ORBzine - Book Reviews July 2000
The ApostateWritten by Paul Lonardo
Synopsis This is a supernatural thriller from a first-time author, produced by a small USA publishing house. The characters are well-defined, especially the 3 protagonists - The writer effectively conveys the traumas that each of them has suffered, although Saney's has to be read to be disbelieved! The 3 main characters are drawn together in the boom-town of Caldera, New Mexico. Strange things are afoot, and as the protagonists battle to overcome their own personal problems they must also band together to defeat the evil behind the unnatural occurances. Yes, it seems that the devil is in town and he intends to bring about the end of the world! Review This is a competent work from a first-time author. Certainly the characterisation is well carried-off. However, there are faults in the book as well. It is perhaps too lacklustre, especially when dealing with such a grandiose subject as the Apocalypse. Just about every confrontation in the book, every resolution of conflict, is brief and uninvolving. Shaun Hutson and Dean R. Koontz , who write in a similar vein, would have left the book dripping with blood from cover to cover in grand guignol fashion. While some would say that Hutson's style is too OTT, and that a little goes a long way, the truth is that in this case there is perhaps too little. The only other problem with the book, with the exception of the odd misspelling, is the plot's insinuation that maybe the murderous Seventeenth Century witchfinders weren't such bad guys after all, and that religious fundamentalism may not be a bad thing either.
The Apostate.
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