Customer Reviews

The Thirteenth Demon, Altar of the Spiral Eye (The Chronicles of Jonathan Steel)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are a lot of authors out there who come right out of the gates with the next best thing in fiction. Frank Peretti did just that, Ted DeKker did the same, and the list of names can go on forever. Some authors come out and fall flat on their face, and they are forgotten. But then you have an author or two who makes a genuinely honest effort, and while those efforts are sincere, they still come off looking cheesy. I'd say this fits the bill with Bruce Hennigan. But it wasn't the worst thing I've ever read either.

No matter what he does, people are after Jonathan Steel. Some want him for good reasons, others want to eliminate him. He really doesn't have much of a memory, but what he's discovering is that he's using what seems to work. And if he has it his way, he's doing everything he can for a greater glory. People are showing up where they don't belong. It's time for a battle.

We learn about the Spiral Eye tattoo, and we learn about the 13th Demon. We also learn about a power greater. We learn about fighting what's worth fighting for.

I can't say that I'll be eagerly waiting for Hennigan's next offering. This was honestly enough for me. But if this reaches the people out there who need to be reached, then I hope they truly embrace the message found within these pages. Bruce has a message, and it'll reach who needs to be reached out to. It was a good effort. Just not among my favorites by a long shot.

The 13th Demon by Bruce Hennigan is the first book in the Chronicles of Jonathan Steel. Steel washed up on a beach two years ago with completely no memory of who he was or where he was from, but he had almost super human fighting abilities. When the woman he loved was killed by a vicious demon with a spiral eye, Steel committed his life to hunting own his nemesis. He arrives in the small town of Lakeside, Louisiana to help out a desperate pastor whose church has been taken over by demonic forces. Huge spiders and scorpions run around the sanctuary, blood pours out from the doors, and the baptistery holds a portal to another dimension. Steel calls on his mentor, Cephas, to send him to reinforcements, a linguist named Liz and a physicist named Claire who brings her troubled son, Joshua. Hennigan has an enigmatic hero in Steel, but he takes the mystery a bit too far at times. The story suffers from too much back story and introduction of characters. Hennigan obviously has plans to write a large series, but 300 pages are too few to include all of the story elements he wants to put into play. One thing that concerned me in reading is that Hennigan's descriptions of the evil forces are poetic and lengthy in nature, but the forces of good get far less detail, making them less real, more abstract for readers. The story moves so quickly, and so many characters are introduced, there is little time to grow to care for them. (SPOILER ALERT) When a major character dies at the end of the story, I had very little emotional response, because there hadn't been opportunity to grow to care. I think that Hennigan has some terrific ideas, and Jonathan Steel could be a terrific hero, but it needs some work.

A wonderful story full of suspense. It was good vs. evil. The author's attention to detail regarding science and creation was a plus. The characters were well developed with a full range of emotions such as anger, love and compassion. I recommend if you want a great story that will keep you turning the pages well into the night. I can't wait for the 2nd book in this series.

Have you ever heard a premise that sounds like it will start off a certain way then you get whiplashed when it starts differently? This book was like that with me. And I almost disliked it from the start because it used a storyline-telling technique that I can't stand most of the time (I prefer very linear, beginning to end, not something that jumps), yet this book made a lot of sense using that technique, gave memory scenes good twist value. Not just that, but shock value. You know something bad will happen, you just don't know what, when it happens, due to the vivid descriptions of before and the during, you can feel it (if you have a heart). Not just the twists you feel, but also the horrific images of a demon-possessed church, demons of different types, and an egomaniacal tyrant trying to take over, it gets pretty good.

What I really had a problem was this... the author promised some apologetic lessons in the story about how God and science aren't just compatible, science is impossible without God in the first place. There were teases of a promise to show how God's tied to quantum science at that. Not a problem. The problem was it felt too long getting there. Not only that, but for most of the first half, Jonathan feels very preachy, many things he tells one of the supporting characters ( a teen guy who prefers being edgy than being around a group dealing with a church) sound like nothing but elementary school-level Sunday school lessons within one-liners. It did get annoying reading Jonathan state obvious things, Biblically speaking (not the best way to win the secular crowd, even in a horror book or if you're trying to be edgy), but I read on for the "science lesson" that was promised. And it's a good thing I did, learned some good stuff that scientifically connects science and spirituality (looked them up online afterward, and sure enough, the terms and theoriees are really being tested), and is not stated in a layman's kind of way, so I appreciated reading something as an adult, not Not only that, but learned a bit of history in ancient America as well (pre-Columbus, to be more specific), and the final scene where the enemy gets defeated is a jaw-dropper (for me at least), so I'd really recommend this book, despite the preachy parts. Can't wait for The 12th Demon, I just hope there'll be more character development and less overt preachiness from Jonathan.

Years ago, there was an explosion of "spiritual warfare" novels (i.e. Frank Peretti). Like any "big, new thing" it ended up being overdone and worn out. This novel is one of a new generation that brings fantasy and a tinge of horror to the genre. It is part of "Christian Fiction's" answer to the supernatural craze now at publishers (which, ironically, was pioneered by Christian fiction). In fact, 13th has the posibility to reach across religious boundries as it isn't the type to preach at its readers and the religion doesn't seem forced. Only flaw is that the secondary characters don't get quite the development they need. Nevertheless, the combination of fantasy-horror and ancient history sets the stage for what will hopefully become a long-running series. For more great fiction, try Noah Primeval: Chronicles of the Nephilim Book I & The Shadow and Night (The Lamb Among the Stars, Book 1).

This is probably one of the most intense supernatural thrillers of the Christian genre, I have had the opportunity to review for Christian Fiction Blog Alliance. This is not for the light-hearted. The story has to deal with a man named Jonathan Steel who was rescued from a near drowning, found naked and on a beach during a raging thunderstorm, he has no memory at all of his previous life. With the help of a psychiatrist named April, he has moments of clarity where he gains bits and pieces of his former life, but only when he is in a rage of anger.

Now all that remains of Jonathan's previous life is compiled into two years worth of memories but it involves finding and destroying the 13th demon, one more powerful than all the demons Satan has at his disposal, and this one wants to destroy everything pure and full of God's holiness. There is a brief historical look back into the human sacrifices of the Aztec civilization and thus where our story gains a bit of momentum.

Without giving up all the details of the story, Jonathan Steel is called in to help a pastor and his pregnant wife who are dealing with some strange things happening within the church and it appears that only Jonathan's expertise will help them wage the war against evil.

I received The 13th Demon by Bruce Hennigan compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for my honest review and would have to rate this one a 4 out of 5 stars. The story lags a bit with so much background of not only the character but of the current evil characters so it takes awhile before the reader really understands what is going on. Since this is a genre I enjoy, I look forward to the next book in this series.

My daughter works with the author of this book. She recommended it to me and I purchased it. Found it to be very entertaining. It is not my usual read but once I got started I did not want to put it down.

Reviewed by Joanne Benham for Reader Views (1/07)

A man comes crawling up the beach to a woman's home, begging for help. Apparently badly beaten and left to die in the ocean, he's somehow managed to survive. Lapsing into a coma, he wakes up ten days later in the hospital with no memory of who he is or any part of his former life. The only clue the police could find was a frequent diner's card for a local sandwich shop bearing the name J. Steel.

Six weeks later, physically healed but still without his memory, Jonathan is released from the hospital. With nowhere to go, Jonathan accepts a job as caretaker for Dr. Richard Pierce at his vacation condo. As the weeks go past, Jonathan finds himself falling in love with the doctor's daughter April, herself a doctor.

On the eve of their engagement, Jonathan returns to the condo to find the doctor almost dead at the hands of a madman and no sign of his fiancée. Finding her alive and unharmed, Jonathan attempts to escape the madman who had done such violence, only to have them both caught and April killed before Jonathan is able to kill the man, who is actually a demon. As April lay dying in his arms, she told Jonathan that the demon had said that he had to kill Jonathan before he destroyed all of his kind. With her last breath, she begs Jonathan to fight the evil.

For the next six months, Jonathan stays at Richard Pierce's side as he lay in a coma. During his one brief period of lucidity, Jonathan had to tell him about April's death and the death of the demon. Richard rewrites his will, leaving all his possessions to Jonathan to enable him to stop the demons before they take over the planet and after Richard dies, Jonathan begins his quest, hampered by FBI agent Franklin Ross who thinks Jonathan set up the demon's death to gain access to the Pierce money.

And so begins Jonathan's quest. His first hurdle looms immediately; where does one go to find demons? Two years later Jonathan arrives at Lakewood Community Church in Lakeside, Louisiana to begin his battle.

Once I started "The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye," I could hardly put it down. I just had to read one more page and suddenly I found it was three a.m. and I had to start work in four hours.

I can hardly wait for the next Jonathan Steel book, "The 12th Demon: The Blood of the Vampyre."

Book received free of charge.