The Centurion: The Balance of the Soul War [Paperback]

Sean Little (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2007

In 1943, Jerald C. McIntire is supposed to die in a grenade explosion in the Ardennes forest in World War II. He miraculously survives, but from that point on Jerry no longer needs to eat or sleep, he has no emotions, and he never ages. After several suicide attempts, Jerry discovers he can’t die. But how is this possible?

Nearly twenty years after his first brush with death, Jerry learns that he somehow broke the realm of the natural order. Even God Himself isn’t sure how it happened, but Jerry is the only man ever born without a soul. The archangel Michael informs him that in the Soul War, good and evil are bound by certain laws and honor checks. Jerry, however, is bound by nothing and can therefore serve as the Master’s Centurion—an agent of God bestowed with the name Jericho.

Jericho roams the streets of New York City, keeping order between the agents of Heaven and Hell, the angelus and the demonata. When a rogue deity, an ancient Hittite dragon god, comes to Earth and begins preying on both angels and demons, Jericho must step in to maintain the balance. But he stumbles into a much larger plot—one that threatens to irreparably damage the Balance of the Soul War and end all things.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sean Patrick Little is a former journalist turned high-school English teacher. Raised near Madison, Wisconsin, he now calls Rochester, Minnesota, home. Little is currently at work on the sequel to The Centurion, his first novel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (March 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595432638
• ISBN-13: 978-0595432639
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,786,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sean Patrick Little was raised in a small southern Wisconsin town called Mount Horeb. He still resides in southern Wisconsin, in Sun Prairie, with his wife and daughter. Growing up on a farm far outside the realm of decent television reception and in an era before satellite dishes were abundant, Sean developed a vivid imagination as an outlet to stave off crippling boredom. He decided in second grade that he wanted to be a writer and has worked toward that goal since.

He has been a salesman, editor-in-chief of a small town newspaper, manager of a pizza restaurant, and a house painter, amongst other jobs. His dream job, outside of being a successful writer, is "Powerball Lottery Winner."

He wrote his first novel, The Centurion: The Balance of the Soul War, and chose to publish that through iUniverse in 2007 as Little puts it, "To get the publishing monkey off my back. I needed to see my work in hard copy form in order to think about doing this for real." His second novel, The Seven, is coming out through Dog Ear Publishing, but this time it's a conscious decision. In the two years since his first publication, Little has learned more of the ins and outs of self-publishing and marketing and has evolved into something of an authority on POD and self-publishing.

"Every author dreams of landing a major publishing contract, but the odds of that are really stacked against writers. I really don't mind being an independent author," said Little. "At one time, the term 'independent author' had the stigma of 'not being good enough for a real publisher,' but if you look at the books publishers are kicking out nowadays, it doesn't take much to see that they don't know always know what's good and what's not. A lot of independent authors are putting out some truly great work. Like music and films, and the success independent filmmakers and musicians have enjoyed, it's only a matter of time before people start to realize that a lot of independent books are often better than the stuff the major companies are putting out."

Little writes a blog readers can connect to through his website, www.seanpatricklittle.com, plays guitar and bass poorly, and has a crippling addiction to diet Coke. He is working on his next writing project, a sequel to The Seven, as well as a few other books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific new Series Debut!, June 4, 2007

By 

Nancy W. Malecha "fantasy fan and mother" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Centurion: The Balance of the Soul War (Paperback)

Sean Little has created a new interpretation of reality and infused it with wry humor, fast-paced action, and reverent irreverence. In The Centurion, we have a great jumping-off point for a new series. Little creates some very visual scenes and snappy dialogue. The plot moves along with enough information to keep the reader alert, but not so much that the story is hindered. Little's influences and inspirations would be clear to a seasoned fantasy reader, but he handles his characters with deftness and wholly owns the universe of his creating. Read this book; it doesn't suck.

4.0 out of 5 stars A little wordy and cliched, but mostly fantastic, May 9, 2011

By 

Mdesmondobrien - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Centurion: The Balance of the Soul War (Paperback)

A note: as this book has just recently gone out of print, it seems a little moot to be writing a review. However, reading it I am so impressed by the story and the writing that it was painful not to write at least something about it, in the hopes that there might be a reprinting someday and that it will receive the attention it deserves.

Jerald C. McIntire was supposed to die in a grenade explosion in World War II. But after watching his comrades die while he walks away practically unscathed, Jerald realizes something is dreadfully wrong: He no longer needs to eat or drink, he can't sleep, he has almost no emotions and never ages. When his question is answered twenty years later by a woman who introduces herself as Death's assistant Death, Jerry is told that is a freakish anomaly: the only man ever born without a soul. As such he is a valuable piece in the ongoing Soul War between Heaven and Hell, unbound by the laws of good and evil and therefore able to serve as the Master's Centurion--an agent of God, bestowed with the name Jericho. But when an ancient Hittite dragon god begins to prowl the streets of New York City, preying on angelus and demonata alike, Jericho might have finally met his match.

Once again I must state that this novel does not get nearly the attention it deserves. A deeply layered plot, a journey into the loaded realms of religious lore and an emotionless protagonist could have added up to a novel not worth the paper it was printed on, but Little pulls it off with more talent and flair than I've seen in many of today's popular adult novels. Angels were humanized, demons not all bad and God a character rather than a plot device.

Yes, the human characters were more than a little cliched. And yes, the dialogue is more comic book than serious adult fiction. But this novel seems to be less about its setting or its characters, and more about its wonderful and remarkably original story, one that is refreshing in today's cookie cutter world. Above all of that, it's a piece of real storytelling, something I didn't realize how much I'd missed reading until I read this book.

My only serious complaint was the way minor characters seemed to buzz in and out of the story like some kind of annoying moth to the flame, distracting from the true protagonists and the plot--a little streamlining would have been nice--but even that doesn't quite succeed in marring what is truly an exceptional piece of offbeat science fiction. Forget Dan Brown--try picking up The Centurion and you won't be disappointed.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Instant Page Turner, October 19, 2009

By 

Christopher Koterba "King of Abretokia" (Waukesha, Wi USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Centurion: The Balance of the Soul War (Paperback)

I had never heard of Sean Patrick Little before when I got my copy. I bought it because I know someone who went to college with him and recommended his book. I started reading it and inside of 3 paged I was hooked. I proceeded to devour this book. I have read it twice and both times I was immersed in the world Sean creates and I pick up things I missed in previous readings. I really enjoyed it. I know I will read it again. I am hoping to continue to follow Jericho's adventures in future books! (WINK WINK-Nudge Nudge)