Devil's Cauldron by Michael Jack WebbMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Christian Fantasy, so expect a fair bit of mary sues, deus ex machina and evangelical preaching (Caveat Emptor). This is a sequel to Infernal Gates and I recommend reading that prior to this book, or you will miss a fair amount of background (all of the limited character building for the protagonists is there).
Ethan and Sam are back and once again taking on the Adversary. The MCs are easy enough to like (if a bit shallow), so this is not a bad read, given the genre within which it is found. To be fair, it is pretty hard to develop any interesting drama or plot conflict when you put the Almighty in your corner. Maybe that is why they tend to rely so heavily on conspiracy theories. These can be entertaining if done well; this book is decidedly average on this count. The primary appeal here is actually how the author weaves in several threads of ancient myth into the dark forces working against our heroes (so ancient history buffs might find it interesting as well).
What prevents this from being a better story are the typical mistakes I see in newer authors ... such as info dumps (which can be a slog) and/or over explaining what is happening (which removes the mystery too early ... and can be a slog when I don't really care about the details of what they are eating). Plot disciple is also problematic when you have an Ace in the Hole that can always put you back on track (I personally prefer less obvious interventions). Add to this a "Young Earth/Creationist" cosmology that just makes it hard to take anything else in the book very seriously (Continental Drift is not that fast buddy). All of that considered, if you are familiar with the genre, it is actually better than average.
This book is currently available through Amazon's Kindle Unlimited.
I was given this free advance review copy (ARC) ebook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
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