{"id":1839,"date":"2025-02-03T14:36:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-03T14:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=1839"},"modified":"2025-02-03T14:36:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T14:36:00","slug":"book-review-apocalypse-by-james-a-devita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=1839","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Apocalypse by James A. DeVita"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Apocalypse: An Allegory for the Millennial Age<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by James A. Devita<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Sci-Fi & Fantasy<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798892112901<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 318 pages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Amazon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Bookshop<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Warren Maxwell<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>A compelling epic about good, evil, and the insanities of modern life<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cAnd so, it finally came. The day that everyone had dreaded for so long. The day when the world was finally going to come to an end.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As Apocalypse <\/em>opens, problems on Earth are mounting: Famines are ravaging Africa, water levels are rising and flooding the world\u2019s most famous cities, deadly viruses are spreading globally, pollution is out of control, and pests are destroying precious crops. All this, as it turns out, is part of the plan of \u201cHeaven\u2019s original rock star,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Armando Seytan, who is still raging against a God no less egotistical, paternalistic, and arrogant than himself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Having marshaled a band of sinister humans as well as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the Antichrist himself (who\u2019s been promised the White House), Seytan is set on proving his power once and for all by destroying the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018You\u2019re going to go to Hell!\u2019 said the man.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Believe me,\u2019 said Gabe. \u2018I\u2019ve already been there. It\u2019s not what you think.\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018You think you\u2019re funny,\u2019 said the man.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018I <\/em>know I\u2019m funny,\u201d said Gabe.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

All that stands between Seytan and the end of existence is a motley group of angels\u2014Gabriel Angelu, a provocative standup comedian\/angel, Raphael Malek, an infectious disease expert\/angel, and Michael Angelos, a career soldier\/angel who may or may not share ancestry with Alexander the Great\u2014and their mortal compatriots that include zoologists, scientists obsessed with immortality, and the creator of the \u201cfirst fully conscious, self-aware, sentient, artificial intelligence.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018But people need heroes,\u2019 said Boz. \u2018They need fantasy.\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018And so, you\u2019d choose fantasy over reality?\u2019 said Rachel.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018Every day and twice on Sunday,\u2019 said Boz.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

This chaotic group swerves from pessimistic denunciations of God to cinematic battles with the forces of Seytan, not so much defending Earth as attesting to the beauty of humanity, flaws and all. They mock one another, stumble into successes and failures, make detours to Venice to get cannoli, and find endless room for humor and levity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Much of this humor is inherent to the writing itself. The book is written with an irreverent voice that makes room to mock vaccine skepticism, Donald Trump, and a host of other contemporary hot button issues. As the book opens, a mother decides to secretly enlist an unconscionably expensive human-like AI program in order to ween her son off online porn. Such exaggerated, almost surreally comic setups are part and parcel of Apocalypse<\/em>\u2019s narrative style.<\/p>\n

\u201cByoki Shikken was a very special individual. He knew that he was Jesus Christ. And once he had grasped this fundamental truth, he decided to make it his mission in life to take upon himself all of the sins of the world.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In its inventiveness and willingness to push boundaries, the broad strokes of the novel\u2019s madcap universe are hilarious and exhilarating. However, at the more nuanced level of sentences and structuring, the book sometimes falls short. The large cast of characters is unevenly realized and makes the book feel sprawling. Themes and ideas are tossed in without being fully developed sometimes, and in rare instances, the provocative style stumbles into poor taste, particularly when poking fun at the rise of chronic obesity and weight loss treatments.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some repetitive introductions and the tendency for long, expositional dialogues dampen the flurry of ideas and jokes that are packed into Apocalypse. <\/em>That said, the quixotic, thoroughly unique take on religion, modern life, and human existence makes for a compelling reading experience.<\/p>\n

A madcap battle for the future of humanity and the Earth itself, Apocalypse <\/em>gathers the absurdities of modern life and the enduring beauty of human existence into one crazy story of angels, demons, and the mortals who follow them.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Amazon<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Bookshop<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Thank you for reading Warren Maxwell\u2019s book review of Apocalypse <\/em>by James A. Devita! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Book Reviews<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>IBR Blog<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/span>Resources for Writers<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\t\t\t<\/p><\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The post Book Review: Apocalypse by James A. DeVita<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apocalypse: An Allegory for the Millennial Age by James A. Devita Genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy ISBN: 9798892112901 Print Length: 318 pages Amazon Bookshop Reviewed by Warren Maxwell A compelling epic about good, evil, and the insanities of modern life \u201cAnd so, it finally came. The day that everyone had dreaded for so long. The day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1839"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}