R.M. Huffman's research, writing, and attention to detail take familiar fantasy elements and transform them into something extraordinary in this pre-Flood adventure novel, one that is definitely worth your time. It's a fascinating story about the world-that-was described so sparingly in the Book of Genesis, where morning mists covered the Earth in lieu of rain, Watcher angels gave into lust to lay with human women, and dragon-like sauropods were used as beasts of burden. The offspring of these human-angel couplings, the giant Nephilim, are major figures here, as are the more recognizable Biblical characters of Methuselah, Lamech, and Noah.
The narrative begins on a small scale, as the descendants of Adam, living in post-Fall Eden, are brought into cultural (and sometimes physical) conflict with the sons of Cain, living in the massive, decadent city of Enoch. It explodes from there into a larger story rife with horrific murders, shocking betrayals, and even a tragic seduction. Noah, the protagonist, is forced by events to move away from the more pedestrian role of farmer and architect into freedom fighter and prophet.
The lavish descriptions, speculative world-building, and vivid battle scenes make this a world you can look forward to visiting again in the upcoming sequel. Four stars.
R.M. Huffman can be found on his website: http://antediluvianworld.com.
2 comments:
Have you checked out SyFy's "Dominion" yet? Lots of human-angel entanglements and intrigue.
Not yet; I'm recording the first few so I can watch a bunch of them at once. I look forward to it!
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