"The Thirteenth Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye" by Bruce Hennigan at Absolute Write

Hi all:

I've got a new review up over at Absolute Write. BTW, if you're at all interested in writing, this is a great site that covers every kind of writing with articles, interviews, reviews, an active forum, and very affordable online classes. Check it out.

Anyhoo, my review is of Bruce Hennigan's debut novel The Thirteenth Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye.

Here's how my review begins:

As you may surmise from the title, Bruce Hennigan's debut novel deals with demonic manifestations and may not be appropriate for the faint of heart. On the other hand, The 13th Demon: Altar of the Spiral Eye follows in the tradition of Frank Peretti's breakout Christian novel This Present Darkness, which opened the door in Christian publishing for a vivid yet Biblical depiction of spiritual warfare in dimensions mostly imperceptible to humans. Hennigan's novel is a gripping page-turner that lures readers from archaeological digs in Mexico to medieval Aztec altars of human sacrifice to a demonically possessed church in the Louisiana bayou. It's Stephen King with a more hopeful outlook.

The 13th Demon begins thirty years ago at a Mexico City dig site where the Aztec altar of the spiral eye is uncovered. There we meet the novel's antagonist, Robert Ketrick, as a teenager where he first makes the acquaintance of a creepy pale man named Lucas who starts him down his chosen path. We're also present when the protagonist is born-- and almost killed by the Lucas-prodded Ketrick.

The story then fast forwards to a few years ago onboard a ship in a stormy sea when an unnamed tortured prisoner is shoved overboard to die. Except his torturer takes pity on him and ties soda bottles to his backpack to keep him afloat. Miraculously, the man survives, though with severe amnesia. Because the backpack contains a slip of paper with the name Jonathan Steel, our protagonist takes that name and "The Jonathan Steel Chronicles" are born.

By the 10th chapter, Steel has fallen in love with his psychiatrist, been attacked by a psychotic member of his rehabilitation group, and witnessed a double murder. And the story's just getting started. Whew! ...

Read the rest of my review here. If you're intrigued to read the book, you can get a copy from Barnes & Noble here.

Enjoy!

hrh