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Exodus: A Requiem for Jacob Forlorn
From the writer of the heartwarming and inspirational ebook "The Little Boy and the Sea", comes a dark and haunting novel for the Kindle and print with " A Requiem for Jacob Forlorn".A tale of love, lust, betrayal and vengeance. What happens when everything you've worked for and sacrificed for is suddenly taken away from you? What happens when the greatest love you've ever known isn't what it seems? What happens when your most loyal childhood friends and family pass away? What happens when one man takes a fateful journey between love and hate, light and darkness...Heaven and Hell?Jacob Forlorn is a beleaguered everyman escaping from the shadows of a bitter and broken past to find his place in life when he meets Miranda, a beautiful and mysterious woman with a past of her own. Drawn by love at first sight, a whirlwind romance brimming with intense passion ensues, culminating in the birth of a beautiful child. But all is not well in paradise. Against the remains of a hidden past, something dark and deadly emerges, threatening to either warn Jacob or rob him of both his heart and his sanity. Jealousy, resentment and deception emerge, soon forming a deadly web of intrigue, lust and secrecy which all have repercussions far beyond anything he ever imagined.As dark visions and nightmares haunt him repeatedly, Jacob soon begins to walk a very fine line between right and wrong, against a backdrop of misery and death that pushes him to the limits of his faith in God. Someone...or something is after him. The secrets of the past begin to destroy him both physically and spiritually, forcing him to make a dangerous choice.Love. Lust. Betrayal. Vengeance. It all comes to an end and something has to give. The journey to Hell and back has now begun.
278 pages, Paperback
First published May 22, 2012
About the author
lazarusInfinity
7 books25 followers"Just keep writing." Out of those simple words grew a dream that would instill a profound sense of purpose within a young kid born and raised in New Orleans, LA. With only his dreams along with an insatiable drive to be the best he could be, this writer would grow from penning children's literature in the 3rd grade to later writing stageplays and screenplays in college. Heavily influenced by a who's who of incredible writers from Langston Hughes, Claude McKay and Ralph Ellison all the way to August Wilson, Arthur Miller and Aaron Sorkin, lazarusInfinity has continued to stretch his creative boundaries to encompass all forms of writing. In addition to writing contemporary fiction and children's stories, he is currently at work on several screenplays along with another novel.
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April 18, 2013I received a copy of this book for an honest review from the author through the Modern Good Reads group on Goodreads.
November 5, 2013
Have you ever walked backwards for long periods of time? Better yet, have you ever run in reverse with no vision of the obstructions that could surely trip you up? Before you deny that have, think about the times that you allowed the past to preoccupy your thoughts and paralyze your progress. Jacob Forlorn, the protagonist of Lazarus Infinity’s novel “Exodus,” does just that and jeopardizes life and love in the process.
Against the backdrop of New Orleans, a city steeped in enchantment, Jacob exchanges one toxic romance for another as he falls for an angel named Miranda Waters. Surely she will be a better lover than Indigo, his ex. Pure curiosity of her angelic features peaks his interest. And eventually, the initial crush becomes much more as he beds her constantly. But Miranda comes with baggage. Unfortunately that baggage may be more than Jacob can handle. And ultimately, the romantic struggle coupled with his suffering from supernatural visions, may lead to his untimely demise.
Lazarus Infinity’s treatment of the main character, Jacob, brings to my mind a fatal flaw owned by many protagonists of tragedies. They allow the past to dictate their direction, so much so, that every relationship is tainted, vocation unstable, and way clouded with the shroud of uncertainty. Instead of learning from a mistake or longing to take another route, these characters act out the same scenes and repeat in many cases the same sad monologue as the monsters they claim to run from. I felt sorry for Jacob because he put so much stock in the misdeeds of his father that his life was unnecessarily difficult. And if the reader can get to the point where he feels sorry for a fictional character, well the writer has done his job. There were times that I thought the novel could have moved along a little faster, but over all I would say this is a great read. I look forward to reading more of the author’s work in the future.
Against the backdrop of New Orleans, a city steeped in enchantment, Jacob exchanges one toxic romance for another as he falls for an angel named Miranda Waters. Surely she will be a better lover than Indigo, his ex. Pure curiosity of her angelic features peaks his interest. And eventually, the initial crush becomes much more as he beds her constantly. But Miranda comes with baggage. Unfortunately that baggage may be more than Jacob can handle. And ultimately, the romantic struggle coupled with his suffering from supernatural visions, may lead to his untimely demise.
Lazarus Infinity’s treatment of the main character, Jacob, brings to my mind a fatal flaw owned by many protagonists of tragedies. They allow the past to dictate their direction, so much so, that every relationship is tainted, vocation unstable, and way clouded with the shroud of uncertainty. Instead of learning from a mistake or longing to take another route, these characters act out the same scenes and repeat in many cases the same sad monologue as the monsters they claim to run from. I felt sorry for Jacob because he put so much stock in the misdeeds of his father that his life was unnecessarily difficult. And if the reader can get to the point where he feels sorry for a fictional character, well the writer has done his job. There were times that I thought the novel could have moved along a little faster, but over all I would say this is a great read. I look forward to reading more of the author’s work in the future.
June 6, 2013
I was given a copy of this book by the author in exchange for a review.
To start with I'd like to make it clear that from the blurb I expected this to be a 'Christian' book. There's quite a few mentions of heaven, hell and faith in God. So I found all the swearing and descriptive sex to be outside my usual tastes in a book. I don't mind dark stories and I'm no prude but a lot of the stuff in this book seemed to be in here for shock value.
The story was the only reason I didn't give up on this book. I kept hoping God would do something or Jacob would actually get his act together, unfortunately the book just goes from bad to worse, there's no journey to hell and back, just a journey to hell.
On top of that the execution of the story was poor. There was no scene breaks between location, time or POV changes making it incredibly hard to figure out what was from the 'devils' POV and how much time actually passed. The dialogue was also rather messed up. New dialogue from a different character was often in the same paragraph as the previous character's when it should always be a new one.
Also, whole sections of the book were info dumps of telling me what transpired and not showing. All the relationship breakdowns, arguments and signs of instability could have been shown so much better.
At least once I also noticed one of my pet peeves, the phrase 'could care less', which should be 'couldn't care less' as could care less implies that there is some degree of care.
Finally, there seemed to be a lack of consistency throughout the story. People would get hurt and then mentioned a chapter later, without any reference to whether they recovered well or not and another character was mentioned as being a best friend in the last quarter of the book, when they'd not been mentioned before.
In short the book needs a rewrite, as does the blurb to accurately portray the contents.
To start with I'd like to make it clear that from the blurb I expected this to be a 'Christian' book. There's quite a few mentions of heaven, hell and faith in God. So I found all the swearing and descriptive sex to be outside my usual tastes in a book. I don't mind dark stories and I'm no prude but a lot of the stuff in this book seemed to be in here for shock value.
The story was the only reason I didn't give up on this book. I kept hoping God would do something or Jacob would actually get his act together, unfortunately the book just goes from bad to worse, there's no journey to hell and back, just a journey to hell.
On top of that the execution of the story was poor. There was no scene breaks between location, time or POV changes making it incredibly hard to figure out what was from the 'devils' POV and how much time actually passed. The dialogue was also rather messed up. New dialogue from a different character was often in the same paragraph as the previous character's when it should always be a new one.
Also, whole sections of the book were info dumps of telling me what transpired and not showing. All the relationship breakdowns, arguments and signs of instability could have been shown so much better.
At least once I also noticed one of my pet peeves, the phrase 'could care less', which should be 'couldn't care less' as could care less implies that there is some degree of care.
Finally, there seemed to be a lack of consistency throughout the story. People would get hurt and then mentioned a chapter later, without any reference to whether they recovered well or not and another character was mentioned as being a best friend in the last quarter of the book, when they'd not been mentioned before.
In short the book needs a rewrite, as does the blurb to accurately portray the contents.
May 7, 2013
Amazing !
In Jacob Forlorn Lazarusinfinity has written a very complicated / complex character.
The story sucked you in and kept you tagging along on this train wreck of a ride. I read with an increased sense of forboding yet could not tear myself away.
"much like the tragic moor of shakespearean legend, he too loved often but not wisely".
The last passage could be straight out of a horror novel it was so spine chilling!
In Jacob Forlorn Lazarusinfinity has written a very complicated / complex character.
The story sucked you in and kept you tagging along on this train wreck of a ride. I read with an increased sense of forboding yet could not tear myself away.
"much like the tragic moor of shakespearean legend, he too loved often but not wisely".
The last passage could be straight out of a horror novel it was so spine chilling!
January 11, 2015
For full disclosure I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
It was very different. I didn't understand it at first, but when I almost reached the end I got an idea of what was going on. I could imagine everything that was going on between Miranda and Jacob. I could predict what was going to happen next! I can't wait to get my hands on the second book! A must read for everyone! I highly recommend this to anyone!
It was very different. I didn't understand it at first, but when I almost reached the end I got an idea of what was going on. I could imagine everything that was going on between Miranda and Jacob. I could predict what was going to happen next! I can't wait to get my hands on the second book! A must read for everyone! I highly recommend this to anyone!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews