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A Codex For Gnostics

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Worth reading 😎

A promising novel which falls short as it tries too hard to be clever and humorous.

On reading the synopsis of A Codex for Gnostics, the novel Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman came to mind. Gnostics promised to be a humourous and pithy account of universal and heavenly struggles. 


However, despite Eagle being an incredibly talented writer who showcases their knowledge of a plethora of ancient subjects and scripture, Gnosticsis a piece of literature which tries too hard. From the prologue which reads like a mouthful of vowels to the convoluted storyline of Dex as the story progresses, Eagle’s talent was not enough to assuage the feeling that the novel is an attempt at being clever, funny and original whilst continuously undermining itself.


Humorous moments were ruined by the question - What is going on here? Because the chapter before, both characters and the reader were on a completely different plane. 


Good storytelling was offset miserably by not necessarily knowing what the actual story was and where it was going. 


Eagle’s attempt to cite this, that, and the other overwhelmed any feelings I may have had towards main characters and so forth. 


Thus, although it may be an absolute giggle for some; for me, Eagle bit off more than they could chew and so the novel became lost within itself, leaving the reader without a clear resolution or even an explanation for what the point behind Dex’s involvement even was.

Reviewed by

I am a writer and freelance editor/proofreader based in the UK. I have self-published two poetry collections (Between the Trees and Flowers on the Wall). I enjoy reviewing poetry, short stories, literary fiction and historical fiction. I am the Editor-in-Chief for Free Verse Revolution magazine.

Prologue: Brax's Brouhaha

About the author

An Anti-Poet (a la Nicanor Parra) Obsidian Eagle has self-published the first two books of his Lunacy Trilogy. He's also writing the third one via: Medium.com As a literary guerrilla, this author has always written under a pen name because he strongly believes in separating the art from its artist. view profile

Published on January 17, 2019

Published by

40000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Genre: Literary Fiction

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