Shane Stilson

When I started reading this book, I really didn't like the first few chapters; I found them somewhat longwinding and not very intriguing, and thought it would be a terrible read. But, since I was supposed to write a review, I decided I had to keep reading, because, well, you can't really write a review about a book if you've only read a couple of chapters...
Much to my surprise, I found the story improving rapidly, and turning into something quite amazing. I ended up reading the entire novel in a single night because I couldn't put it away, and I really loved it.

Blake Stillwater crashes his car, killing his wife, daughter and brother; he finds himself in a realm somewhere between heaven and hell, where demons fight over the souls that get stuck here and a battle between good and evil is fought. Stillwater causes an anomaly in this realm, which might cause demons to take over for good, and might even affect the living world. Can he find out what's going on in time to save his friends and his remaining children?
After the first few chapters the novel turns into a fast-paced quest to save 'middle damned' and for Stillwater to find a way back to his family; along the way we meet all sorts of strange creatures, good creatures and demons, with different interests and motivations in helping, or countering Stillwater. I really liked the descriptions of the realm and its inhabitants, and was gripped by Stillwaters quest.
Stilson succeeds in making the realm mysterious and weird, and yet, in some ways familiar as well. He poses questions of love and loyalty, of fairness and punishment, and the age-old question: what happens to us after we die? I found Stilsons story of life after death intriguing and convincing, well thought out and a very complete and coherent whole. The step by step progress of discovering this new world through Stillwater's eyes makes for an interesting journey.
Apart from the more serious, somewhat philosophical issues, Stilson's descriptions also show a keen sense of humor, which makes the book very readable; I found the combination of humor, action and more serious parts well balanced, and it made the book a nice read.
The characters in the novel are described very nicely and well-rounded, and Stilson does a good job at making us understand why beings end up in middle damned and how their subsequent choices affect their fate. Though some questions remain unanswered I didn't find this problematic, it just keeps the realm sufficiently mysterious to keep the book interesting, and gives a feel for how confusing the realm is, even to its inhabitants.
My personal favorite in the book was Dawn, she's such a lovely creature.

All in all, a great read, even though the first chapters didn't really work for me. If you find the first chapters somewhat uninteresting, I would very much advice you to keep reading just a bit longer...… (lisätietoja)