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khcarson's review
1.0
I was given a copy of No Rest for the Wicked by the author, Dane Cobain, in exchange for an honest review.
No Rest for the Wicked is a horror/fantasy novel centering around creatures of light that many have dubbed ‘Angels,’ who wander the earth and punish those they deem sinful. Caught up in the mess is Father Montgomery, a weathered priest, and his son, Robert Jones, who has no idea his oldest friend is also his father. The story is told through many points of view, and often incorporates newspapers, articles, and television broadcasts to show the range and scope of the angels’ invasion.
The author does an excellent job of building tension, partly through the varied points of view used. The angels do an excellent job of being a foreboding monster who, while claiming to be working for the eradication of evil, are obviously only seeking their own satisfaction. Through random murders, tension builds. What are these things? Where did they come from?
The author also has a pleasant flow to his writing. The descriptions are vivid and each scene moves with a steady pace. It was just descriptive enough to give me a taste of the setting without slowing the reader down with too many flowery prose. The book also managed to hook me in quite well, and starting off with the ‘creatures’ killing definitely caught my attention.
While the tension starts fast and mounts steadily, I found there was little payoff to the tension. Instead of giving the reader some relief from mounting tension with action from the main characters, the book focuses mostly on mounting tension by killing previously unmentioned characters. We’re introduced to randoms who are then killed, which did succeed in building tension, but after the fifth or sixth scene without any sort of action or payoff, the scenes had lost effect.
The characters were another place where I had an issue. So many POV characters was pretty disorienting, especially when those characters never returned or were killed off in the scene they were introduced. I wish the story had been nailed down to the points of views of the main characters and their experience. While the articles and side murders added depth, there were too many and thus became ineffective and took away from the main conflict. The characters themselves, from Montgomery to Robert, felt horribly flat and without much motivation. Montgomery’s backstory was the most interesting part of their characters, and even then his love affair was flat and at times didn’t make sense. The biggest emotional reveal of the book—Robert discovering his parentage—was reduced to one sentence, which made me feel cheated of the payoff.
Finally, the climax, in my opinion, fell very short. After such a buildup with murders and people panicking across the globe, it all felt resolved too easily. It also felt like a solution that could have been applied way earlier, and thus saved many more people in the process. Partly because of that, I felt incredibly unfulfilled as a reader.
All in all, 1/5 stars. This book reads like an action movie without any of the action.
No Rest for the Wicked is a horror/fantasy novel centering around creatures of light that many have dubbed ‘Angels,’ who wander the earth and punish those they deem sinful. Caught up in the mess is Father Montgomery, a weathered priest, and his son, Robert Jones, who has no idea his oldest friend is also his father. The story is told through many points of view, and often incorporates newspapers, articles, and television broadcasts to show the range and scope of the angels’ invasion.
The author does an excellent job of building tension, partly through the varied points of view used. The angels do an excellent job of being a foreboding monster who, while claiming to be working for the eradication of evil, are obviously only seeking their own satisfaction. Through random murders, tension builds. What are these things? Where did they come from?
The author also has a pleasant flow to his writing. The descriptions are vivid and each scene moves with a steady pace. It was just descriptive enough to give me a taste of the setting without slowing the reader down with too many flowery prose. The book also managed to hook me in quite well, and starting off with the ‘creatures’ killing definitely caught my attention.
While the tension starts fast and mounts steadily, I found there was little payoff to the tension. Instead of giving the reader some relief from mounting tension with action from the main characters, the book focuses mostly on mounting tension by killing previously unmentioned characters. We’re introduced to randoms who are then killed, which did succeed in building tension, but after the fifth or sixth scene without any sort of action or payoff, the scenes had lost effect.
The characters were another place where I had an issue. So many POV characters was pretty disorienting, especially when those characters never returned or were killed off in the scene they were introduced. I wish the story had been nailed down to the points of views of the main characters and their experience. While the articles and side murders added depth, there were too many and thus became ineffective and took away from the main conflict. The characters themselves, from Montgomery to Robert, felt horribly flat and without much motivation. Montgomery’s backstory was the most interesting part of their characters, and even then his love affair was flat and at times didn’t make sense. The biggest emotional reveal of the book—Robert discovering his parentage—was reduced to one sentence, which made me feel cheated of the payoff.
Finally, the climax, in my opinion, fell very short. After such a buildup with murders and people panicking across the globe, it all felt resolved too easily. It also felt like a solution that could have been applied way earlier, and thus saved many more people in the process. Partly because of that, I felt incredibly unfulfilled as a reader.
All in all, 1/5 stars. This book reads like an action movie without any of the action.
hyperashley's review
4.0
Wow, I was not expecting this when I picked this book up, at all. I read the cover "These angels aren't so sweet" but damn I did not expect that. I have to say that I have now become a fan of Dane Cobain because this book was great.
It only took me a few hours to read this thrilling book because I could not put it down. I had to know what Father Montgomery was going to do next and what was gong to happen next. It was a short read which with this book I didn't like because I wanted more. There were times when I wanted a scene to go deeper into what was happening. I really liked Father Montgomery's character a lot. I felt like he was needed in this apocalyptic world and I hope he'll be in ours.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes a dark, thrilling, end of the world type book. That has angels as the bad guys instead of being the good guy.
It only took me a few hours to read this thrilling book because I could not put it down. I had to know what Father Montgomery was going to do next and what was gong to happen next. It was a short read which with this book I didn't like because I wanted more. There were times when I wanted a scene to go deeper into what was happening. I really liked Father Montgomery's character a lot. I felt like he was needed in this apocalyptic world and I hope he'll be in ours.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes a dark, thrilling, end of the world type book. That has angels as the bad guys instead of being the good guy.
readinggrrl's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting book, unlike anything else I've read. Angels are not "good" they feed off the fear and anger of humans. As these creatures wage a war on the human race two men attempt to find out where they come from and how to stop them.
CERN is a research facility that is trying to prove or disprove the existence of God. Through science they unleash these creatures on earth. There really isn't a lot of back story on CERN or why they decided to do this or why they don't get involved in stopping the Angels which I found to be a huge missing piece.
Overall this story is unique, the writing is well done and the ending is satisfying if not a bit predictable.
CERN is a research facility that is trying to prove or disprove the existence of God. Through science they unleash these creatures on earth. There really isn't a lot of back story on CERN or why they decided to do this or why they don't get involved in stopping the Angels which I found to be a huge missing piece.
Overall this story is unique, the writing is well done and the ending is satisfying if not a bit predictable.
maecave15's review against another edition
4.0
This was a highly enjoyable read and I am so glad I bought it! The premise was so intriguing and I loved the ending! The timeline was a little confusing at first but once I put the pieces together I was completely enthralled!
b00kr3vi3ws's review against another edition
4.0
Angels. They are not what comes to your mind the very second you hear the word Angel. The guardian angel with a serene look or the cherubs with a halo – that is what you think, right? But Dane Cobain, the author, has other ideas.
In ‘No Rest for the Wicked’ Angels are not the patient and forgiving creatures we imagine. Instead they are hell bent on punishing every single sinner – no matter how big or small their sins are. The story is told through the two protagonists Father Montgomery and Robert Jones. These two men couldn’t be more different. The elderly Father is experienced in life and has secrets of his own. Jones is a young businessman and experienced in the ways of life too. The wide arc that their personalities create makes for interesting and contrasting voices. When Father Montgomery’s parishioners are attacked he decides to take matters into his own hands. He starts looking in Angels and their origins and finds a helping hand in Jones.
The plot was really different from what I was expecting. Dane Cobain has a very imaginative mind and that is clear from the setting of this world. Things are so different in this fictional world, yet at certain points they feel eerily familiar. There is a saying that the best lies are based on truth and I find that the best works of fictions have pieces of reality in them. And Dane Cobain’s take on Angels is really interesting – that is all I will say here so as to avoid any spoilers. And talking of spoilers, there is a terrific twist in the tale that is disclosed right towards the end of the story. The author has a very descriptive narrative style that is quite engaging. That along with the quick pace makes this book a quick and entertaining read.
My only qualm with the book is that it turned out to be very one dimensional. I love it when as a reader I can discover the many facets of a plot… this one didn’t have much. What you see is what you pretty much get. Also, the book has some explicit and frightening descriptions and as such this book may not be for everyone.
I found this book to be largely different from whatever I have read so far and as such it was a good reading experience.
In ‘No Rest for the Wicked’ Angels are not the patient and forgiving creatures we imagine. Instead they are hell bent on punishing every single sinner – no matter how big or small their sins are. The story is told through the two protagonists Father Montgomery and Robert Jones. These two men couldn’t be more different. The elderly Father is experienced in life and has secrets of his own. Jones is a young businessman and experienced in the ways of life too. The wide arc that their personalities create makes for interesting and contrasting voices. When Father Montgomery’s parishioners are attacked he decides to take matters into his own hands. He starts looking in Angels and their origins and finds a helping hand in Jones.
The plot was really different from what I was expecting. Dane Cobain has a very imaginative mind and that is clear from the setting of this world. Things are so different in this fictional world, yet at certain points they feel eerily familiar. There is a saying that the best lies are based on truth and I find that the best works of fictions have pieces of reality in them. And Dane Cobain’s take on Angels is really interesting – that is all I will say here so as to avoid any spoilers. And talking of spoilers, there is a terrific twist in the tale that is disclosed right towards the end of the story. The author has a very descriptive narrative style that is quite engaging. That along with the quick pace makes this book a quick and entertaining read.
My only qualm with the book is that it turned out to be very one dimensional. I love it when as a reader I can discover the many facets of a plot… this one didn’t have much. What you see is what you pretty much get. Also, the book has some explicit and frightening descriptions and as such this book may not be for everyone.
I found this book to be largely different from whatever I have read so far and as such it was a good reading experience.
ab_frank's review against another edition
3.0
Bought a signed copy from the author!
It was a well-rounded story and a good early entry from an author with a good understanding of writing.
It was a well-rounded story and a good early entry from an author with a good understanding of writing.
olijba's review
4.0
An excellent apocalyptic horror that combines religion & science in one fell swoop, No Rest for the Wicked is a swift, engrossing tale by Dane Cobain that uses real-world influences and strong characters to provide us with a tale of Angels who operate with more brimstone than harps. Using a nice mix of chapter styles & viewpoints to keep things interesting, the story maintains a steady pace of thrills, chills, and mediations on sin, love, and how far humanity should delve into the Universe's secrets. My only gripe would be that one of the subplots feels derivative and could have been used to add more to the story in other places. But that is a minor bump in an otherwise wonderfully written and thrilling road. If you like your horror with a slice of theology & a dash of scientific theory, then this one is for you.
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