Review of The Devil's Eclipse
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Mark Gambrell
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- Latest Review: The Devil's Eclipse by Christopher Williams
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Review of The Devil's Eclipse
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Devil's Eclipse" by Christopher Williams.]
The Devil’s Eclipse by Christopher Williams is a series of eight very short stories fitting into the general description of a Sci-Fi or Horror genre. The stories revolve around the premise that a parallel universe of sorts exists alongside our own, and gives entry to demonic creatures, evil entities, aliens and the like. The stories allow for fairly easy reading and would be general reading audience suitable, if it were not for some graphic references to sexual themes and frequent profane language. The overall flow of each story is somewhat stunted by grammatical usage that often left me, for example, vaguely unsure as to who the subject of the sentence was. The basic theme of each story followed an introduction and setting and then an insertion of an afore-mentioned demonic creature or evil entity. Said demonic creature then disperses mayhem and blood-shedding.
I was able to grasp the setting of each story within the first few sentences and this is to the author’s credit. Character choices were diverse but descriptive, although sexual undertones were somewhat unnecessary in the descriptive set-up. Characters include a retired and invalided military veteran, a geriatric racist shopkeeper, a group of pre-teen black magic novices and the like.
Stories started with promise and then fell flat. Poor grammar, punctuation and some imaginative wording contributed, but it was really the focal point of each story that failed to conjure up a graphic sense of horror, evil or suspense. Description of demonic beasts was over the top to the extent of losing some credibility and acts of mayhem did not achieve a subtle building of the story to achieve the nuances of suspense. In this vein, I felt that the setting introductions were of sufficient length for these short stories, but the crux of the stories were not. The overall impression was of mediocrity further downgraded by such subject matter reference albeit brief, as bestiality, under-age incest and racism.
I apply a one out of four stars rating to The Devil’s Eclipse which is largely due to the grammatical flow and general lack to rise to the potential “horror” level. Despite some good descriptors, the overall feeling was disappointing. This is further enhanced by the “horror” characters lacking suitable suspense levels and my previous reference to imaginative wording (a reference to a military colonel as being a “kernel” was a fair example). The script does not appear to have been edited fully.
A few of the stories rose to higher levels than others and taken by themselves, would have earned a higher rating. No doubt some reading public will enjoy the quick reads and in-your-face tactics. My overall impression was that a younger reading audience would be recommended. This however is somewhat negated by the thread of sex, sexual reference and profanity.
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The Devil's Eclipse
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Devil’s Eclipse by Christopher Williams is a series of eight very short stories fitting into the general description of a Sci-Fi or Horror genre. The stories revolve around the premise that a parallel universe of sorts exists alongside our own, and gives entry to demonic creatures, evil entities, aliens and the like. The stories allow for fairly easy reading and would be general reading audience suitable, if it were not for some graphic references to sexual themes and frequent profane language. The overall flow of each story is somewhat stunted by grammatical usage that often left me, for example, vaguely unsure as to who the subject of the sentence was. The basic theme of each story followed an introduction and setting and then an insertion of an afore-mentioned demonic creature or evil entity. Said demonic creature then disperses mayhem and blood-shedding.
I was able to grasp the setting of each story within the first few sentences and this is to the author’s credit. Character choices were diverse but descriptive, although sexual undertones were somewhat unnecessary in the descriptive set-up. Characters include a retired and invalided military veteran, a geriatric racist shopkeeper, a group of pre-teen black magic novices and the like.
Stories started with promise and then fell flat. Poor grammar, punctuation and some imaginative wording contributed, but it was really the focal point of each story that failed to conjure up a graphic sense of horror, evil or suspense. Description of demonic beasts was over the top to the extent of losing some credibility and acts of mayhem did not achieve a subtle building of the story to achieve the nuances of suspense. In this vein, I felt that the setting introductions were of sufficient length for these short stories, but the crux of the stories were not. The overall impression was of mediocrity further downgraded by such subject matter reference albeit brief, as bestiality, under-age incest and racism.
I apply a one out of four stars rating to The Devil’s Eclipse which is largely due to the grammatical flow and general lack to rise to the potential “horror” level. Despite some good descriptors, the overall feeling was disappointing. This is further enhanced by the “horror” characters lacking suitable suspense levels and my previous reference to imaginative wording (a reference to a military colonel as being a “kernel” was a fair example). The script does not appear to have been edited fully.
A few of the stories rose to higher levels than others and taken by themselves, would have earned a higher rating. No doubt some reading public will enjoy the quick reads and in-your-face tactics. My overall impression was that a younger reading audience would be recommended. This however is somewhat negated by the thread of sex, sexual reference and profanity.
******
The Devil's Eclipse
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Devil's Eclipse by Christopher Williams
