John R. Mabry

I received this book in exchange for a review.

I really like this writer as a person. I'd gladly go to his church (which is a remarkable statement for me, as I've grown rather fed-up with most organized religion). There's things I'd want to discuss with him, issues that he brought up that have gray area left, but in the whole, I can see where he's coming from and I appreciate it. I marked three separate places in his book for future review and contemplation.

He also has a real gift for putting show more religious ideas into simple, easily grasped terms and images.

That being said, I think this book would have been better if it had been further devoted to either the religious issues or the travelogue. As it is, it left me wanting more detail in both areas. Some of the travelogue really made me think -- but most of it left me asking for more specifics, "And what did the flies do? What color were the colorful flags?" And while the religious issues were also dealt with, it could have gone so much further than it did.

In short, the book achieves all its aims well, but none excellently. show less

I won this book thru the Goodreads giveaways - THANK YOU :)

This book was similar yet unlike any I have read. Fantastic story line and very interesting characters. What keeps this from being a 4 star rating are the sex scenes - I felt they were unnecessary and distracting to the story. Instead of adding to a character's development, the sex scenes seemed to be there for shock value of writing about homosexual encounters. The constant use of the F-word was also unnecessary. The presence of show more both lends the feeling of a forced graphic crassness that doesn't click with the characters or the story. I recommend reading this for the great use of magic, religion, and philosophy. show less

I received this book in one of the Goodreads giveaways.

Unfortunately, I did not read the book for a month and then did not write this review immediately after reading the novel because of recurring hospitalizations of a family member, but I did make notes that triggered my recall of it, so that I can write a review.

This book was written by a pastor, so I was worried about how preachy it would be. His characters are members of Old Catholicism, a denomination with which I was unfamiliar. In show more the early chapters of the book, it seemed that he was being a bit preachy and telling more than showing the beliefs of the Old Catholic Church. However, since Old Catholicism differs from Roman Catholicism (which is my initial impression when I see the term Catholic), it is useful information for understanding the setting and characters, although it seemed overdone to me. The author demonstrates the acceptance of diversity by the Old Catholic Church with diverse characters, such as homosexuals.

During my reading of the first couple chapters, I was tempted not to finish the novel, but since I had received it for free, I felt that I needed to finish it so I could write a review. I do not know if it was because I grew used to his style or if it became more focused on the plot than illustrating the diversity of the Old Catholic Church, but I became interested and wanted to know what happened. Also, the friars fight demons, so the novel deals with Christian and other religions' mythological elements related to demons and angels, which I found intriguing. I wish there had been less swearing and sex scenes, because those seem to take me away from the story, but I wish that with a number of books.

In the end, I enjoyed reading the book. I doubt I would buy the sequels,, but I would read them if given them or if I found them in the library. show less

Although this book was quite predictable, I enjoyed it a lot. I think the characters were well done and the writing was fine. Now I want to see what happens to these people next.