of a slog to get through at the end.

[Chad Felix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe a bit less developed than the True Delight Sophia, but still a slight, feet-three-inches-off-the-ground work of considerable fun and magnitude. Michael Bible is your Natural Poet Friend.

[Mayleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written coming of age story. I’m going to go back and read more of his books.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book while drunk, which may be the only way to read it.

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

[Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was good but it has essentially the same plot as the ancient hours except the ancient hours was better

[Aaron Durbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Bible dude is pretty good.

[b · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Bible’s writing. It’s fun to read.

[🐴 🍖]

abandoned. it's like if shane jones wrote a walk to remember. call poison control