Void Fate: A Novel

In an apocalyptic world with demons on Earth, it can be hard to imagine the shift from normal as usual to unanticipated disaster. How does that happen? The author does a surprising job of scene setting and transitioning characters to their new normal to the point I felt like I needed to watch my back for demons and be wary of lurking threats. Opening with a dramatic foreshadow in the prologue, I buckled down for this reading.

The main characters-- Arthur, Aram, Michael, Daniel, and Harris-- are your average, mixed group of guy friends who look out for each other. Gradually, their trust in each other erodes. Everyone has disappeared aside from them, it’s dark and cloudless outside. It gets weirder and weirder. I wanted to know immediately where everyone went but, of course, that would end the story too quick and ruin it. My first thought is the Rapture or these guys must be the chosen ones for some sort of apocalyptic duel. Being stripped from their families out of nowhere is the perfect plot for intrigue.

For the longest, it seems like there will only be five characters in the story navigating their new lives, but then two new characters were introduced-- Eric and Lydia. There was already some back and forth bickering, but it only grew with these two added to the mix. The addition to the group of five are, at times, treated like afterthoughts and their presence isn’t as prevalent in the dialogue of the five friends unless they’re discussing suspicions of Eric. Sometimes I wonder what happened to them, are they still here? Then they make a return. Furthermore, most of the story seems to be spent in collective cluelessness as to what everyone is up against, let alone how to battle these enemies. Chapter after chapter, the author keeps you guessing whether these are angels, demons, or aliens when you thought for sure they were demons.

Eventually the truth is revealed about the “silent world” the characters have found themselves in, but I think it could have come sooner. One other thing I didn’t expect from this novel was romance, so that was a surprise. The ending kind of drags on and feels like it could have had a better, more concise ending. But, I guess that insinuates there’s a sequel or that a series is to be expected of this novel. Either way, I’d recommend Void Fate to fans of fantasy, mystery, or apocalyptic scenarios.