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For The Lost Soul
When bullied teenager Joseph Harris took his own life, he expected to be damned to Purgatory. Given the chance of redemption, he is tasked to save the soul of an innocent child, one at the centre of a battle between God and the Devil. At stake, the souls of all the Lost Youth, the bullied who have taken their own lives and are damned to Hell.
As the child grows, the Forces of Hell send their top general to torment the boy, to drive him to follow Joe's fate, while Joe combats the threat with his own growing power and understanding of the Ethereal World.
As Angels, Fallen Ones and Demons gather, the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy lead the celestial forces to battle "For The Lost Soul".
As the child grows, the Forces of Hell send their top general to torment the boy, to drive him to follow Joe's fate, while Joe combats the threat with his own growing power and understanding of the Ethereal World.
As Angels, Fallen Ones and Demons gather, the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy lead the celestial forces to battle "For The Lost Soul".
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 25, 2013
3 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
About the author
Michael Andrews
17 books15 followersMichael Andrews is an independent author who worked for nine months on his first novel, called "For the Lost Soul". A supernatural thriller, this story is set to expose the murkier side of life as Angels and Demons battle for the soul of an innocent child.
Bullying plays a role in both his debut novel as well as his second book, a collection of poetry in the self-titled work "The Empty Chair". He has released this in the hope of raising awareness and money for his chosen charity beatbullying.org and it is available in both paperback and on kindle.
Michael switched to his next series of books, called "The Alex Hayden Chronicles". A paranormal series, featuring thousand-year-old, teenage vampire Alex Hayden. "Under A Blood Moon", "The Howling Wind", "The Cauldron of Fire", "Dragonfire" and "Children of the Sun" are now available and complete the series. "Being Alex Hayden" was released in 2021 and is a behind the scenes book about how Michael came up with the ideas for the series, along with a collection of short stories based on the Alex world.
Michael is also a member of a writer's group, and they have five short story anthologies. Their monthly homework assignments have been included in the four Words Don't Come Easy series, while "A Festival of Words" is a compilation of the winning entries in the recent competition run by the group, which also includes a piece of their own work.
In September 2022, Michael ventured into the world of serial killers with his latest release, "The Woodsman," while a horror short story collection called "Supernatural Shivers" is due for release in October ready for Hallowe'en.
Michael has also been published in The Canon's Mouth Magazine, Cathartic Screams by Severance Publishing as well as in The Bully Book complied by Alisha Paige (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00QXST298)
Visit him at www.jamspublishing.com
Bullying plays a role in both his debut novel as well as his second book, a collection of poetry in the self-titled work "The Empty Chair". He has released this in the hope of raising awareness and money for his chosen charity beatbullying.org and it is available in both paperback and on kindle.
Michael switched to his next series of books, called "The Alex Hayden Chronicles". A paranormal series, featuring thousand-year-old, teenage vampire Alex Hayden. "Under A Blood Moon", "The Howling Wind", "The Cauldron of Fire", "Dragonfire" and "Children of the Sun" are now available and complete the series. "Being Alex Hayden" was released in 2021 and is a behind the scenes book about how Michael came up with the ideas for the series, along with a collection of short stories based on the Alex world.
Michael is also a member of a writer's group, and they have five short story anthologies. Their monthly homework assignments have been included in the four Words Don't Come Easy series, while "A Festival of Words" is a compilation of the winning entries in the recent competition run by the group, which also includes a piece of their own work.
In September 2022, Michael ventured into the world of serial killers with his latest release, "The Woodsman," while a horror short story collection called "Supernatural Shivers" is due for release in October ready for Hallowe'en.
Michael has also been published in The Canon's Mouth Magazine, Cathartic Screams by Severance Publishing as well as in The Bully Book complied by Alisha Paige (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00QXST298)
Visit him at www.jamspublishing.com
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 30, 2014
Angels and Demons Battle Over Souls
This imaginative tale has a full cast of characters from earth, heaven, purgatory, and hell. Beneath the coming and goings of humans, angels and demons is a cautionary tale of how bullying can adversely influence, ruin,and even end young lives.
At times a sad and painful read as the actions of deprived humans are worked into the plot nonetheless the tale is always interesting. The protector of the soul of an innocent child has quite a battle on his hands as he faces off against Yeqon, one of Lucifer's top Generals.
This is a well written and thought provoking book that goes far into the world of the supernatural. As the author's first book it is a remarkable achievement.
I received a free copy for an honest non-reciprocal review.
This imaginative tale has a full cast of characters from earth, heaven, purgatory, and hell. Beneath the coming and goings of humans, angels and demons is a cautionary tale of how bullying can adversely influence, ruin,and even end young lives.
At times a sad and painful read as the actions of deprived humans are worked into the plot nonetheless the tale is always interesting. The protector of the soul of an innocent child has quite a battle on his hands as he faces off against Yeqon, one of Lucifer's top Generals.
This is a well written and thought provoking book that goes far into the world of the supernatural. As the author's first book it is a remarkable achievement.
I received a free copy for an honest non-reciprocal review.
April 9, 2019
Published in 2013, this is Michael Andrews' first novel. A twisting and turning adventure of angels and demons battling for the Soul Key, that will unlock the gates of heaven to the Fallen Ones. The Lost Soul himself, Joe, a bullied, teenage suicide victim, currently in Limbo, has been assigned Protector of the soul of an innocent child, Adam. If he can save Adam from Satan's' clutches, he will also save the souls of every other child who has taken their own life as a result of bullying.
The opening of the book immediately grabbed my attention and made me want to read on. It was intriguing and set the context well. I really wanted to settle down find out what had happened to Joe to make him do what he had done.
I wasn’t expecting what would happen next, as I was quickly immersed in a supernatural world of angels and demons, more intricate and complex than I could ever had imagined. We even ended with a bit of a Sci-Fi twist! For me, this is one of the great strengths of Andrews' writing. His imagination is incredible, as evidenced in his series, The Alex Hayden Chronicles, a teenage fantasy tale, rich with vampires, werewolves, pixies and witches.
I enjoyed the refreshingly irreverent and humorous take on God and his gang of celestial creatures. Some of the characters are extremely well-crafted. I loved the little demon, Durchial, and hated Gill, Joe's evil sister, in equal measure. I'll be honest, I was really looking forward to meeting the Big Man himself and was a little disappointed when we met everyone else but him.
The book touches on some difficult subjects which the author handled sensitively. Bullying and child abuse were central themes of the novel. The thoughtful exploration of youthful sexuality was particularly well handled.
This is Andrews' first novel and it did show in places. At times it was overwritten and clunky, with a tad too much tell and not enough show, leaving the reader feeling a little bit patronized. I also found the middle third of the book a bit slow and had to force myself to push on through.
However, I'm glad I did. The closing chapters were fast-moving and exciting. Poor little Adam encountered some horrible people and got into some truly awful situations. I greedily consumed the last few chapters, as it built to a spectacular climax with a plethora of unexpected plot twists.
So, did Joe save Adam's soul? Did Satan win the Soul Key? Was Joe damned to hell?
You'll have to read the book to find out!
The opening of the book immediately grabbed my attention and made me want to read on. It was intriguing and set the context well. I really wanted to settle down find out what had happened to Joe to make him do what he had done.
I wasn’t expecting what would happen next, as I was quickly immersed in a supernatural world of angels and demons, more intricate and complex than I could ever had imagined. We even ended with a bit of a Sci-Fi twist! For me, this is one of the great strengths of Andrews' writing. His imagination is incredible, as evidenced in his series, The Alex Hayden Chronicles, a teenage fantasy tale, rich with vampires, werewolves, pixies and witches.
I enjoyed the refreshingly irreverent and humorous take on God and his gang of celestial creatures. Some of the characters are extremely well-crafted. I loved the little demon, Durchial, and hated Gill, Joe's evil sister, in equal measure. I'll be honest, I was really looking forward to meeting the Big Man himself and was a little disappointed when we met everyone else but him.
The book touches on some difficult subjects which the author handled sensitively. Bullying and child abuse were central themes of the novel. The thoughtful exploration of youthful sexuality was particularly well handled.
This is Andrews' first novel and it did show in places. At times it was overwritten and clunky, with a tad too much tell and not enough show, leaving the reader feeling a little bit patronized. I also found the middle third of the book a bit slow and had to force myself to push on through.
However, I'm glad I did. The closing chapters were fast-moving and exciting. Poor little Adam encountered some horrible people and got into some truly awful situations. I greedily consumed the last few chapters, as it built to a spectacular climax with a plethora of unexpected plot twists.
So, did Joe save Adam's soul? Did Satan win the Soul Key? Was Joe damned to hell?
You'll have to read the book to find out!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2021
Brilliant book. Thoroughly enjoyed. Great plot and superb characters.
August 11, 2016
For the Lost Soul certainly has an original premise. I admit I have a soft spot for books that use mythological, biblical, heavenly etc figures to explore the human condition. Without adding spoilers, the story really kicks into gear at the moment Lucifer is described as becoming ‘The Devil’ as a result of some kind of celestial bullying. And so begins an extraordinary battle between heaven and hell with angels and demons, set on Earth and in purgatory, with the tragic figure of Joseph Harris caught in the middle.
The plot is well conceived, and maintained my interest throughout. A word of caution about this cautionary tale though; it is filled with emotionally painful subject matter and not recommended for the faint-hearted; bullying, suicide, loss, sexual assault, and acts of bigotry and inhumanity. Michael Andrews has been quite clever to package this material up as a supernatural thriller. And there's a sweet unexpected twist at the end which ties up all the loose threads - a nice reward for joining Joe on his dark journey.
I received a free copy for an honest non-reciprocal review.
The plot is well conceived, and maintained my interest throughout. A word of caution about this cautionary tale though; it is filled with emotionally painful subject matter and not recommended for the faint-hearted; bullying, suicide, loss, sexual assault, and acts of bigotry and inhumanity. Michael Andrews has been quite clever to package this material up as a supernatural thriller. And there's a sweet unexpected twist at the end which ties up all the loose threads - a nice reward for joining Joe on his dark journey.
I received a free copy for an honest non-reciprocal review.
October 20, 2014
This is a bittersweet fantasy pitting good against evil. I received a review copy in exchange for a non-reciprocal review, which means I didn’t read this book because it is the sort of thing I usually read. Nevertheless, I was deeply moved by Joe, the main character, and Adam, the boy he is charged to protect. There are a lot of very good people in this story who captured my heart, and more than once their struggles brought tears to my eyes. I was even captivated by a little blue demon. But I’m afraid I couldn’t keep straight all of the demons and angels or follow their complex rules of engagement. Also, even though I know there are evil people in the world, plus many fairly ordinary people who do evil things because of peer pressure or fear of what will happen to them if they don’t go along, I found the evil characters in this book to be extreme, possibly because they’re all possessed by various henchmen of Lucifer. For me the fantasy and the extreme nature of the evil characters over-simplified some of the very real issues dealt with here, abuses in foster care, sexual slavery, and the torments some children face from their families and peers. Due to this simplification and since the main character is a teenager, maybe the book should be called YA. The writing is very smooth, but the book could use better proofing. The reader often has to provide a missing word, or ignore an out of place word, to make sense of the sentences.
Having said all this, I definitely enjoyed the book as I followed Joe through his trials, always rooting for him. The author creates vivid scenes and a lot of suspense as well as the many strong sympathetic characters. Anyone who is looking for Christian fantasy will probably enjoy it even more than I did.
Having said all this, I definitely enjoyed the book as I followed Joe through his trials, always rooting for him. The author creates vivid scenes and a lot of suspense as well as the many strong sympathetic characters. Anyone who is looking for Christian fantasy will probably enjoy it even more than I did.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews