Customer Reviews

The Centurion: The Balance of the Soul War

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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)

From the very first paragraph this story grabbed me and did not let go until I finished the last sentence. The concept itself is not altogether unheard of - along the lines of the Harry Dresden novels for a good rough "what type of story is it" outline, but that's all it is, a rough outline, to compare the two.
Mr. Little delves into the concept in a completely different manner, and it works. It works extremely well.

From the beginning there's a genius behind this story, and it begins to pulse as the story grows. The characters are incredibly well fleshed out without dragging the story along, and you begin to empathize even with the "bad guys".

The story moves along very well, not overdoing it in either the slower spots where the reader gets to catch their breath (and catch up with the story again) or in the action sequences, which are very well done.

It's a compelling read, a fresh outlook on the age old question of the nature of life, afterlife, and lack of both.

The next book in this series is a sequel I will be waiting anxiously for.