Customer Reviews

Wormwood

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

 

 

G.P. Taylor, an Anglican vicar who sold his motorcycle to self-publish his first book, "Shadowmancer," sounds like an interesting character. Unfortunately, he's not much of a writer. His characters change motivations more frequently than they change their clothes, and plot development doesn't seem to be a priority. Add to that overripe prose and a tendency to bring up interesting questions and then drop them without really addressing them, and you end up with poorly-written drivel. There are better ways to waste your time.

"Wormwood" is the second novel from Graham Taylor (G.P. Taylor), following the success of his first novel, "Shadowmancer". If you've read "Shadowmancer", you'd probably look at this book as a "sequel of sorts". It's not strictly a sequel - the continuing bits are the "angelic" parts and the bits about Yezhina's brother.

As most of you already know by now, Taylor is actually a vicar of the Church of England and his books are very much patterned after the "religious fantasy" of authors like C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. By "religious fantasy", I think we should understand it as having a story primarily while reflecting the author's personal beliefs (unlike the more polemical or preachy "Left Behind" series). Taylor too stressed this in many interviews by outrightly denying that he's "writing a Christian book". For people like me, I'd consider that fortunate (for Taylor as well as his readers). Why do I say that? Well, to begin with, his theology is atrocious and terribly unorthodox in many ways. His characterization of angels are totally unbiblical and his good vs. evil themes are too Dualistic to be Christian (Dualistic struggles of good vs. evil - with good ultimately triumphing - makes good reading but lousy theology).

As for his story, I actually found it interesting enough to finish the book in two days. Some of the bits are truly scary and his depiction of magic and the quest for forbidden knowledge (a warning to esoteric-seekers and Kabbalists, perhaps?) are all very well presented. For the more widely read, you'll probably be able to trace his many influences to 17th-18th century occult movement in London (people like the Rosicrucians, Isaac Newton, Giordano Bruno and John Dee) as well as extra-Biblical literature like the Book of Enoch. The "Wormwood" comet in the story is, of course, a reference to the Book of Revelation.

My biggest gripe with his writing (apart from the atrocious theology) is his handling of characters. The characters do not appear "real" enough - they usually come off as uneven and sometime "manic", like mentioned by another reviewer here. Dr. Blake's supposed "conversion" after meeting Abram Rickards appeared very "forced". Agetta started as a strong character and ended up weepy and manic (Taylor attributes this to the evil influence of the Nemorensis). Apart from that, all of the characters are portrayed as selfish and manipulative (even the supposed good guys and good angels). In short, none of the characters are really "likable" at all! Finally, the "evil plot" of the fallen angel Hezrin is at best, very sketchy because we only get bits and pieces of it towards the end of the book - almost like Taylor was running out of pages already and he had to wrap up the book as fast as possible.

Good for a weekend's read but nothing very captivating. Some of the parts are quite scary and may not be suitable for younger children.

Good science-fiction books are novels that intensify your imagination and provoke your thinking. Wormwood by G. P. Taylor is classified as science-fiction genre. It is a book about a comet hurtling towards the Earth, an evil book corrupting people's minds, and a London scientist and his guardian angel trying to save the world from total destruction of London from the evil.

Sabian Blake receives a strange package from an anonymous person and finds a book called Nemorensis. One of its written predictions says that a comet Wormwood will strike London and the world will suffer from its bitterness. The Royal Society decides to keep this secret; the nobles want to get rid of all the thieves, beggars, and "worthless" people and rebuild the city with a fresh start.

An evil fallen angel named Yerzinia is Lady Flamberg, the wife of the leader of the Royal Society. She plans to control the Royal Society and change London into a new city of corruption and fear. Blake and his guardian angel, Abram Rickards, attempt to stop Yerzinia and retrieve Nemorensis, which was stolen by Yerzinia.

I gave Wormwood a four-star rating because I wasn't entirely satisfied with Taylor's his novel-writing skills. The first half of the book was quite disjointed and boring; however, the second half became fast moving and very engrossing. I was on the verge of throwing the book away, but my patience led me to the second half.

Also, there are several loose conclusions in Wormwood; for example, the comet crashing into the moon seemed to be important and end the conflict of the novel, but there wasn't enough writing suspense built up to give me that relief after reading an exciting book.

Like The Da Vinci Code, Wormwood is certainly a very interesting book. However, G. P. Taylor needs to work on his novel-writing skills -- scene setting/ambience, plot structuring, and character development -- in order to spark his potential as a writer. If he's publishing another book, I am looking forward to it.

I returned this book to the store after the first few chapters, it was that bad. The early action in the book does not make sense - you'd think that after the earth went from day to night numerous times in quick succession, the panic would last for years. But no, after a few stampedes and deaths, people go back to their normal routines. Most of the characters are either grotesque or poorly drawn, and there are numerous scenes of violence which seem to serve no purpose other than to disgust the reader. Don't waste your money.

First off, I am a sucker for any book that takes place in London during the past 300 years. That gets the book one or two stars without trying too hard. But even better than that, the book is a solid, largely entertaining read. No great moral or philosophical lessons to be learned - even though we have a number of fallen angels, guardian angels, and angels come to retrieve their fallen comrades. And we have a underlying discussion of why earth is about to get annihilated by a comet - where is God and why is he doing this - but largely this is a enjoyable fantasy about good and evil, various mystical and fantastical creatures, and a number of angels in various states of grace or disgrace - all supposedly vying for control of London and the world at large. Of course we really find out that what they are most interested in is their own longevity rather than any particular loftier goal.

I particularly enjoyed the local "color" of London during the 1700's. I learned a few things about how the poorer sorts slept in a rooming house when they could not afford the price of a bed. I thought the writing nicely atmospheric, and I enjoyed most of the characterizations. The plot moves fairly well, although I will admit that by page 200, I was ready for the comet to hit, characters to end up wherever they were going, and for the book to end.

I do not always look for deep reading - and this was a solid read. I read the whole book on a one day business trip - its excellent plane reading - and then I was ready for something a little more substantial. All in all ... recommended with reservations.

"Shadowmancer" was awful. It was ok for young adults, but the characters were uninteresting and the writing tedious.

Much to my surprise "Wormwood" is an improvement. Taylor chucked his "Shadowmancer" characters and setting and made new characters and a new setting. The biggest improvement was in the overall tone of the book. The book feels overall darker, making more appropriate for the teen age group, as opposed to the pre-teens.

Again, as with "Shadowmancer," not too many characters were ones which you sympathize with much... but unlike the prior book, their situations are interesting enough to keep me curious as to what would happen next.

The writing feels smoother and more worked out. It's obvious that Taylor isn't writing books that will become classics, but in the present "Wormwood" is an entertaining weekend or beach read.

Taylor's religious fiction book fails to compare against adversaries such as Tolkien and C.S. Lewis whose plots captivate all. This excuse for a book leaves you asking so many unanswered questions that it's hard to appreciate what the book does contain. In the end almost no character has actually had their motives explained and the few who have don't have reason for suddenly being allies.

Wormwood doesn't give off any quality because the whole way through the book it seems as if every single idea needs desciption. I'm not one to say adding descriptions is bad at all, but when a whole two paragraphs is about the equivalent of five seconds you can't enjoy the small thrill it gives.

In conclusion I would like to ask a simple question. Where were the editors when Taylor sent in his first draft?

G.P. Taylor struck out with his much-hyped debut, the tepid religious fantasy "Shadowmancer." And the follow-up, "Wormwood," is even less engaging than "Shadowmancer" was -- while it's fairly well written, it's loosely strung together with dull characters and a plodding plot.

In the mid 1700s, London is gripped by panic -- somehow the earth is overspinning, and suddenly stops so that London is plunged into permanent night. A young servant girl, Agetta, is terrified of what is going to happen, especially because her master, Kabbalah master and scientist Dr Sabian Blake, is predicting that a comet called Wormwood will strike the earth.

This information comes from the mysterious book, Nemorensis, that Blake was given by a stranger. The Nemorensis supposedly contains all the secrets of the universe. Unfortunately, the book also exerts a sinister influence over Agetta. But in an attic is Tegatus, an angelic being who might just be the savior London needs...

Religious fantasy, or fantasy with religious undertones, is not a bad thing -- J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and others allowed their religions to influence their life's work. But G.P. Taylor not only has the subtlety of a battering ram -- he's also quite boring. The story plods along in a string of little plot-related scenes, without building up much momentum.

One of the biggest problems is the way Taylor handles the fantastical elements of his book. Okay, there are weird creatures. Most fantasy books have those. But his seem to just be thrown into the mix for no apparent reason. His handling of superstition and science in the 1700s is sketchy at best, no matter how brilliant a scientist Blake is meant to be.

Taylor has a decent enough writing style, and he has a certain flair for description and atmosphere. But his style is also very repetitive and over-the-top -- where are the editors when you need them? What's worse, his idea of creating a fantasy world seems to be to just toss in a few weird elements that have nothing to do with the plot. The actual fantasy plot is just more of Taylor's lukewarm, generic Christian sentiments.

The characters are as thin as the pages. There are a lot of characters for a relatively slim fantasy book, and many of them are left underdeveloped. Blake and Agetta are the only ones who receive any character development, and that isn't saying much. Agetta in particular seems almost manic, considering how fast her moods swing. Tegatus is just freakin' boring.

G.P. Taylor strikes out again with "Wormwood," another dull religious fantasy that leaves a sour taste in the mouth. Boring, messy, and not worth the effort it takes to wade through.

Totally engaging, great historical discriptions, and deep theological messages, I couldnt put it down would love to see this made into a movie!

After feverishly finishing Shadowmancer, I instantly went out and bought this novel. Boy, what a disappointment! This book is so lame. Lamer than Attack of the Clones and ewoks combined- and, from me, that is a HUGE insult. It was so bad I hardly forced myself to finish it. I loved Shadowmancer because it so vibarantly expressed Biblical truth in a way that unbelieving readers- Harry Potter exuberants, especially- might not exactly realize what they were reading, but would still get some basic and beautiful truths about Christ into their heads. That was all erased from this novel. NOTHING! Nothing whatsoever. I could almost say that the Buddhist and New Age-swamped Star Wars saga is more spiritually inline than this novel. What happened to good theology? What happened to the grace of Christ? What happened to His love? His protection? How He crushes evil under His heel? What happened to Deutoronomy's harsh veiw on magic that causes me to avoid Harry Potter?

And besides that, it was just not well written at all. Just as bad as Eragon, and GP Taylor is HOW much older than Christopher Paolini?! Tolkien probably wrote this bad when he was FIVE!

Terrible book. Stay away.

But does anybody want my copy?!