Chanticleer Book Reviews

Tag: Angels

ACCOUNTANT’s APPRENTICE II: The Return of the Fifth Horseman by Dennis M. Clausen – Spiritual Fiction, Contemporary Social Issues, Political Fiction

Justin Moore fights for the survival of his homeless Mission – and potentially the world – in Accountant’s Apprentice II by Dennis M. Clausen

As the reader catches up with Justin in this sequel, he now directs the East Side Rescue Mission in San Diego. The mission sits far from the clean streets and tourist attractions of downtown. As a homeless shelter, East Side Rescue provides temporary beds for as many as possible, homes for a few workers – including the director himself – and as many hot meals as they can afford for their residents and regulars.

But the tide of homelessness and the desperation that follows in its wake is rising all over the country. San Diego especially struggles, with winters and summers that people can still survive even on the streets.

Corrupt forces array against Justin and the Mission.

These rich and powerful people will do anything to reduce if not eliminate the struggling homeless. They see them as only interruptions to their flow of commerce and tourists.

Even Justin doesn’t always see how truly awful the situation has become. Not until he’s called back into service by his old friend and mentor, the late “accountant” A.C. who just might be literally on the side of the angels.

Or, has Justin’s weary, depressed and downtrodden head merely created an illusion of his old teacher?

Justin is an unreliable narrator. Even he can’t decide whether he’s hearing A.C. giving him a mission to save the world, or whether he’s deluding himself in order to feel a bit of hope. What if he just wants an escape from everything wrong with the world?

But Justin doesn’t even know the extent of the trouble. When he dreams that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are literally barreling towards Earth, how literally should he take the vision? Neither Justin nor the reader knows for certain, but Justin, at least, has to try.

Justin strives to save the world or at least stave off the inevitable.

His quest will take readers on a compelling journey with roots in the allegories of Good Omens and American Gods. Along the way, they’ll find a fascinating puzzle hunt like The DaVinci Code – only with much higher stakes.

Accountant’s Apprentice II explores everything from Renaissance art to ecological destruction. Political demagoguery and corruption frame the philosophical questions about how things got to be this way. Justin’s journey to hope and just a bit of enlightenment will keep readers guessing until the very last page – and after.

Read our review of the first book in the series, Accountant’s Apprentice here.

September 5, 2022
ANNIHILATION: Book 2, Gehenna Series by Kaylin McFarren – Occult Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Occult Horror

Samara Daemonium tries to break free from her father’s control as the realms of Heaven and Hell prepare for war, in Kaylin McFarren’s erotic supernatural novel, Annihilation.

Lucinda, the daughter of Satan, rules Hell with an iron fist. She sits on the throne thanks in part to the angel/demon hybrid Crighton and his angel soulmate Ariel. However, power changed Lucinda. She no longer stands as a brighter future in Hell, but rather as a demagogue driving her demons to rise up in battle against the hosts of Heaven. Crighton struggles between his loyalty to Lucinda, and his responsibility for his family—especially his pregnant soulmate. He doesn’t yet know the depths of Lucinda’s deception.

Crighton tries to hold his family together by force, as Ariel gives birth to Cassius and a stillborn Caleb. But Samara chafes under her lack of freedom, kept in a secluded cabin to hide her from the forces of Hell. She turns to her uncle Tyrus for help, and when dark forces descend on her family, she steps up to defend them. While Samara can help to save her parents and brother, she doesn’t see the danger to herself until it’s found her. Lucifer, returned to physical form in the body of Samara’s first love, drags her to Hell and the palace of cruelty he prepared for her.

McFarren illuminates the fantastical stretches of Hell in tactile, colorful description.

Torture, sex, and supernatural powers mingle together in an otherworldly display. Witches take vengeance on the demon who killed their sister, Lucinda consumes the souls of magically gifted beings, and Samara learns of a bloodline with incredible abilities. But amongst all the magic and hell spawn, themes of family and identity ground the central characters.

Lucifer fights the political influence of the Knights of Darkness, strengthening his hold on the realm of demons. Meanwhile, a group of cambions calling themselves the Crows try to stop an apocalyptic war from breaking out. And the Daemonium family fall into the sights of them all.

Though Samara yearns for her freedom, she fears that she won’t have a family to return to. Has her brother Cassius taken her place, left her forgotten? When Lucifer abuses and assaults her in Hell, when she’s abandoned by her father Crighton for two months, she can rely on next to nobody. Only Tyrus, now imprisoned and tortured as well, keeps her sane.

From the depths of Hell, Samara will face a destiny laid out since far before her birth.

Can she really save the world—more than one world, in fact—from Lucifer’s power mongering? The great Red War looms on the horizon, and Samara finds that in the end, she can’t even be sure of herself.

Throughout this story, readers will reel at Lucifer’s horrors, cheer for the protection of the bonds of love, and anxiously await their answers as to how the multi-faceted story lines of the series many characters will come together. Annihilation proves a suspenseful read. The characters stand larger than life, their personalities remaining solid from beginning to end.

December 31, 2021
The LIGHT of GRACE: Journeys of an Angel by Kasey Claytor – an epic spiritual journey

“The Light of Grace” by Kasey Claytor begins at the end of Grace’s final material/physical life on earth. She transcends into her angelic form and following a life review, Sophia, her former guardian angel, introduces Grace to the new charges she is to guide.

During her new role as guard and guide for people assigned to her, Grace continues to evolve. Her charges each live during vastly different time periods on earth. Mumbie, a woman, lives in primitive earth times. Garth, a Christian male, lives in the middle ages. Arnina lives in the technological age of the twenty-first century. Alistair lives in the twenty-ninth century, described as the salubrious Light Age.

In a surprising twist, the omnipotent narrator introduces himself by writing “And of course there is me. I am not a physical being, but I have been…”. The story teller describes the lives of each of these characters, from birth through life’s experiences until death, including their relationships and sufferings amidst supernatural guidance from Grace. To provide each character with visible and palpable loyalty and unconditional love, a canine spirit takes a physical form and stays by each one’s side.

Edifying dissertations give readers a smorgasbord of spiritual precepts combining multiple teachings and explanations from both Biblical and Eastern sages. Readers who enjoy the writings of Deepak Chopra or Wayne Dyer will find Grace’s metaphysical journey enlightening as it spans thousands of years both into the past and into the future.

The characters’ universal life situations trigger recognition of universal truths as they struggle to deal with war, death, love, hate, loss, drug use, jealousy, lust for power, success, failure, self- incrimination, torment, deep love, compassion, peace, and joy. Sufferings are portrayed as necessary stepping stones for the evolution of souls with the spiritual guidance of angels whose main tools are unconditional love and the absence of judgment, trusting that everything is what it must be.

You may want to gather with others to explore and discuss your observations as you accompany Grace and her special emissary, Aelfraed, on Grace’s spiritual journey crossing planes of existence and enduring trials and tribulations revealed through each character’s telling. The characters’ lives are vividly portrayed via the settings, lifestyles, and beliefs of the eras in which they live.

The Light of Grace: Journeys of an Angel by Kasey Claytor will make an excellent selection for book clubs interested in reading and discussing works that are spiritually and metaphysically oriented. It also will be a compelling read for anyone seeking answers to the mysteries of life, death, and what lies beyond.

June 7, 2016