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Title: Rites of Azathoth
Series: ----------
Author: Frank Cavallo
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Horror
Pages: 420
Format: Digital Edition
Series: ----------
Author: Frank Cavallo
Rating: 2.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Horror
Pages: 420
Format: Digital Edition
Synopsis:
|
Diana Mancuso, FBI
agent, is carrying on an affair with her boss, one of the
Assistant-Directors of the FBI. She is assigned to a high profile
murder case of a potential vice-presidential candidate. The profile
indicates a man who up until 24hrs ago, was 1000 miles away in a
maximum security prison. He has mysteriously disappeared. It turns
out that the VP candidate has ties to all the previous victims, who
were ritualistically murdered.
Doctor Carter,
former protege of Gamaliel a discredited historian who dwelt on Elder
gods as the true history of mankind, has been invited to join a
mysterious group headed by a reclusive billionaire. Carter has been
recruited to translate an elder language that he was taught by
Gamaliel.
The ritualistic
murderer is acting as supernatural conduit for Azathoth, who the
billionaire is attempting to awaken. Said awakening will grant all
knowledge to those involved but might destroy all of creation as
well. Luther Vayne is acting on Azathoth's will to prevent this
awakening.
Everything comes
together, a gateway is opened by Carter, Mancuso and Vayne prevent
Azathoth from awakening, the occultic group is destroyed and Carter
is taken into the realm of Chaos and he thinks how wonderful it all
is.
My
Thoughts:
|
I feel like I am being rather generous in giving this 2 ½ stars.
Mancuso was a very unpleasant character. She's just a jerk to
everyone, even her so-called friend. This friend covers for her,
breaks the law for her, lies to FBI agents for her and said friend
tosses it off as “Oh well, that's what friends do”. And Mancuso
takes it as her due instead of as the huge thing it is. Then comes
her affair with her boss. He's married and trying to fix his marriage
AND keep Mancuso on the side. She's pissed off that she's the side
woman and is always put out that he won't toss his rich, beautiful,
young wife for her. She's the very definition of an angry bitch. It
was NOT amusing or enjoyable.
Carter was an arrogant ass who was divorced and failing at pretty
much everything, including being a dad. He stays arrogant, assuming
and overbearing during the whole book and his little “Oh, how
wonderful the other side is” comment at the end was completely out
of character and had NO place in a horror story about eldrich horrors
beyond mortal ken.
The horror side of things worked pretty well. Demon children adopted
by a cabal of women, hunted down by a supernatural blind killer, a
half demon billionaire who sacrifices the blood of virgins to his own
mother, it was fantastic. It was what you'd expect from an HP
Lovecraft themed story. So the whole thing about Azathoth
using Vayne to prevent the end of everything didn't fit. Elder gods
don't care. And Carter saying how beautiful the chaos of the other
realm was? That was complete bollux. The other realm drives men mad,
period.
So unlikeable characters and an ending that didn't fit with the theme
made for a rather bleh read. There was also a lot of profanity.
★★☆☆½
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