Review: Lucifer's Odyssey

Lucifer's Odyssey by Rex Jameson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Dark Fantasy Reading Level: Adult

Disclosure: I received a free ebook copy of this text through the LibraryThing Member’s Giveaway program in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Lucifer languishes in an earthly prison, awaiting the apocalypse that will finally free him after 200,000 years. Before breaking loose, he discovers that the armageddon he set in motion will destroy the capital of Chaos, his home universe.

He travels back to Chaos and stumbles upon a bloody civil war devastating his homeland. The realm's magic wielders are firmly under the control of a rival clan, and without their protection, Lucifer's family is in mortal peril. As old demon clan rivalries blossom and a new hostile universe expands across the known multiverse, Lucifer is faced with not only protecting Chaos from annihilation but also saving his rightful place on the throne.

My Thoughts: Imagine that everything you thought you know about good and evil, demons and angels, even elves was completely wrong. Imagine that everything you thought you knew about the war between heaven and hell was wrong. I believe it was from this perspective that Rex Jameson wrote this book, Lucifer’s Odyssey.

There is not much I can tell you about this book plot-wise – if I even start to try, I’ll end up spoilering all over the place. So, I’ll comment on the elements of the novel instead. First of all, I loved the characters and characterization. While the book is primarily action-oriented, whenever they had the opportunity to take main stage, the characters would shine. I particularly liked Sariel – his combination of a sort of grazed, psychopathic glee and absolute horn-doggedness was a never-ending source of amusement. The plot flowed smoothly, for the most part, and while this is very obviously the first book in a series, with plenty of plot threads left untied for the next book, at the same time it is a complete and satisfying story within itself. That said, it really didn’t grab me like I had hoped it would – while it really isn’t a terribly long book – less than 300 pages – it felt like it took me a long time to read it. I wouldn’t say it actually did, since I read it within a 12-hour time period, including a nap of several hours, but it seemed even longer. It’s not a bad story, not by any means, and my rating reflects it – it just didn’t haul me in like I had hoped it would.

The sequel to this, The Goblin Rebellion, has been available since January. There are two novellas that are based in the same universe as well, Elves and Goblins and Angels and Demons. I have not decided whether I will finish reading the whole thing, but I do have Elves and Goblins, so will at least read that one. If you like dark fantasy, speculative fiction, you should enjoy these stories, so don’t hesitate to check them out.



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