Pazuzu's Girl [Paperback]

Rachel Coles (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2012

Morpho Wilson thought her life was difficult enough. Her father is Pazuzu, the Mesopotamian demon of plague and the Southwest wind. As a teenager, Morpho struggles against her father, while trying to adjust to high school in a new neighborhood. The family is constantly moving in an attempt to elude Pazuzu's murderous ex-wife, a demoness known for killing children.

Then something interesting happens. A socially-impaired classmate becomes so intrigued by Morpho that he pursues her, despite the mystery surrounding her family and the danger that accompanies it.

But before their romance can grow, the demoness tracks Morpho down, and now only needs an ancient artifact called the Tablet of Destiny to complete the destruction of the world. The tablet confers on its owner the ability to control the fate of everything and everyone on earth.

Once the tablet is discovered in the Middle East, the oldest and most powerful gods begin a battle for its possession, with the human population caught in the middle. Morpho, her family, and her new friend must decide, do they escape from the horrifying demoness or fight for their own destiny? How far will Pazuzu go to save his daughter from a hellish fate? Will his banishment from Heaven so many millennia ago end up being a curse...or a blessing?

Editorial Reviews

Review

Pazuzu's Girl truly is a thrill ride. Author Rachel Coles does a magnificent job giving just enough backstory to keep the reader intrigued while building the drama to a climactic end. Every time Morpho speaks I can hear my own daughter's voice, and that kind of realism is priceless. It intertwines many mythological deities and demons most notably from the Middle East with our everyday modern world. ...for those of us who are fans of this style of speculative fiction, Pazuzu's Girl will be an entertaining read. -Tales of the Talisman

"The rising tension in the battle of good versus evil rivals that of any summer blockbuster film. The conclusion is touching and reaffirms the very humanistic side of society that is often labelled as detached or inept towards compassion. There is a very promising future for Ms. Rachel Coles."  -  HorrorNews.net

"A story of family, romance, and the supernatural, 'Pazuzu's Girl' is a fun and fast paced read that should prove hard to put down." - Midwest Book Reviews

"The way Coles wove the mythology through this book was fascinating, the ancient meeting the modern. Her characters and descriptions are as dichotomous as the gods themselves - poetic and alluring, horrific and ghastly." - Refracted Light Reviews

"Pazuzu's Girl by Rachel Coles is a unique story, and that is positive praise indeed when I can say I have never read anything quite like it.  Pazuzu's Girl has it all: great plot, great action, and great characters. And best of all, great demons."  -  Jeani Rector, Editor - The Horror Zine

About the Author

Rachel Coles lives and works in Denver, Colorado with her husband Adam, and young daughter. An anthropologist by training, Rachel pursued her love of diverse cultures and passion for mythology into writing. She is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family, and grew up with a rich background in Semitic and Middle Eastern folklore. Together with her husband and daughter, she enjoys martial arts, science fiction, fantasy, and horror, in all their forms. They are, in fact, the proud parents of the youngest Trekkie in the state. Rachel Coles' other credits include the story Orphans of Lethe in the new anthology What Fears Become from Imajin Press, and numerous other horror shorts in genre magazines, in addition to two short story anthologies: Beyond the Veil, and Into The Ruins.

Product Details

• Paperback: 268 pages
• Publisher: JournalStone (February 10, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193656436X
• ISBN-13: 978-1936564361
• Product Dimensions: 0.6 x 5.9 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,118,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rachel Coles lives and works in Denver, Colorado with her husband, and young daughter. An anthropologist by training, Rachel pursued her love of diverse cultures and passion for mythology into writing. She is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family, and grew up with a rich background in Semitic and Middle Eastern folklore. Together with her husband and daughter, she enjoys martial arts, science fiction, fantasy, and horror, in all their forms. They are, in fact, the proud parents of one of the youngest Trekkies in the state.

Rachel Coles' other credits include the story Orphans of Lethe in the new anthology What Fears Become from Imajin Books, and numerous other horror shorts in genre magazines.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient mythology mixed with great story, highly recommended March 12, 2012

By K. Sozaeva TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Disclosure: I received a free e-book copy from JournalStone via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer's giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis from NetGalley: Morpho Wilson thought her life was difficult enough. Her father is Pazuzu, the Mesopotamian demon of plague and the Southwest wind. As a teenager Morpho struggles against her father, while trying to adjust to high school in a new neighborhood. The family is constantly moving in an attempt to elude Pazuzu's murderous ex-wife, a demoness known for killing children.

Then something unique happens. A socially-impaired classmate becomes so intrigued by Morpho that he pursues her, despite the mystery surrounding her family and the danger that accompanies it.

But before their romance can grow the demoness tracks Morpho down, and now only needs an ancient artifact called the Tablet of Destiny to complete the destruction of the world. The tablet confers on its owner the ability to control the fate of everything and everyone on earth.

Once the tablet is discovered in the Middle East, the oldest and most powerful gods begin a battle for its possession, with the human population caught in the middle. Morpho, her family, and her new friend must decide, do they escape from the horrifying demoness or fight for their own destiny. How far will Pazuzu go to save his daughter from a hellish fate? Will his banishment from Heaven so many millennia ago end up being a curse...or a blessing?

My Thoughts: I've been interested in Sumerian mythology for some time now, so as soon as I heard about this book, I wanted to read it. I was not disappointed. It was obvious that the author spent some time researching the myths, legends and stories of Mesopotamia, and then wove them into this wonderful story.... The characters are fascinating, the story paced wonderfully, and it is highly engaging and readable. Highly recommended, especially to those who enjoy stories woven among the ancient legends. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkably Entertaining Effort November 12, 2012

By Pop Bop TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition

I've been reading a lot of middle grade and YA fiction, and have to say that the whole demon/daemon/deamon hunter thing is getting a bit long in the tooth. The description of this book on the Amazon page didn't necessarily hold out a lot of promise in terms of novelty or appeal. Well, guess what? This book does a better job at telling an action/adventure/demon/mythology/teen angst story than anything I've read in quite a while.

No matter how complex or entertaining the plot is, and no matter how cool the mythological base is, for me it seems that these books rise or fall on how engaging and authentic the characters are. They don't have to be real - Harry Potter isn't real, or Percy Jackson, or Anne of Green Gables for heaven's sake - but they do have to strike some chord beyond a description of their hair and eye color and their favorite band.

Well, that's where this book shines. Our heroine, Morpho, is an angsty teen, but we get beyond that pretty quickly and easily move into liking and admiring her. The love interest second banana, J.D., is not some lame dreamy hunk, but an actual character. The father, Pazuzu, is a powerfully creepy presence, who is balanced out by some very sly humor slipped in by the author.

The whole effort is fast-paced and energetic. The Semitic/Middle Eastern angle is a nice break from Greek mythology. The teen snarkiness has some wit to it, and isn't beaten to death. The overall quality of the writing is sharp and ambitious. It's not overwritten or mired in purple prose, but it's rich and varied enough that it doesn't just read like a movie script with stage directions.

So, definitely a pleasant, rewarding and entertaining surprise....

Please note that I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for a candid review. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good May 1, 2012

By allforlost

Format:Kindle Edition

I will say this should be more of a 3.5 for personal thoughts on reading the story and a 4.5 for the flow of writing and the amount of research about the Gods that would have had to go into this book.

The Story

Pazuzu is a Mesopotamian God and at one point he made an error in judgement and got kicked out of their Heaven. Then he ended up hooking up with a psycho Goddess...he then got away from her and married another woman with whom he had a daughter, Morpho. Morpho is now a teenager and her mother is dead because of the psycho ex. Now this psycho ex is trying to find and kill Morpho, while Pazuzu is trying to keep her safe and raise an angsty teenager. These things don't always work out the way they should. There are multitudes of Gods and ghosts and there is even an elf.

Likes and Dislikes

--These are combined because they go hand in hand.

--I liked that Pazuzu had the same problems raising a teenager that most parents would have. However, some of his more funny comments just didn't seem to make sense for me. If he has been in the mortal world raising a kid for 16/17 years (I didn't exactly catch the actual age of the character, just in high school), then I would think that he would know about different technologies and the like.

--I liked that Morpho had a love interest in JD, however that moved so freaking fast that it was not even funny. One day they hang out, then he doesn't talk to her the next day, then a couple days later helps rescue her from stupid ass dudes, then the next day they are in love and can't live without each other???

--Liked that JD knew so much about Pazuzu and it was because of Dungeons and Dragons...hahaha....

--I did end up liking most of the characters by the end, but not to the point that I cared about the story a whole lot while reading it. It seemed like too much switching and a bit too much, but that's just me.

Conclusion

I think this book is going to be more up to the reader. The research was good, the writing was good, personally I couldn't get into it as much as I would have liked.

free copy provided for an honest review via Shut Up & Read group. Read more ›