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Shooting Eros - The Emuna Chronicles: Book 1: Hell-Bent
When humankind needed saviors, Heaven sent them traitors.
Matchmaking goes ballistic when Heaven’s top cupid commando, Captain Cyrus, is banished to Earth to die a quick and unlamented death. Instead, Cyrus sets out to remind a battered and faithless world that some things are still worth fighting for.
Trained in Heaven by secret sages and dismayed on Earth by evil men—Cyrus and a team of renegade cupids battle above and below to save both worlds from a loveless oblivion.
Two worlds divided; one holy mission. A match made in Heaven; a love forged on Earth. Love is a battlefield.
Shooting The Emuna Chronicles is a fun, action-packed, and thought-provoking epic trilogy.
Matchmaking goes ballistic when Heaven’s top cupid commando, Captain Cyrus, is banished to Earth to die a quick and unlamented death. Instead, Cyrus sets out to remind a battered and faithless world that some things are still worth fighting for.
Trained in Heaven by secret sages and dismayed on Earth by evil men—Cyrus and a team of renegade cupids battle above and below to save both worlds from a loveless oblivion.
Two worlds divided; one holy mission. A match made in Heaven; a love forged on Earth. Love is a battlefield.
Shooting The Emuna Chronicles is a fun, action-packed, and thought-provoking epic trilogy.
382 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 7, 2017
46 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Laskin
28 books27 followersBenjamin writes fun, genre-bending novels that inspire, uplift, and entertain. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, he has traveled widely and spent a large chunk of his adult life in Japan. He can now be found sauntering through the maze of narrow, stony alleyways in the ancient and legend-rich town of Safed, in Israel’s upper Galilee.
If you like original, life-affirming stories with characters who stay with you long after you’ve put down the book, please give one of his novels a try.
For more information, please visit his website at: www.benjaminlaskin.com.
If you like original, life-affirming stories with characters who stay with you long after you’ve put down the book, please give one of his novels a try.
For more information, please visit his website at: www.benjaminlaskin.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 21, 2019
I’m a bit conflicted about this book. I found the concept captivating but was disappointed by the execution.
Through complex world building we are gradually introduced to a well-structured replica of earthly corruption and power games in a heavenly dimension where cupids are trained for combat against the fear demons who inhabit humans, causing love to die. Each and every character flaw which hinders true love is personified as a specific fear demon, or yetzer, so we have Blame Demons, Fault-Finding Demons, Clueless Demons, and so on. The army of cupids is tasked with the preservation and promotion of human love, which involves slaying the fear demons and making matches.
Characterization of the main players is well done. Kohai, the physically wimpy but spiritually gifted cadet, handpicked as the next truth-bearer, is a sympathetic character who grows convincingly in both personal confidence and influence throughout the story. The action is seen through his eyes, except in the scenes where he is not present, but the author provides an elegant solution to the limitations of the first-person narrator. His best friend, Virgil, and his mentors, Captain Cyril and Captain Volk, come into their own in the latter part of the book, while the much-vaunted Swerver character fizzles away disappointingly, her pivotal research degenerating into juvenile banter, and her personality never more than one-dimensional and tepidly unremarkable.
I enjoyed the insightful biting satire which ruthlessly exposes the many ways in which people deceive themselves, as well as society’s fixation with celebrities. The many references to Judaic religious and historical tenets were interesting, and there’s nothing wrong with the philosophical discourse, but the action bogs down in a morass of heavy-handed religious preaching which ruined the book for me. That, and the fact that the story ends abruptly in a rather obvious cliffhanger.
Through complex world building we are gradually introduced to a well-structured replica of earthly corruption and power games in a heavenly dimension where cupids are trained for combat against the fear demons who inhabit humans, causing love to die. Each and every character flaw which hinders true love is personified as a specific fear demon, or yetzer, so we have Blame Demons, Fault-Finding Demons, Clueless Demons, and so on. The army of cupids is tasked with the preservation and promotion of human love, which involves slaying the fear demons and making matches.
Characterization of the main players is well done. Kohai, the physically wimpy but spiritually gifted cadet, handpicked as the next truth-bearer, is a sympathetic character who grows convincingly in both personal confidence and influence throughout the story. The action is seen through his eyes, except in the scenes where he is not present, but the author provides an elegant solution to the limitations of the first-person narrator. His best friend, Virgil, and his mentors, Captain Cyril and Captain Volk, come into their own in the latter part of the book, while the much-vaunted Swerver character fizzles away disappointingly, her pivotal research degenerating into juvenile banter, and her personality never more than one-dimensional and tepidly unremarkable.
I enjoyed the insightful biting satire which ruthlessly exposes the many ways in which people deceive themselves, as well as society’s fixation with celebrities. The many references to Judaic religious and historical tenets were interesting, and there’s nothing wrong with the philosophical discourse, but the action bogs down in a morass of heavy-handed religious preaching which ruined the book for me. That, and the fact that the story ends abruptly in a rather obvious cliffhanger.
April 27, 2018
Shooting Eros is an amazing story that takes you into a world completely built by the author, Benjamin Laskin. The stage set for the main cupid/angel characters is unlike any other and is fleshed out to the tiniest detail as it moves the story along. I was enchanted with the possibilities of what these sublime creatures are capable of. It was just wonderful to see them tackle the most complex situations with ease. Their interaction with the human population of Earth, and what currently ails them, is exciting and kept the pages turning for me.
Somewhere in the middle of the novel, there is a strong shift to a religious aspect that leans heavily on what I took to be Judaism and the old ways told of God. I am not knowledgeable about that religion but it seemed easy to pick up on the connection that takes place with the characters. Embracing God in any form is positive to most. It worked for me but it did send the story down a different path.
The writing, the creativity of this novel is first rate. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy. That said, I really feel it is more than that.
Somewhere in the middle of the novel, there is a strong shift to a religious aspect that leans heavily on what I took to be Judaism and the old ways told of God. I am not knowledgeable about that religion but it seemed easy to pick up on the connection that takes place with the characters. Embracing God in any form is positive to most. It worked for me but it did send the story down a different path.
The writing, the creativity of this novel is first rate. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good fantasy. That said, I really feel it is more than that.
April 22, 2018
Interesting story
This is a really interesting story. Mixes a few religious ideas together but ultimately uses the Jewish belief of One God. I like the idea of the truth being forgotten by angels and humans in the future and that it is being found again. So many lies are being told to the cupids. I would love to know the mastermind behind them.
There are two stories going on. Ellen's story is a romance but finding her partner isn't as easy as it should be. The other story is Kohai's and the cupids. The two stories are dependent on each other. I predict that Ellen falls for Cyrus but the consequence of that could be huge.
This is a really interesting story. Mixes a few religious ideas together but ultimately uses the Jewish belief of One God. I like the idea of the truth being forgotten by angels and humans in the future and that it is being found again. So many lies are being told to the cupids. I would love to know the mastermind behind them.
There are two stories going on. Ellen's story is a romance but finding her partner isn't as easy as it should be. The other story is Kohai's and the cupids. The two stories are dependent on each other. I predict that Ellen falls for Cyrus but the consequence of that could be huge.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews