Just the other day I finally finished reading this highly anticipated book, The Eight Apostates by Scott Hale, the final installment in the Bones of the Earth series. Its been a long journey into hell to say the least, but I can't say I didn't enjoy every second of it, because I sure as hell did. Imagine. A world, very much like our own, suddenly, catastrophically destroyed, only to be reborn again with new ideals, new places, things that once were are now something entirely different. A world with unlimited potential. A world with strange creatures and blood and shadow magic. A horrific world with a back drop of gray and yellow sky. Sound familiar? It is if you've been reading this series.
To make a long story short, if you're a post-apocalyptic fanatic like myself, you will enjoy this series immensely. Couple that with some serious horrific gory scenes that reminds you of toes squishing through bloody entrails. Yeah, its like that. So come on down to the Scott Hale show and see what its all about.
I've just about reached my Goodreads reading quota for the year having read this final book, but I won't stop there. No no. There is so much to read, so much live. Oh, and of course, writing my own series, but that will come at a later time. So here we are, the series finished, and another review to add to his list of praise. Make sure you check out his website: www.scotthalebooks.com and scroll around. Lots to see there. He even has signed paperback copies for sale. I got mine. And if you haven't already noticed, Halloween is right around the corner. Time to get in the mood. Why not do it with a good book or two, or three, or....
My review of The Eight Apostates:
What great lengths will the world go to act upon, or not act upon, the will of God? The Eight Apostates is a reflection of these questions. Eight unlikely protagonists or antagonist, duking it out over what is best for the apocalypse torn planet. Done in the style of a game of thrones-political nightmare, a battle for what is right and what is wrong, the story will keep you guessing until the end with a revelation that is out of this world.
Readers of contemporary dystopian sci-fi horror will get a kick out of this series. Now having read its entirety, (all six books) it is safe to say I walk away with a sense of fulfillment with mystery and wonder still gripping me. Hale brings a cast of characters to life unlike ever before, strange and foreboding, demonic and possessive, yet traits not dissimilar from our very own. He understands emotion, whether describing the mindset of humans, a sub-humans, or dare I say, a mosquito man, he remains true to his dark art—to break the social norm of all tangible conceptual acceptability.
As you read this final book, you will be taken all over the war torn planet, visiting sites that appeared in the first book, all the way to the mysterious place known as the Ossuary. Why does it always seem the greatest mysteries linger in the desert? Some of the best qualities about the eight apostates is that you are taken to meeting places and locations that serve as the finality for some of the characters. Some of them being impossible things, yet an addition to the overall suspense. Many questions will be answered, masks will be taken off, and some conclusions will remain “unsolved”. But as for any good book series, not all questions can be answered by the author. Some have to be fulfilled by the reader and their interpretation. I think Scott did this deliberately and I applaud it. No one really lives in a cookie cutter world.
Needless to say, some characters go, some stay, but I won’t dare say who they were. That is for you to find out. I am glad to see that some of them were able to reach their happy place, while others were less fortunate. Presumptions. False hope. It takes a lot of talent and patience to write a series like this, and by the looks of it, Hale won’t be quiting anytime soon. He has another novel cooking up on the skillet, so we’ll have to see what that’s all about.
The Eight Apostates
5 out 5 stars - for ripping out hearts, eating them whole, regurgitating them on the concrete, and burying them back in the soil for another go around...