Evil in Men
by Alfred Muller
PLOT SYNOPSIS (from Amazon)
It seems demons aren’t the only danger to Anthony and his friends. Before he can go back to Hell and finish what he started problems on earth demand his attention. A cult from Father Mike’s past resurfaces in the midst of all the demon activity in Heckhaven. The seals are spreading and growing violent as tensions in the town peak making any move Anthony makes a potential jail sentence even without Detective Printer to hound his every move.
Gabriel is at a loss of who could be causing the seals to act erratic. To make matters worse his mind is distracted by his standing amongst his kind. Someone or something seems to know secrets he’s kept for millennia and their using them to mess with his head. Relying on Anthony and his friends more and more the dangers facing the mortals begin to rise and more than one casualty could be around the corner.
Dezeray struggles with the knowledge she erased a human soul with her power and the grime she feels from Hell. The more she dwells the more she can’t help but see a connection between her power and the abyss. In the midst of the storm of emotions she somehow finds herself drawn into church politics.
Micheal’s threat to end Anthony still looms over the group if he transforms again, Anthony will need to rely on more luck than he can cash and determination to make it through.
Series: The Water Crystal
Book: 3
Age Range: 16+
Content Notice: Strong foul language, graphic violence and gore, suggestive material, drug use
Faith Based: No
ISBN: 979-8341357846
THE BOTTOM LINE
If you liked the first two books in the series, you’ll like this one.
THOUGHTS
Evil in Men continues the Water Crystal series by delivering more of the same, so if you liked the first two books, you’ll probably like this one. Characters are once more the best part of the novel with Dezaray stealing the show. Gabriel also gets a lot of page time and goes through a substantial arc. He struggles to find his place on earth and come to terms with the nature of the heaven-hell conflict which, though obvious when he lived in Zerulean, is cloudier from his perspective on earth. The setting is a slightly contracted version of what was built in the first two books, and though is it completely serviceable, it would have been nice to see it expanded in this novel. The writing is considerably better in technical aspects than the first two books – I did not have to re-read sentences to understand them – but it is not without a fair amount of repetition, clunky exposition and dialogue, incorrect homophones, and punctuation errors. Nevertheless, paragraph bloat, one of the more annoying parts of the previous books, has been largely eliminated. The plot is a mixed bag. It hits the ground running, dousing the reader with new information and plot threads only to slow down in the middle section of the book. Yes, things are happening, but with no clear antagonist or goal, it all feels a bit formless. Nevertheless, the plot tightens up dramatically in the final 100 pages, bringing the goal into focus and finishing with a bang. For every problem the book has it also boasts a strength, resulting in my mixed feelings on the whole thing. Following the conclusion, I am interested enough to read the next installment of the series, and perhaps that is all anyone can hope for when they write a book.
RANTS AND RAMBLES
NOTE: Though I strive to adequately support the opinions expressed in my reviews, they are still just opinions. If you like a book I hate, I’m happy for you. Additionally, while I regularly rant about mere irritants in a novel, something must be remarkably good to garner the same level of comment. This means my rants and rambles often skew more negative than I intend my review to be, so please refer to my overall star rating for my unified opinion on this book.
- This review is abbreviated because it is the third in a series and I do not wish to belabor points made previously. Please check out my review of Deal with the Devil & Rise of Azrisol Kaimana if you want a more in-depth discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the series.
- There is a lot going on in this book. With three protagonists, at least 4 antagonists, and a ton of side characters, storylines proliferate and are often hard to keep track of as the book jumps from one to the next. The unfocused nature to the novel makes the story drag, especially around the middle. Focusing the story and decreasing the number of main characters and villains could have decreased the length of the novel by 30% while simultaneously producing a more enjoyable read. Nevertheless, during the final 100 pages of the story, the plot focuses and picks up speed to a conclusion which was easily the best part of the book.
- SPOILERS: The choice that isn’t really a choice seems to crop up a lot in stories; that is, the choice where one option is so antithetical to the character and values of the person to whom it is presented that their decision is basically a foregone conclusion. When I started chapter 57, this is what I thought was happening. Michael forces Gabriel to make a decision, and in my mind there wasn’t even a question as to what course of action Gabriel would choose. Nevertheless, over the course of an organic and well-crafted conversation, Michael manages to flip the situation on its head, resulting in Gabriel choosing the opposite of what I expected in a believable manner completely in keeping with his character. Realistic and engaging dialogue which can flip the script in a moment is incredibly difficult to pull off, yet Mueller seems to have a knack for it. More than anything else, this gives me great hope for his future as an author. Once time and experience polish the rough edges, he could easily be a literary force to be reckoned with.
- SPOILERS: Samantha is a mostly-new character in this book. Her impact on the main storyline is negligible, and it appears she is included exclusively for the purpose of causing interpersonal drama. It is very strange, therefore, that she is rarely mentioned. Even more puzzling is her response to a series of events at the end of the book. After being abused by the Recluse and almost killed by a monster, her reaction is to attempt to seduce Anthony. This would make sense if her past were so traumatic that abuse and near-death experiences are commonplace and seduction simply a survival technique; however, there is no indication of any such trauma in her past. Based on what I know of her, lapsing into shock would have been a much more reasonable response to the situation.
- SPOILERS: The Recluse is one of the most interesting antagonists of the story so his increased inclusion in this book is generally a good thing; nevertheless, there are some aspects to his character and situation which do not make sense. First, he is affiliated with the Catholic church, yet he still goes by the Recluse. I don’t think the church would put up with this unless he was an extremely powerful asset, something which we know isn’t true because he got his posterior kicked by a demon in a previous era. His mid-range power-level is corroborated by the fact that he consistently relies on others to do his bidding throughout the book; in fact, his whole thing seems to be gathering people around him like in the cult we are told about in the first two books. While the reader is told quite often that his power lies in his ability to influence others, his on-page manipulation efforts are mediocre at best. Because of this, I am mixed on the Recluse. I really like him as an antagonist in concept, but his execution is very hit-or-miss.