Rapture

by Phillip W Simpson

[e_rodz_leb]

Find the review and more here:Reading with ABC

I’ve seen reviews of Rapture in other blogs and I was intrigued by the cover and the synopsis, thus I jumped at the opportunity to review it for this tour. It wasn’t quite what I expected, that is to say, that I was pleasantly surprised.

Rapture is a post-apocalyptic tale with heavy religious undertones. The story begins when Sam is ready to start his quest, a few weeks after the rapture. From there, the story is comprised of mostly alternating chapters from the present to Sam’s past. The flashbacks give the reader an insight on Sam’s life, training, family and his responsibility. I rather like Sam’s voice; he is not perfect and doesn’t pretend to be. He had a sheltered life, but full of truths and a burden that’s not easy to carry. It’s refreshing that the main character knows exactly what he is and what his purpose is. I felt sorry for him at times; all in all he fought really hard to do the right thing.

Sam is a half demon, therefore he cannot rise to heaven regardless of how good he is. He’s not a normal teenager, he is socially awkward , distrusted and feared by most and really hard on himself. Other than Sam, we learn a lot about Hikari, his foster father and master, and Aimi, Hikari’s daughter and Sam’s only other companion. During his quest, Sam meets a few people, some better than others, the most memorable Joshua, Grace and Gabriel. I hope that at the end Sam gets a happy ending since he really deserves it.

The characterization is really good, even small characters are well developed and contribute to the story. The writing is articulate and eloquent; there is a lot of narrative to explain to the reader the background of the rapture and tribulation. The plot is original; the concept of the rapture is very interesting, as well as all the different nasty demons that invade Earth. I didn’t have an inkling about the twist towards the end, didn’t see it coming at all!

Overall, Rapture is a post-apocalyptic tale with paranormal and religious undertones that is fascinating to read. I will definitely pic up Tribulation, book two of the series very soon.