Description:
This novel is the first in a Christian Horror trilogy. The concept of the series is straightforward, fast-paced, and compelling. God had not been an important feature in Brynn's life until she met the outwardly arrogant pastor Anthony. Archangel Gabriel revealed that they have been chosen by God to complete a task and must comply however overwhelming and frightening their new path will become. They struggle with their unnatural inheritances, family confrontations, personal assaults from demons, and hostile visits from fallen angel, Lilith, before they figure out how to save the innocents possessed by evil.
Join Brynn Duvaine and pastor Anthony Russo as they fight for God against the growing evil in the first book of A.L. Fetherlin's Christian Horror series, 'Brynn, the Exorcist.'
You can get it at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/81318?ref=johnhcarroll
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HAA8DW
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/brynn-the-exorcist-a-l-fetherlin/1105098417
You can also get it in paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Brynn-Exorcist-Book-One-Volume/dp/1466454520
Review
It's very difficult reading a book written by a friend, and in the interests of full disclosure, I consider A L Fetherlin a very good friend. :) I'm always afraid I won't like a book by a friend. It's happened a couple of other times with other writers. In those cases, I didn't leave a review or even let them know. Shhhh.
But I did enjoy this one! It's very far out of my typical genre of epic fantasy. I've had a few odd looks when I've told people that I was reading Christian Horror, but if you think about it, it's the perfect category. Demons and angels fighting for the souls of ordinary humans where the ultimate prize for us is Heaven or Hell.
Brynn the Exorcist is book 1 in a series currently being written. It introduces the characters Brynn Duvaine and Anthony Russo to the reader. Brynn is a psychologist working with victims of the worst sorts of violence from their childhoods. Anthony is a pastor suffering from the worst sort of disease any person of god can suffer, Vanity.
I came to like Brynn right away. She's a strong female lead who begins as a skeptic about anything slightly out of the normal. Making it harder is that the forces of evil try to encourage that skepticism. Sometimes it takes great willpower and some divine assistance to rise above it. Once she overcomes that skepticism, she proceeds with devout determination and courage. Brynn suffers and has doubts, as all people do, but she pushes through and does what she believes to be right. She is a true heroine who I came to feel a connection to.
Pastor Anthony goes through moments where he believes himself to be brilliant and moments where he believes himself to be a failure. There is much more happening behind the scenes that the author hasn't told us yet though. I believe there will be more revealed in future books.
My favorite characters are the demons that possess us innocent humans. I'm totally claiming possession the next time my wife blames me for something. ;) But the demons are delightfully evil and each has its own twist. If anything, they could be even more vile, as could Lilith. I occasionally wished I could be even more frightened.
On the negative side. I didn't like the husband at all. He didn't seem to have a lot of redeeming qualities, and the ones he did have, he lost sight of along the way. Also, there were a few instances where I was told a conversation, or something else happened, but I think it would have been better to read about it while it happened. The last thing was some mild head hopping between characters without a *** break in perspective. It either wasn't too terrible, or I'm just becoming use to it in books these days. None of the negatives were enough to detract from a superb story that was well-written and well edited. :)
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys horror, especially with demons. There is heavy Christian revelation and enlightenment, but it's very thoughtful and adds to the story rather than detracting.
About the Author
A.L. Fetherlin was born in the middle of central Illinois to people and then moved away.
The mother of three, ruler of none and almost obsessive admirer of most things Scottish and British, AL has virtually no time to herself. AL enjoys stories about death in any form and God in all forms.
Disclaimer
I have decided to review books that I enjoy. I am an avid reader of fantasy, so most of them will be in that genre. I'm not taking any requests, just reading what catches my eyes. You'll find that most of these are from Indie Authors. The way I figure it, David Eddings, Anne McCaffrey, Alan Dean Foster and Piers Anthony (my favorite authors) already have enough reviews, but Indies could always use a few more.
It is important to note here that while I am a writer, I am doing these reviews as a reader. I also know a number of the authors I will be reviewing. This is not an exchange of reviews, nor have I been solicited by those authors to write the review. At no time will I ever accept any form of payment for a review. When I say that I'm am doing this as a reader, I mean it. I get nothing in exchange.
All my best,
John H. Carroll
2 comments:
Why, thank you, sir! What a lovely and honest review. Much appreciated.
I truly started Thad, the husband, as a good man, strong-willed and loving, but he just turned himself into an arse. I was rather upset with him until I found out why he was being so mean.
But, I still don't like him. In the next, he tries to be a better person, but fails.
Hello, AL
You are very welcome. :) I could see the potential in Thad at the beginning. I've had characters turn out bad on me before too. I find that I was very disappointed in them, lol
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