Sunday, March 4, 2012

Rapture (Rapture Trilogy #1) by Phillip W. Simpson

Rapture (Rapture, #1)Rapture by Phillip W. Simpson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



This is a young adult dystopian/urban fantasy novel.

Book Summary

The Rapture has occurred, just as the Bible predicted. The faithful have risen up to Heaven. Those left behind are in a living hell.

Earth burns, hell-like in its oppressive heat. Every volcano in the world has erupted, and tsunamis and earthquakes continue to devastate the planet. Clouds continually rain ash onto the scorched landscape, sparking fires all around. Plants and animals are dying. Food is scarce. The night sky is devoid of stars, and the moon - when it can be seen - is the colour of blood.

The remnants of humanity fight for survival. Most have fled the cities and now hide in caves deep in the mountains. By night, demons stalk the Earth, capturing the remaining humans and killing them - if they're lucky. The less fortunate are converted to worship of the Devil, and ushered into endless hell.

Eighteen year old, Sam (short for Samael) was raised in the town of Jacob's Ladder, Utah. It is appropriately enough near to a place of natural scenic beauty called Devil's garden. He finds himself alone, unable to rise up with his family because he is half demon. His mother, a devout Christian, was seduced by Satan and conceived his child. She smuggled the boy to an old friend Hikari, a Japanese sword master and demon expert. Since then, Hikari and his daughter, Aimi, have been all the family Sam has known.

Now they're gone, and Sam must set out on the mission Hikari charged him with long ago: to help all the humans left behind. Armed only with his beloved Japanese swords and his wits, Sam wanders the post-apocalyptic world alone, separated forever from everyone he loves. Cursed by his demonic heritage, he must now embark on a quest that will take him across the US to the City of Angels.

There he will confront his destiny. There he must fight to save a friend ... and the souls of the living.

My Review

This story stems from the Christian foretelling of the rapture. Although religious in nature, ultimately the story is about good vs. bad / nature vs. nurture. For those not religious, look at it from the aforementioned and take a leap like you would any other fictional story you would read such as stories with werewolves and vampires. I didn’t get the feeling of being preached to while reading.

Sam, the main character, a half human, half demon, is a well thought out character. Both sides of his nature show themselves throughout the story and we feel his struggle. Although the rest of the characters were not totally flushed out as the main character, Sam is a loner and this is his story. So I would expect to feel passionately about any of the others. Don’t get me wrong, there is substance to the supporting cast, but that is just it. They are supporting.

The storyline as mentioned above is that from a dystopian perspective. Something has happened and the world is forever changed. How will the characters survive in this new land. So for those skittish about the religious aspects should consider reading it from this perspective. With the added supernatural presence, this book dives into the urban fantasy realm. I found this book to be very interesting as I have with all the dystopian novels I’ve read.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, it is a good read.

My book boyfriend is Sam. Once you read the story you will so understand why I chose this picture.

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