Resurrection: A Supernatural Downfall

by Rob Lockett

Paperback

Published March 29, 2020

Reviews

[C. Kiefer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked how it started, the action scenes and violence were interesting. Violence is not something which upsets me, and I think it was a strong opening chapter. There were some good descriptions here and there, and I thought: Hm, average book-readable until he killed everyone and I thought: Oh, this is interesting now, I like this.
If it had continued this way, I'd been fine.



The problem is that it doesn't continue. The action suddenly shifts to the main character waking up (which was confusing to me), and because this is written in first person and the introductory main character is a terrible human being, which made the first 15 chapters a chore to read through. The only fun part was the line, "The most romantic shit a man could take".
Other than that, I hated t. Then he gets taken over by Abraham, which made the entire thing more readable. It says a lot about the main character when being replaced by a demonic entity makes them a better person.

The plot itself is understandable and interesting. The execution is lacking.

There were also a lot of questionable choices when it came to the portrayal of ethnic minorities, and an annoying habit to transliterate people's accents, which took one out of the story and was barely readable. One sentence which exemplifies this perfectly:
“Oh, thank you my gosh, Gupta, you are beddy beddy bad huving some pork products in dis sacred store. Whutever would Ganeesh say?”

There is also an implied sex scene with a teenager, which is pretty minor but kept sticking out to me.

Going on: Close to the end, there is another first-person narrator: Sarah.
And I think here we come to my biggest issue with this book: When you have three first-person narrators, please give each a distinctive voice. As I was reading this, I got confused more than one time, not just because the scene changes seemed too abrupt, but also because the narrators are barely distinguishable.
The biggest difference is that Abraham has the tiny voice of Adam intercepting him in cursive, which doesn't help. Sarah, Abraham and Adam just seem to melt together towards the end of the story.
Either give every narrator a very strong voice, or don't use a first-person narrator.

Tl;dr: Positive: Good action, liked most of the description, made me laugh one time, some good parts here and there, interesting plot
Negative: 'Questionable choices', three first-person narrators and none have a strong voice, confusing scene transitions, I had to tolerate reading through the inane ramblings of a character I hated for 15 chapters.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that Resurrection starts with lots of bloody action. Like other thrillers of this type, the reader gets behind the villain protagonist immediately, especially if they have worked in the service industry. Which is good, because it counteracts what comes later as Adam disappears and his “dark passenger” grows stronger.

As this is written in a first person narrative, Adam spends a bit of time identifying himself which makes him easy to picture in one’s mind, the reader also learns about his service job, co-workers, and a bit of the popular culture he has consumed. My favorite sentence from that section is: “I was the Cadillac of human beings, built for comfort and certainly not speed.” While this might feel slow to some readers, I felt it grounded the book which the story needed before the demon takes over.

And I love this demon isn’t messing around with parlor tricks. I thought the growth from the possession of an individual to the possession of a small congregation with grandiose visions to a terribly militant religion was thought-provoking, especially lines like this: “It was the religious get out of jail free card that allowed me almost limitless decadence.”

As one can imagine the book becomes horrifyingly violent, but there is a balance in the narrative which comes to my only complaint.

Halfway through the book introduces another point of view character, Sarah, which adds the balance. Now the point of view switchers were always done during a chapter break, but because this point of view character didn’t take over the entire narrative, sometimes the switches were a bit jarring and clunky. I felt the first few sentences of the new chapter might have made it a little clearer. But don’t worry, it’s not that confusing. Otherwise, I loved this book. And if you want to read a possession story that has actual consequences, you’ll enjoy it too.

[Michael Kan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this novel can feel like sitting in the shoes of a deranged violent maniac such as Hannibal Lecter, especially in the first chapter. There is some extreme violence. The first person narrative also throws in numerous pop culture references to various movies and TV shows. So this novel can be a jolt and feel jarring at times. But I believe that's what the author is trying to accomplish. The story revolves around an Australian man working in England. He lives a life of little consequence and ambition. But inside his mind he harbors dark inner thoughts and dreams. As a reader you get to see things from his point of view including his frustrations. Then one day his life dramatically morphs and devolves into something far more sinister. The story is definitely surprising in some ways with how it unfolds. But I imagine the plot and writing won't be everyone's cup of tea. This novel is probably best for people willing to dive into a supernatural violent thriller with apocalyptic themes.

[G. Gaynor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dedicated to a particular writing style possessing the ability to pull the reader in, the author also laid out some passages where I found myself pulling back. This book is in definite need of a good edit. It was almost impossible to maintain a good flow.

It was risky, bringing forward an MC that's sure to be considered 'not a favorite'. For me, it's only rewarding to read such a character when there is at least one thing everyone can get behind in support of their ambitions. I didn't find that here and, at times, it felt like the author was getting a little preachy. In this work, the MC seemed to be hellbent on serving as ANTI-everything and can't keep themselves from being so. Such a position could go a long way with the reader if the reason for it was present.

While I think the story plot is worthwhile and engaging, how the author leads the audience through the chase is not rewarding.