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A Review of Conversations in the Abyss, Book Two in Michael Brookes Third Way Trilogy 2/22/2014 7:34:26 AM
In this sequel to The Cult of Me, Brookes begins at the beginning...of everything! A quasi-religious, Big Bang beginning, which establishes the place of all beings, especially humans and Arch-angels, in the universe. In this highly entertaining supernatural thriller the Anti-Christ is preparing for the Apocalypse, and a small handful of people are rushing to stop him. But the book is not full of battle or chase scenes, nor Omen-like scenes of horror, nor is there even much in the way of political maneuvering. The strongest parts of the story are the many interspersed conversations between the Deathless Man (who first appeared in The Cult of Me), buried inside a monastery wall for his crimes, and two angels who may not necessarily represent all that is good and right in the universe. Through these conversations we get Brookes' take on Heaven and Hell, the struggle between Lucifer and the Arch-angel Michael, and the role that humanity plays in all this. These scenes are part philosophy, part religion, and always thought-provoking, and they lay out the history that has brought the unsuspecting the world to the precipice. The scenes in the real world are a bit underwritten, as if Brookes feels obliged to write about what's happening to the world, but this isn't where his real interest lies. Fortunately, the scenes of these conversations are what set this book apart from so many other stories about the battle between good and evil. They carried me to an ending which had me pining for the third volume of this trilogy.
