Customer Reviews

A.D. 999

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

 

 

When God created a being in his image, an insurrection occurred in Heaven with the reactionaries led by the supreme being's beloved Lucifer. However, the revolt fails and God casts Lucifer and his followers from Heaven. They are doomed to reside in Hell away from God's glow. Satan reigns in Hell and is stepping closer to dominating the earth. His final plan outlined in the Book of Revelations begins when the Anti-Christ walks the planet.

Once before, Satan came close to victory. In 999 A.D., people believe the world is coming to an end. Satan, disguised as the Roman Angelo, murders King Edward so that his selected puppet Ethelred becomes England's monarch. For the next two decade, chaos rules the land. The signs of the Apocalypse are visited upon the people and God appears to have forsaken humanity. Instead of abandoning mankind, God selects two special individuals to act as his Witnesses. On first look, a crippled monk with a useless hand and a Scottish midwife seem as poor a choice as anyone could make. However, the divine creator has bestowed special powers that combined with courage and purity might defeat the seemingly invincible Satan.

Anyone who enjoys apocalyptic fiction will gain much pleasure from reading 999 A.D., a frightening story that seems very real. The exciting story line combines historical tidbits including millenia hysteria with religious beliefs that make for a genuine feeling tale. Angelo comes across as a Middle Ages crazed serial killer (as expected of Satan in any guise) that adds to the overall terror. Jardien Bell has written a fascinating novel perfectly timed for Millennium buffs.

Harriet Klausner

Bell offers a fun, fast light read here. Those who know medieval history will perhaps be bounced out by a lot of small errors (and a couple of not-so-small ones) but readers who like generic medieval-flavor fantasy will have a good time with this book. The heroes are likable, the bad guys really bad (what they lack in smarts they make up for in enthusiastic evil). There are no new ideas here, but what Bell lacks in perception of medieval paradigm--and how it was changing--is made up for in page-turning action, razzle-dazzle magic, and a really fun Ragnarok.

I haven't a fraction of the writing talent that Ms. Bell displays in this book and can't hope to do it justice, but I have to say something!

I loved it! Only the inconvenience of having a job stopped me reading it in one sitting - it took me two days!

The way in which the author has woven diverse threads of pagan mythology with christian apocalyptic prophesy works perfectly. It never felt contrived or forced.

Angelo is beyond machiavellian, and the reluctant relationship between the two heroes works very well too. Add to that some of the "stranger-than-fiction" characters and events from history and you have AD999.

Weaving a plot using Bible prophecy and Nordic sagas, the author has created a novel with an intricate plot which is well crafted and entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The story takes place at the turn of the first millennium. Many of us faced fears at the turn or our millennium but immagine Alwyn a monk and Kennag a pagan woman as they join forces against Satan in the guise of Angelo. Using Britian's ruler and the trickster Nordic god Loki, Angelo plans to usher in the Apocalypse and rule the earth.

I thought the novel was unique and imaginative, and I hope to see another Jadrien Bell historical fantasy available in the near future.

Jadrien Bell is a talented writer with some interesting and innovative ideas. His story takes place in the Dark Ages of Europe, where Satan (under the name of Angelo) is an advisor to Ethelred the Unready. Satan uses his cunning and magic to manipulate the young British King to try and bring about the Apocalypse on earth. In addition to manipulating Ethelred, Satan also makes a deal with Loki, the Norse god of deceit and mischief.

This is brilliant!!

I loved seeing the Norse and Christian myths merged together like this! Loki and Satan make for a facinating alliance!! The God of deceit and the Father of Lies! You end up wondering who will betray who first.

Of course there are other mythical characters in this story as well: The Fenris Wolf, The Midgard Serpent, Odin, King Arthur, The King of the Faerie, the Archangel Michael and others. Two mere mortals are assigned the task of stopping Satan and Loki from procuring the seven signs prophesied in Revelation to usher in the Apocalypse and create Hell on Earth. The two hapless mortals do receive help along the way, otherwise they wouldn't stand a chance! The author obviously knew a lot about Europe of the late 900s. It's mostly historicially accurate, and I respect that. He did take some liberties with historical fact, which bothered me a bit, although he apoligizes for it at the end of the book. It was after all a work of fiction, and it would not have worked if the thing were ENTIRELY accurate. Loki was my favorite character in the entire book and I LOVED the back and forth between him and Satan, but I think everybody will find something to love in this book!

We found this one highly enjoyable. (By my standards, three stars is an excellent rating; I'd like to give it three and a half.) While surely aimed to take advantage of the 1999 millenial fever, it has lost none of its flavor. Certain bits of the historical setting failed to persuade me; e.g., can wax candles, no matter how thick, really serve well for beating children? (I'd have appreciated a research footnote.) The mythological aspects, however, struck me as solid, and I much relished the blending of Norse with Christian Apocalyptic mythology, along with the sympathetic treatment of representatives of both creeds. Well-written and satisfying, as I would expect from this author under whatever pseudonym.

When I first laid hands on this book, it was merely the cover that caught my attention, having just turned from classic fiction to science--fiction and fantasy epics, and this being my first one, I didn't know what to expect. The back cover made it seem like my kind of book, so I decided to give this old book a chance at catching a place in my heart. To think I doubted. To think I doubted is enough to make me feel unclean, like most of the creatures in there, but not he book itself, no, definitely not the book itself. This book deserves too much praise.
I believe, once I've read the first chapter/prologue, that this book is sure to prove a captivating fantasy, how true it is that the beginning lays the foundation for not only the book, but the way you think about it, too. Oh, who could not notice the bright descriptions so deep and so true that just the mere beauty of it would make one snicker at a picture, so deep, and so grasping. Who could not pity Edward, for all his brutality, he died a fateful death at the age of sixteen!!! Who could not frown at Ethelred, and laugh inspite of themselves, and regret it with horror afterwards? Yes, who could not despise Angelo, and yet wish they had that same brilliance, dreaming on and on??? Of course, who could not hate Elfryth, a queen evil enough to rule with more of an iron fist than even Satan? Jadrien Bell, a. k. a. Christe Golden did such a wonderful job of making us care about the characters, that by then, I could feel a deep pleasure swelling up in me at the most austere part of the book, and still love Kennag and the crippled boy monk later.
Now, I'm not much of a spoiler, so don't try to get the ending from me. But one hint though, Elfryth's death haunts me to this day. Having read and discovered all the big names in science fiction and fantasy epics written by professional and non--professional critcs, I concluded that to make the reader actually care about a certain character or two can make even the most mediocre of stories interesting. I bet Christie Golden realized that, and she no doubt did a fine job of it at the beginning, wasting no time. But even if I did not care about it, the story overall still clung to my hand like an atomic magnet. That amoungst all the science fiction and fantasy epics are few. The more experienced readers will surely agree with me on this one.
When I finished the book, I regarded Christie Golden with great respect, expecting other books with equal powers to astound, and the same unwillingness to leave. But when I found out that this was her best novel ever, I wasn't surprised. Oh, woe is me and anyone who will ever look upon this book with indifference. It had definitely found a place in my heart.