Qualia

by Marie Browne

When the archangel Metatron offers his incompetent human assistant Joe, one final chance to cleanse his sullied soul, he jumps at the chance. But with Armageddon looming, Joe had better find out what's really going on, because, once Lucifer is released, any human will have missed their chance to pick a side. However, as he prepares to deliver Graham Latimer, Lucifer's unwilling and confused human host to the angels, Joe discovers that all may not be as it seems. Hell is no longer the realm of eternal torment and Metatron's actions are not divinely inspired. Pursued by the very angels with whom he has worked for so long, Joe travels with a diverse group of 'demons' through what is left of the seven circles in an attempt to keep Graham safe and stop Metatron from fooling the other angels into destroying the world. Facing his own personal demons, which are far more dangerous than those creatures around him and trying to find the 'truth' amongst the varying shades of grey that make up 'good' and 'evil', Joe has just one chance to make a difference. However any change is going to come at a cost and nobody, demon, angel or human, wants to pay the price.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure

410 pages, ebook

First published February 5, 2013

About the author

Marie Browne is a gently harrassed mother of three who, for the past fifteen years, has been desperately trying to escape the Customer Service Industry. Apart from her husband and kids, the best things in her life are real ale; barbecues; ugly mad dogs that nobody else wants and cream-covered designer coffees. She also has an obsession with shoes but her husband is threatening to get her help for that.

Reviews

[Clouds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following the resounding success of my Locus Quest, I faced a dilemma: which reading list to follow it up with? Variety is the spice of life, so I’ve decided to diversify and pursue six different lists simultaneously. This book falls into my GIFTS AND GUILTY list.

Regardless of how many books are already queued patiently on my reading list, unexpected gifts and guilt-trips will always see unplanned additions muscling their way in at the front.

In the interest of transparency, let me say this: the author, Marie Browne, is a friend of mine. I’ve never reviewed a friend’s book before and I’ve been torn as to how to approach it. I want to do my bit to help promote the book because I’d love to see it do well - but then, countering that, is my honesty and integrity as a reviewer. I almost want to over-react to dispel all suggestion of a biased review by writing an analytical assassination of Qualia ’s flaws – but I’m not sure Marie would appreciate that!

Rather than continue to confuse myself and fight to remain impartial and objective, let’s just agree now that I was a partisan fan from before I’d even received my copy of Qualia . Having said that, I won’t let my review collapse into boring, rose-tinted flattering drivel – I’m hoping that my extra insights into the writer, her history, life and interests, can provide an interesting perspective for potential readers.

Qualia isn’t Marie’s debut novel – but it is her fantasy debut. Both her previous books, Narrow Margins and Narrow Minds , are humorous memoirs – and I recommend them unreservedly. Those books tell Marie’s own tale about how she reacted when the Rover car company went bust and took her successful IT support firm down with it. Rather than rebuild her comfortable suburban life, Marie chose to follow her (rather spontaneous) dream and move her family onto a fixer-upper canal boat, and permanently become ‘river rats’. It’s an eccentric, charming and heartfelt yarn about recognising, appreciating and fighting for happiness – whatever that word means for you.

Now, sharing your own experiences, in your own voice with your own style, etc – that’s quite a different kettle of fishies from writing a work of fantasy fiction, and yet Marie has not played it safe.

Qualia tells the story of Joe – a human minion working for the archangel Metatron. He’s your run of the mill, one foot in the supernatural world, messenger, courier, demon-killer, etc. But then (to paraphrase the Fresh Prince) his life gets twisted upside down. His latest job is a bit bigger than he’s used to: kill Lucifer (kind of). It turns out that when you get right down to the nitty-gritty, this whole Heaven and Hell, angels and demons, malarkey isn’t as simple as they’d have you believe, and once Joe gets the chance to chinwag with a few of Hell’s bigwigs, he starts to realise he’s been batting for the wrong side for a long time. So begins a frantic quest through the multiple dimensions of Hell to deliver an insurance salesman called Graham to Lucifer’s throne room before Metatron can erase the multiverse. Joe is helped in his mission by unusual allies - fallen angels, alien demons, his hot hippy neighbour, a dead psychic and her necro-bro, a dragon, a centaur, carnivorous goats, and more eclectic friendly faces – while he’s hounded the whole way by the bloodthirsty archangel Michael and his army, the angelic host. Its one hell of a ride (excuse the pun) and as Will.I.Am would say, it’s fresh, it’s dope, it’s a hoot!

There are elements of Qualia ’s style comparable to Chris Moore and Marie Philips. Considering the subject matter, it’s not surprising I can see echoes from the Sandman and Lucifer graphic novels. There’s also an unmistakable urban fantasy influence from Jim Butcher. But when I tried to tell my wife what I thought Qualia was like, the strongest similarities struck me from the screen rather than the page – Kevin Smith’s film Dogma and Josh Wheedon’s classic TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. It’s that same blend of humour with supernatural action, clever but silly concepts delivered straight-faced with a wink. The humour here is a much more wry British sarcasm than outright gags, but there were plenty of chuckles from me.

There are a lot of specific ideas I really enjoyed. Technically Joe is immortal, but this doesn’t mean he can’t be killed. Joe can most definitely be killed, with all associated pain; he just bounces back to life again later like some kind of sarcastic weeble toy. It makes him grouchy. I loved the way fairies (and dragons) were enfolded into the Christian mythos. The cute but lethal carnivorous goats were a definite crowd pleaser! Each of the different stages in the episodic descent into Hell were imaginative, challenging and interesting. I also thought the semi-sentient knuckle-dusters were a great weapon. There were dozens of nice little fantasy embellishments and flourishes that demonstrated a deep love of the genre.

But what really stole the show were the characters. All of them are flawed but hugely likeable. My personal favourites were the necromancer, the centaur, the surfer-dude angel Rafael and big, bad Lucifer himself. It was the moments of doubt and hesitation that sold it to me – Belial’s guilt over those he couldn’t save from Hell when he evacuated, and over the children who died because he saved one monster too many. Lucifer’s sympathy for those condemned to Hell for suicide. And Joe’s own constant, niggling insecurities that make him such a reluctant hero made him a star for me (I’m a sucker for an anxious saviour).

So what happened to the 5th star?

I think Marie has just tried to do a little too much, too quickly. This book ends on an obvious hook to continue a series – but to me, the story feels like it’s come from a third or fourth instalment in an already existing series. There’s a lot of condensed explaining to do, about the how the system of faith/magic/multiverse works which wouldn’t have been necessary with a couple of prequel adventures to set the scene more gradually. This adventure is a real turning point for Joe, but we haven’t spent enough time with Joe as Metatron’s bitch for that to feel as significant as it should – again, I just feel the defection would have carried more weight had we been a couple of books in already.

So it’s a solid 4-star recommendation from me. I think Marie’s done a smashing job with Qualia and it’s a really fun, quirky, imaginative ride. I think she should be hugely proud of what she’s accomplished and I can’t wait to see if she does continue the series (I hope she does!)

If you do buy/borrow/steal a copy of Qualia and find yourself enjoying it – please drop Marie a line! She’s a truly lovely lady and has (after a little badgering) embraced her GR author account - and I know she’d love to hear from you all.

After this I read: The Alloy of Law

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

First things, first: If you belong to any of the Abrahamic religions, this book is seriously heretical. Please, demand that it be banned: there's nothing quite like a good book banning to drive up interest in a book!

I was pointed to this book by one of my GoodReads friends, who was admittedly trying to drum up interest in his friend's book, but it was well worth the time.

Set in the context of the eternal war between God and Satan, this is a humorous (though not outright comedic) romp through the seven (well, now only four, but that's another story) levels of Hell. Along the way, we learn that not all Angels are good, not all Demons are evil, Lucifer may be really bad-ass - but so is God when she has to be.

The astute reader will no doubt figure out who our hero Joe is, long before Joe does himself, but Joe is deep in denial. It takes the impending apocalypse to start him questioning his role in Creation, the purposes of Angels, Demons, and even neighbors.

Biblical purists will be annoyed at an Archangel's use of the colloquial "Revelations" to refer to what they like to call The Book of Revelation, but, hey, they won't be reading this book anyway!

I always considered myself a biblically knowledgeable person, but I had to resort to Wikipedia to check some of Marie Browne's mythologic references, and I've got to say she knows her stuff.

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. I enjoyed this a lot. A nice twist on some old mythos which at moments reminded me of Christopher Moore. Fun and fast with a definite set up for a follow up. Maybe this could be the start of a new urban fantasy series. I could definitely see Joe as a trouble shooting, if somewhat awkward and not always efficient hit man for the big Guy. Well worth a read.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm fascinated by religious mythology so this was always going to be a win for me. Marie Browne seems to know her theology, and her story is pretty gripping. I wasnt always sure I was "getting" her spin on heaven and hell as parallel realities but I enjoyed the ride nonetheless.

This book might not be for you if you found for instance, His Dark Materials offensive from a religious standpoint. Qualia has a similar tone of morality vs religion which some might object to. I personally found its unashamedly moralistic, anti-bigot tone refreshing.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic romp through Heaven, Hell and everything in between as we follow our slight anti-hero Joe (whose true identity is a mystery to him but, as the story progress, is amusingly obvious to the rest of us) as he tries to atone for his sins by carrying out one last task for Metatron. In doing so he (and we) rapidly discover that demons are not really demons and aren't always evil (in fact they're only really evil on special occasions), angels are not as sweet and innocent as they're made out to be (in fact some are downright evil!), that God has a great sense of humour and can be really quite vicious when required and that Lucifer not only has a wicked sense of humour but is not that bad a chap after all. The writing is brilliant and really brings the various worlds to light and although we're hit with the devastating news that Dante's work is not quite as accurate as it once was due to unforeseen circumstances we muddle through with our intrepid hero until the story's finale, which is worthy of the superb build-up and grand location. A greatly amusing read that shows that all is not as it seems that is well researched and witty as hell!!

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe is the incompetent hit man on earth for Archangel Metatron. His 'one last job' finds him on a journey encountering demons and angels and all manner of other earth-dwelling and hell-dwelling denizens. A journey of discovery and change.

Whilst reading this book, I first thought of The Dresden Files as the main character is first introduced as a modern-day gum shoe in a city with just a little added supernatural. Then I moved to Old Harry's Game as the old myths and beliefs were challenged and seen in new lights, many of them amusing. Finally, I smell an air of all the old children's stories from Alan Garner and Enid Blyton as the very light style of writing meets the obviously outclassed but indomitable team. All in all, a fun read.

[Michael Brookes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's an interesting and fun take on the fall. The mythos is well thought out, and different enough to stand out. If you like your demon and angel action then you need to check this out.

The story itself is well paced building to a unexpected climax. The main character (Joe) is ambiguous and has a wry humour about him that I wasn't sure about at first, but won me over before the end. The action is well written and there from the very start.

It has a strong metaphysical element, which I enjoyed. It's revealed step by step drawing you deeper into the world.

Highly recommended.

[Diana Reeve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alternative look at Hell

I really wasn't expecting the way Hell was being presented...won't give too much a way but it was really refreshing and the demons actually quite likable. You have portrayals of certain Angels of being psychopaths, certain Demons having a more human and likable mischievous qualities rather than evil and destructive. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, it was a real imaginative adventure through Hell. Still dark in places but I really enjoyed the diversity of characters and the twist towards the end. Give it ago if you enjoy fantasy and adventure. I'm not religious and this book was preaching, so don't assume it will be.

[Arline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would recommend this stupendous book to those who enjoy fast paced urbanfantasy books.