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If God Doesn't Show
SHADOW CREATURES ARE ATTACKING
Thaddeus Archer is an ex-police officer whose missing daughter holds the key to the mysterious force that threatens to lay waste to what’s left of our world. It’s a race against time for the broken and desperate Archer who must trust the only man who understands what’s happening, Gibson Blount, an agent of a secret government agency that doesn’t officially exist.
AN ISLAND HAS RISEN OUT OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN
As their world spirals into chaos both men must overcome their differences and personal demons in a world besieged by the re-animated dead, natural disasters, and elder god set on destruction.
CTHULHU IS ABOUT TO WAKE
Thaddeus Archer is an ex-police officer whose missing daughter holds the key to the mysterious force that threatens to lay waste to what’s left of our world. It’s a race against time for the broken and desperate Archer who must trust the only man who understands what’s happening, Gibson Blount, an agent of a secret government agency that doesn’t officially exist.
AN ISLAND HAS RISEN OUT OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN
As their world spirals into chaos both men must overcome their differences and personal demons in a world besieged by the re-animated dead, natural disasters, and elder god set on destruction.
CTHULHU IS ABOUT TO WAKE
- GenresHorrorLovecraftian
215 pages, Paperback
First published July 27, 2012
2 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
R. Thomas Riley
22 books31 followersR. Thomas Riley is the author of the short story collection THE MONSTER WITHIN IDEA (2009-2011) published by Hugo Nominated Apex Publications and garnered a Best Horror of the Year Honorable Mention, for his story TOO LITTLE. The collection was re-released as a Kindle exclusive in 2011 and on January 14, 2013; the collection reached the Top 100 Paid Bestseller list in the Horror category. To date, the collection has been downloaded nearly 50,000 times on Kindle and is also available as in Paperback and Audiobook.
Independent publisher, specializing in apocalyptic fiction, Permuted Press and Audible.com published IF GOD DOESN'T SHOW - A Gibson Blount Novel (co-written with John Grover) in August 2012. THE FLESH OF FALLEN ANGELS - A Gibson Blount Novella (co-written with Roy C. Booth) was published by Grand Mal Press in February 2012. DIAPHANOUS (co-written with Roy C. Booth) is available now on Kindle, Paperback, and Audiobook.
OF FLESH AND SKIN: A DARKER EROTIC COLLECTION (co-written with Lisa McCarthy) was released March 2013. Frosty Moon Omnimedia adapted THE DAY LUFBERRY WON IT ALL (screenplay by Roy C. Booth and John F. Mollard) to short film in 2010.
Independent publisher, specializing in apocalyptic fiction, Permuted Press and Audible.com published IF GOD DOESN'T SHOW - A Gibson Blount Novel (co-written with John Grover) in August 2012. THE FLESH OF FALLEN ANGELS - A Gibson Blount Novella (co-written with Roy C. Booth) was published by Grand Mal Press in February 2012. DIAPHANOUS (co-written with Roy C. Booth) is available now on Kindle, Paperback, and Audiobook.
OF FLESH AND SKIN: A DARKER EROTIC COLLECTION (co-written with Lisa McCarthy) was released March 2013. Frosty Moon Omnimedia adapted THE DAY LUFBERRY WON IT ALL (screenplay by Roy C. Booth and John F. Mollard) to short film in 2010.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 21, 2014
Grover and Riley have put together a fairly interesting read with this book, and judging from the number of higher ranking ratings and reviews, a lot of people out there have enjoyed it. While there were many elements I rather liked, the majority of the story for 'If God Doesn't Show' fell flat for me.
The underlying plot for 'If God Doesn't Show' is a unique and interesting story involving both Lovecraftian mythos and Christian mythology. At first the combination surprised me, having not really seen it before, and I give full cred to Riley and Grover for the concept, it's an amazing one. The one flashback to Cthulhu vs the angels was beautifully done and brought to mind very clearly the sheer epic nature of the battle that was happening.
Other elements, such as the shadow creatures, were also nice touches, and their purpose was a nice surprise when it is finally revealed later on in the novel. I wouldn't have seen that coming, and when it did, I was impressed.
That said, however, I found that 'If God Doesn't Show' very much feels as if the authors tossed a large number of elements into a blender and tried to see if they would blend. As much as certain elements like the angels and fallen angels were great to add to the story, they play next to no roll in the story and could have easily been taken out or replaced with a preexisting element. (like the Twins for the angels, or cthulhu monsters for the one fallen angel they encounter) I understand that Blount exists in an angel rich storyline, and it would be a shame to leave them out. However, if a reader has not read the previous works including Blount, then the angels come across as mentioned above rather than an integral element.
There were some ups and downs with the characters within this work. Some characters, like Sam and Casey, were handled really well and saw some good character growth. (Sam especially) However, the main characters, Archer and Blount, were a problem for me. Archer felt almost one dimensional, while Blount felt like he was being shoe-horned into the novel. Archer didn't seem like he should have held the initial job at the start of the novel. If your wife, in a very memorable incident, tells you that your daughter's bf is trouble, and then something happens, why wouldn't you go back and ask her how she knew? Sure, she's crazy, but she also knew what was going to happen before it did. You guard the president, you're obviously a smart man, so why wouldn't you explore that lead?
Blount shows up as a character in the novel about 90 pages in, and slowly becomes the primary protagonist from then on. The fact that he is not in the first half of the novel gives the story a lopsided feel to it. More so since you haven't seen anything magical or myth related has really shown up before then. (except maybe the cult, and even then they just seem like a normal cult) The reader goes from what they suspect is a normal world that is suddenly going to hell due to an island rising in the ocean to multiple lives, psychics, angels, demons, God, gods, so on and so forth. This would have worked a lot better if Blount has been included earlier in the novel beyond a phone call.
But as I mentioned, the secondary characters are well done, and each behaved in a realistic and believable way. Some were handled well enough that it was a shame when they died, and more than a couple were frustrated me when they were given what amounted to a footnote death despite the amount of face time they got earlier in the novel. (such as the one that died in the helicopter crash)
In the end, the thing that got me the most with 'If God Doesn't Show', were the details. Though small, they built up fairly quickly and ruined a lot of the book for me. Some of elements were things like:
-The man who got shot in the belly, yet it somehow hit the lungs.
-The fact that okay is done as OK. Though correct, visually it is a gunshot to the eye when reading and gets annoying. (especially where they show up multiple times on a page)
-The runes that Blount placed that ended up containing the possessed person at the end of the novel, placed there earlier according to him yet I couldn't find reference to it even when I went back and reread that part of the story.
-Casey saying that the last time she saw her mom, the mother didn't recognize her, yet from what the reader sees, the last time they visited the mother she clearly knew who her daughter was. (unless they visited between that visit and the kidnapping)
-The deus ex machina ending, both in the false climax and the true climax of the book.
Yet despite what I mention above, 'If God Doesn't Show' was an okay book. As mentioned, I enjoyed aspects of it and there were things in it that both amazed and worked really well. I wish certain things had been integrated better though, as that would have turned an average book into a great book for me. And really, this book has gotten a lot of higher scores, so there are people that enjoy it, so you might as well too, despite what I mentioned above.
So, if you are interested in reading a unique take on Lovecraft's mythos, pick this book up. Both authors have done some amazing things in this story, and it is worth a read just for that fact. If you tend to get bogged down with details, then you may want to shy away from this one. An average book, this is still worth a read.
The underlying plot for 'If God Doesn't Show' is a unique and interesting story involving both Lovecraftian mythos and Christian mythology. At first the combination surprised me, having not really seen it before, and I give full cred to Riley and Grover for the concept, it's an amazing one. The one flashback to Cthulhu vs the angels was beautifully done and brought to mind very clearly the sheer epic nature of the battle that was happening.
Other elements, such as the shadow creatures, were also nice touches, and their purpose was a nice surprise when it is finally revealed later on in the novel. I wouldn't have seen that coming, and when it did, I was impressed.
That said, however, I found that 'If God Doesn't Show' very much feels as if the authors tossed a large number of elements into a blender and tried to see if they would blend. As much as certain elements like the angels and fallen angels were great to add to the story, they play next to no roll in the story and could have easily been taken out or replaced with a preexisting element. (like the Twins for the angels, or cthulhu monsters for the one fallen angel they encounter) I understand that Blount exists in an angel rich storyline, and it would be a shame to leave them out. However, if a reader has not read the previous works including Blount, then the angels come across as mentioned above rather than an integral element.
There were some ups and downs with the characters within this work. Some characters, like Sam and Casey, were handled really well and saw some good character growth. (Sam especially) However, the main characters, Archer and Blount, were a problem for me. Archer felt almost one dimensional, while Blount felt like he was being shoe-horned into the novel. Archer didn't seem like he should have held the initial job at the start of the novel. If your wife, in a very memorable incident, tells you that your daughter's bf is trouble, and then something happens, why wouldn't you go back and ask her how she knew? Sure, she's crazy, but she also knew what was going to happen before it did. You guard the president, you're obviously a smart man, so why wouldn't you explore that lead?
Blount shows up as a character in the novel about 90 pages in, and slowly becomes the primary protagonist from then on. The fact that he is not in the first half of the novel gives the story a lopsided feel to it. More so since you haven't seen anything magical or myth related has really shown up before then. (except maybe the cult, and even then they just seem like a normal cult) The reader goes from what they suspect is a normal world that is suddenly going to hell due to an island rising in the ocean to multiple lives, psychics, angels, demons, God, gods, so on and so forth. This would have worked a lot better if Blount has been included earlier in the novel beyond a phone call.
But as I mentioned, the secondary characters are well done, and each behaved in a realistic and believable way. Some were handled well enough that it was a shame when they died, and more than a couple were frustrated me when they were given what amounted to a footnote death despite the amount of face time they got earlier in the novel. (such as the one that died in the helicopter crash)
In the end, the thing that got me the most with 'If God Doesn't Show', were the details. Though small, they built up fairly quickly and ruined a lot of the book for me. Some of elements were things like:
-The man who got shot in the belly, yet it somehow hit the lungs.
-The fact that okay is done as OK. Though correct, visually it is a gunshot to the eye when reading and gets annoying. (especially where they show up multiple times on a page)
-The runes that Blount placed that ended up containing the possessed person at the end of the novel, placed there earlier according to him yet I couldn't find reference to it even when I went back and reread that part of the story.
-Casey saying that the last time she saw her mom, the mother didn't recognize her, yet from what the reader sees, the last time they visited the mother she clearly knew who her daughter was. (unless they visited between that visit and the kidnapping)
-The deus ex machina ending, both in the false climax and the true climax of the book.
Yet despite what I mention above, 'If God Doesn't Show' was an okay book. As mentioned, I enjoyed aspects of it and there were things in it that both amazed and worked really well. I wish certain things had been integrated better though, as that would have turned an average book into a great book for me. And really, this book has gotten a lot of higher scores, so there are people that enjoy it, so you might as well too, despite what I mentioned above.
So, if you are interested in reading a unique take on Lovecraft's mythos, pick this book up. Both authors have done some amazing things in this story, and it is worth a read just for that fact. If you tend to get bogged down with details, then you may want to shy away from this one. An average book, this is still worth a read.
January 14, 2013
If God Doesn’t Show is a modern take on Cthulhu mythos by H.P. Lovecraft and the efforts of a cult to bring about his return. We are introduced to Thaddeus Archer, a secret service agent who is dealing with a wife who is struggling with mental illness and a teenage daughter who resents him for having her mother locked away in a mental institution. Things change when Casey, his daughter, is abducted by the same mysterious cult which desires the Old Ones return. Time passes and Thaddeus gets close but cannot find his daughter, and his obsession causes him to get demoted after several agents die in a bloody raid on the cult.
Then in an instant, everything changes, and the world shifts as the cult prepares to open the way for Cthulhu to return. But before he can come, the rift into the void brings with it shadows-dark creatures that makes puppets of the dead and sometimes even the living, with their only goal of destruction of humanity. But these creatures, or even the doomsday cult who accidentally let them into our dimension, are not the only forces at work trying to destroy humanity. Thaddeus will have to work not only with the few other survivors at his side who have escaped the initial onslaught of the shadows, but a man who has lived through many lives and has struggled with darkness and evil in every one of them if the former secret service agent wants to save his daughter and prevent the Old Ones from rising up from the mysterious island that now floats in the pacific ocean.
If God Doesn’t Show is an interesting take on the Cthulhu mythos, filled with action from start to finish and topped off with plenty of darkness and intrigue. What starts out as a personal tale of one man on a hunt to find his daughter abruptly changes into something far more earthshattering in a grand and dramatic fashion. We are introduced to Blount, the character who has been reincarnated time and time again, about halfway through the book. He is positioned as a possible savior of humanity, destined to struggle with all forms of evil in each of his lifetimes. When we are introduced to him, he is on a mission with a group of government operatives heading to the strange island in the pacific that has a dark, impossible city buried within its jungles.
The two main characters spent most of this tale rushing toward the same objective and the pacing is fast and intense. While I found myself rooting for Thaddeus, Blount is the far more interesting character, surrounded by the supernatural and flashing back to past lives filled with battles against darkness. Their separate treks are both filled with mystery and energy, though that energy dissipates somewhat toward the end of the story, with what I could best describe as an extended epilogue. Giving away more details would be providing spoilers, which I like to avoid, but I felt as if the story lost a bit of its momentum going into the home stretch.
The authors provide excellent details surrounding the mixture of Lovecraft and Christian elements, though there were some questions I had that were left unanswered about the cult and their choices of sacrifice, though those quibbles were fairly minor. Overall, this was a fun read-a nice spin on the Cthulhu mythos with a few twisty elements tossed in for good measure. Of the two main characters, Blount was by far the more intriguing and the brief flashbacks to his past lives were intriguing tidbits that I would have liked to have seen more of. Perhaps this story doesn’t call for a sequel, but it might be interesting visiting some of Blount’s past lives.
Then in an instant, everything changes, and the world shifts as the cult prepares to open the way for Cthulhu to return. But before he can come, the rift into the void brings with it shadows-dark creatures that makes puppets of the dead and sometimes even the living, with their only goal of destruction of humanity. But these creatures, or even the doomsday cult who accidentally let them into our dimension, are not the only forces at work trying to destroy humanity. Thaddeus will have to work not only with the few other survivors at his side who have escaped the initial onslaught of the shadows, but a man who has lived through many lives and has struggled with darkness and evil in every one of them if the former secret service agent wants to save his daughter and prevent the Old Ones from rising up from the mysterious island that now floats in the pacific ocean.
If God Doesn’t Show is an interesting take on the Cthulhu mythos, filled with action from start to finish and topped off with plenty of darkness and intrigue. What starts out as a personal tale of one man on a hunt to find his daughter abruptly changes into something far more earthshattering in a grand and dramatic fashion. We are introduced to Blount, the character who has been reincarnated time and time again, about halfway through the book. He is positioned as a possible savior of humanity, destined to struggle with all forms of evil in each of his lifetimes. When we are introduced to him, he is on a mission with a group of government operatives heading to the strange island in the pacific that has a dark, impossible city buried within its jungles.
The two main characters spent most of this tale rushing toward the same objective and the pacing is fast and intense. While I found myself rooting for Thaddeus, Blount is the far more interesting character, surrounded by the supernatural and flashing back to past lives filled with battles against darkness. Their separate treks are both filled with mystery and energy, though that energy dissipates somewhat toward the end of the story, with what I could best describe as an extended epilogue. Giving away more details would be providing spoilers, which I like to avoid, but I felt as if the story lost a bit of its momentum going into the home stretch.
The authors provide excellent details surrounding the mixture of Lovecraft and Christian elements, though there were some questions I had that were left unanswered about the cult and their choices of sacrifice, though those quibbles were fairly minor. Overall, this was a fun read-a nice spin on the Cthulhu mythos with a few twisty elements tossed in for good measure. Of the two main characters, Blount was by far the more intriguing and the brief flashbacks to his past lives were intriguing tidbits that I would have liked to have seen more of. Perhaps this story doesn’t call for a sequel, but it might be interesting visiting some of Blount’s past lives.
March 5, 2014
The more I think about it, the more disappointed I am with this book. First, this book could have benefited from better proof reading. On more that on occasion, the word ROUGE was used where ROGUE was intended. My other issue is that this is part of a series and there was nothing to indicate that. Finally, I didn't much care for the characterization of Cthulhu. He/It came across as just another demonic entity, rather than something that the human mind could not comprehend.
Having said all that,I did like the way in which the authors pulled they Mythos out of the moldering New England countryside and put it into a modern action story.
Having said all that,I did like the way in which the authors pulled they Mythos out of the moldering New England countryside and put it into a modern action story.
September 7, 2013
I tried this out as an Audible audiobook I got when I purchased the eBook on Amazon. Incidentally, this is a great way to get an audio book because they are deeply discounted if you buy the eBook first.
If God Doesn’t Show by R. Thomas Riley is a very good continuation of the Gibson Blount story and book 2 of a trilogy. The story starts out more as a police thriller when a disgraced police officer goes in search of his daughter who was kidnapped by an evil religious cult. Before long, literally, all hell starts to break loose. Enter Gibson Blount to save the day. 3.5*
If God Doesn’t Show by R. Thomas Riley is a very good continuation of the Gibson Blount story and book 2 of a trilogy. The story starts out more as a police thriller when a disgraced police officer goes in search of his daughter who was kidnapped by an evil religious cult. Before long, literally, all hell starts to break loose. Enter Gibson Blount to save the day. 3.5*
August 2, 2012
For all you cthulhu fans waiting for something new, If God Doesn't Show by R Thomas Riley and John Grover (Permuted Press) has just been published. While I didn't edit this one, I was FORCED by The Boss, Jacob from Permuted, to read this book in order to "enlighten" my newbie self on the cthulhu mythos. AND I had to do background research on the whole mythos to make sure the authors were following it. I am happy to say that Riley and Grover were spot on.
Check it out.
Check it out.
November 1, 2012
I think I wasted my time. This was a complete disappointment. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, ESPECIALLY if they like H.P. Lovecraft.
August 30, 2014
Cthulhu stories always have a strong pull. This one draws you in, chews your brain and does not let you go. A pretty good story set in the modern world.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews