Sheila's Reviews > Rapture

Of all the end-of-the-world novels I’ve read recently, this one is clearly the best. The author’s not trying to convince me of any particular scriptural interpretation. He’s not trying to convert me and change my life. And he’s not just jumping on a popular bandwagon either. Instead he offers a well-plotted, intriguingly different tale, with a fascinating teen protagonist, left behind in a desperate world.

If timing is everything, this author has more than everything, setting up the present and revealing the past with nicely intersecting storylines. Yes, the Rapture has happened. But this is no tale of everyone vanishing and clothes left in heaps, nor yet of those who thought they had it made rallying to a new cause. This novel creates a mythology all its own, with a demon child born to fight on the side on mankind while denied the chance of heaven. In one beautifully memorable scene, set on the forbidden and agonizing ground of a church, young demon Sam learns he is loved. And that, despite all condemnation heaped on him by others and himself, is enough to bring him through.

Guarded and guided by a wise warrior as he grew, cared for and loved by the girl the world calls his sister, Sam grows up into a scary destiny, told through intriguing details that weave into the tale. Moving seamlessly between past and present, with clear dates and directions, the story takes readers from Utah to Vegas, from cathedral to hell, and from fear and loss to hope. It’s a beautifully complete story in itself, one that’s truly hard to put down, filled with great detail and powerful imagination. And it’s a great start to a longer story told in the next two books. I’m eager to read them!

Disclosure: I was given a free ecopy by the author and I offer my honest review.