Infernal Glory

by Morgan Chalfant

The action never stops in this fast-paced, urban fantasy, laced with a heavy dose of dark humor. Jersey “The Brawler” Romero was a washed-up, old, street fighter who spent more time behind bars than outside of them—until he was granted his youth, immortality, and the powers of a god by the Twilight Goddess, the mother he never knew. The only Jersey has to protect his home city, Glory, from the dark forces that plague her at every turn. Already he’s battled his own brother, a succession of underworld demons determined to make Glory their home, and even the vengeful goddess, Athena. When can a brawler catch a break? With his ex-lover, Abigail, in exile for betraying him to his brother and almost getting him killed, Jersey has carved out a new life for himself (along with carving up the occasional demon on the side). Alys, a champion MMA fighter, along with her friends who run the White Rabbits Detective Agency, are his new allies. They’re good for him. A human connection in a city filled with inhuman cruelty. Along with his friend, Goodspeed, (Mercury, the Messenger God), Jersey is going to need the White Rabbits’ help to handle what’s coming. A new trouble is riding into Glory on the backs of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The Horsemen’s psychopathic, black-sheep brother, Abattoir, the Carrion Collector, cleaner of the battlefields, is hell-bent on destroying them and any god he can get his hands on. And when Jersey decides to help, he becomes the next god in Abattoir’s path.

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 7, 2018

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have a laundry list of grievances against this book, but for the sake of the review I’ll stick to the top ones. The description of the city is redundant - I get it. Glory is “fugly,” and having to constantly refer back to the city... still, I get it. Glory chose you to protect its fugliness. There’s also the constant reminder he is an immortal god (though “god” was claimed to be used for lack of a better word). Either the author can’t believe it or Jersey can’t believe, therefore we all can’t believe it and need constantly reminded. It would have been better to take a few paragraphs to explain Jersey: The Immortal god 101 than to be reminded throughout the book. All four women characters are over the top objectified, underdeveloped, and as such, bland; they might as well be the same person. You can write sexy, interesting, smart female characters without sounding like a skeeze. The attempt at clever metaphors fails hard, most end up sounding like they came out of a cheesy 80’s B film.

This reads like someone who is a fan of both romance novels and fantasy novels and said, “Why not? Let’s give it a go.” At best, this is an attempt at a first rough draft. At worst, a really bad attempt at fan fiction.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

I snagged this book after a post on Twitter caught my eye, and it seemed like an entertaining way to spend an evening. I've been lucky to find several really great authors this way, so I was hoping for another fun read. This, sadly, was not to be.

The author has chosen to write this novel in a HIGHLY stylized format. The problem, however, comes when the style overcomes the substance. Descriptions are used that are so trite as to be cliche. The main character refers to himself as an "immortal god" OVER 100 TIMES (I don't have an exact count because....let's be honest, this was supposed to be fun.) (That's over 100 times in 240 pages. I'll let you figure out that math.) The primary female characters are so bland and underdeveloped as to be basically interchangeable. I struggle to pinpoint the type of reader who would actually enjoy this novel - it's just so aggressively unpleasant.

And I think my biggest regret is that I've had such good luck finding indie and small press authors via Amazon and Twitter, so this felt like such a letdown. It's been a long time since I've felt compelled to write a review this negative. Here's hoping I don't read anything this disappointing again any time soon.

[Sarah]

You know how you’re watching American Idol and there’s this girl on the show who cannot sing to save her life? And one of the judges (Simon) asks her who told her she should audition, and she says “my mom.” And we all groan.
This book is that experience.
*groan*
No, friend. You do not get a golden ticket.

[Jacinta Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pros: Great fight scenes, strong ideas, inclusion of various characters from mythology
Cons: Weak female characters, a few gaping plot holes, way too much unnecessary exposition

Also, if you choose to read this book, stop after the last chapter. Don't read the epilogue. It doesn't need to be there.