Rapture by Phillip W. SimpsonMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Source: Received to Review
Genre: Paranormal/dystopian/end of the world YA
Book Description: The Rapture has occurred, just as the Bible predicted. The faithful have risen up to Heaven. Those left behind are in a living hell.
Earth burns, hell-like in its oppressive heat. Every volcano in the world has erupted, and tsunamis and earthquakes continue to devastate the planet. Clouds continually rain ash onto the scorched landscape, sparking fires all around. Plants and animals are dying. Food is scarce. The night sky is devoid of stars, and the moon - when it can be seen - is the colour of blood.
The remnants of humanity fight for survival. Most have fled the cities and now hide in caves deep in the mountains. By night, demons stalk the Earth, capturing the remaining humans and killing them - if they're lucky. The less fortunate are converted to worship of the Devil, and ushered into endless hell.
Eighteen year old Sam is unable to rise up because he is half demon. Hikari, a Japanese sword master and demon expert and his beautiful daughter, Aimi, have been all the family Sam has ever known. Now they're gone, and Sam must set out on the mission Hikari charged him with long ago: to help all the humans left behind. Armed only with his beloved Japanese swords and his wits, Sam wanders the post-apocalyptic world alone, separated forever from everyone he loves. Cursed by his demonic heritage, he must now embark on a quest that will take him across the US to the City of Angels.
There he will confront his destiny. There he must fight to save a friend ... and the souls of the living.
My thoughts: Rapture is a unique look at what life could be like after the rapture, when the faithful souls are taken into heaven, and the rest are left on earth to face seven years of tribulation before Christ's Second Coming.
I really liked the character of Sam. Throughout the book he was put in a position of scrutiny and ridicule and still held firm to his thoughts and beliefs. He is half demon and therefore was not eligible to be taken into Heaven with those that he loved. He doesn't really fit in with the humans, because they don't see him for his character, they see the horns on his head.
Sam's journey is a tough one. He must fight demons that are coming from the bowels of Hell to torment and take humans into Hell. He tries to save as many people as he can, but realizes that he can't save everyone.
In his journey he experiences love, friendship, and betrayal. All the while resisting the temptations of Satan and his minions.
This book was very interesting and thought provoking. I liked the originality of the story. The book fell flat for me in some aspects, but it is definitely worth taking the time to read if you like this genre.
Read a Guest Post from Phillip Simpson:
**********************
A day in my
writing life:
I teach during the day and my wife and I have a young son
(Jack), so I don’t have much time during the week. To be honest, I’m too tired
when I get home to summon up the creative energy you need to write a novel.
During school terms, I write in the weekends. Usually both days. I can get on a
bit of a roll then. In the holidays, I’ll write every weekday for about the
same time. I have the weekends off.
I write in the garage. I can’t concentrate inside. As I try
to tell other people – I’m immersing myself in a world. If you talk to me or
otherwise distract me, the world image I have before me has an annoying
tendency to disappear.
If I write for a whole day, I’ll usually get about 4,000
words done. That’s 20k a week. You do the maths – you can have a whole novel
written in about 4 weeks. Of course, it may be terrible, but that’s what the
editing process is all about. For preparation, I get on the rowing machine in
the morning and listen to my ipod. That’s when I do most of my thinking. I
visualize the scenes in my head and the exercise clears my head and gets me charged
up. I probably drink about 3 cups of coffee in any given writing day. I’ll
start writing at 8am and write solidly until lunch when I’ll have half an hour
off. I find it doesn’t pay to have too much of a break – especially if I’m
really into the creative process. I’ll start writing again in the afternoon and
usually finish around 4pm. I don’t like to work much past that otherwise I
don’t get to spend any time with my family. Besides, I’m pretty shattered by
that point and my writing gets lazy. I do find it hard to sleep after a solid
day of writing – I’m usually too worked up and I often go to bed thinking of
better ways to write the scene. My wife tells me she talks to me in the
evenings and I answer her but I often forget can’t remember the conversations
(it gets awkward when we’re preparing to go out for the weekend and I say
‘where to?’ and she of course says ‘we’ve talked about this.’)
**********************
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About Phillip W Simpson:
Phillip W. Simpson is an author of mostly children's books - both fiction and non-fiction.
As well as being a writer, he is an elementary school teacher. Career highlights include being in the
army, gaining a Masters in Archaeology, owning a comic shop, becoming obsessed with martial arts
and oriental weapons and turning down a job at the British museum.
His YA novel RAPTURE (the first in the Rapture trilogy) was released Sept 1st, 2011 by Pear Jam
books. RAPTURE is a dystopian/post-apocalyptic story about the end of the world featuring demons,
angels and a half demon protagonist caught in the middle. RAPTURE was shortlisted for the Sir Julius
Vogel award for best Youth novel.
Book 2, TRIBULATION, was released in December, 2012. The final book, APOCALYPSE, will be out
early 2013.
On a personal note, he is married to Rose, has a son (Jack) and two border terriers, Whiskey and
Raffles. He loves fishing, reading, football (soccer) and single malt Whiskeys.
Webite info:
Phillip Simpson is having a tourwide giveaway. Three copies of Rapture and one of Tribulation. Use the rafflecopter form to enter.
Where can you purchase a copy?
Smashwords * Amazon Rapture (Rapture Trilogy)
Tribulation (Rapture Trilogy)
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