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verkisto's review
3.0
Symphony is the first in a quadrilogy of books featuring each of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, each set in a small, rural town in the United States. It's a nice effect; Grant creates a microcosm of society where the apocalypse begins, taking what would normally be an epic story and condensing it into small town America. The story follows Grant's usual style, with a long build-up among a large cast of characters, with the final confrontation taking place in the last quarter of the book. This time he mixes in some of the signs of the Apocalypse, giving the story a different flavor from his other small-town America stories. There's even a neat bit of narrative toward the end of the book where Grant passes the narrative from character to character as they pass each other on the street, creating a chain that takes the reader from one end of town to the other.
(Some trivia: Black Oak is the name of the main road through the town that serves as the setting for the story, which is also the name of the X-Files-ish series Grant wrote in the late 1990s.)
For me, I think Grant is an author I can appreciate without feeling the need to read everything he wrote (despite doing pretty much just that). It's like classical music; I can appreciate it for what it is, but it's not something I want to listen to every day. Symphony, like most of his novels, isn't perfect (I wasn't entirely clear how the protagonist could have defeated the antagonist, as I felt like Grant didn't develop that enough), but it's an entertaining read nonetheless, and an intriguing beginning to the series.
(Some trivia: Black Oak is the name of the main road through the town that serves as the setting for the story, which is also the name of the X-Files-ish series Grant wrote in the late 1990s.)
For me, I think Grant is an author I can appreciate without feeling the need to read everything he wrote (despite doing pretty much just that). It's like classical music; I can appreciate it for what it is, but it's not something I want to listen to every day. Symphony, like most of his novels, isn't perfect (I wasn't entirely clear how the protagonist could have defeated the antagonist, as I felt like Grant didn't develop that enough), but it's an entertaining read nonetheless, and an intriguing beginning to the series.
daisyheadmaesie's review
2.0
My first thought when finishing the book: Oh thank God it's over. I nearly abandoned this one twice. Once about 100 pages in, and again at around 230. By that point I'd told myself I had simply gone too far into it to abandon. Just slam through it, I encouraged myself.
This book was a major turn off to the apocalypse genre as a whole. The concept was wonderful, the execution was horrendous. It is too slow for too long, with too many characters you don't give a damn about. At quite a few parts I kept thinking some people were others, and couldn't keep track of who said what. Then once the climax hits it lasts for 20 pages (I feel like there's a 'that's what she said' joke in there somewhere). You never know who to root for because Charles Grant doesn't ever fully explain the plot. The entire book is some weird meta version of the end of the world, where most of the story needs to be done in your own head through assumption. Usually I like that kind of stuff, where the reader is left to do their own interpretations. But this was much too vague and nothing close to enjoyable. As I sit here thinking about it, I have yet to understand who the antagonist really was and what Casey, the main character, actually did to fight them off.
I also didn't realize, when I started Symphony, that it was the first of four books-- I don't know why I thought all four horsemen would be in one tiny book but I did. Of all the horses, Death should've been the most exciting. Extremely disappointed that I won't get to hear about Famine-- Jeepers I can't imagine how excrutiating that story must be. Sorry Grant, but I won't be picking up any of your other books anytime soon.
This book was a major turn off to the apocalypse genre as a whole. The concept was wonderful, the execution was horrendous. It is too slow for too long, with too many characters you don't give a damn about. At quite a few parts I kept thinking some people were others, and couldn't keep track of who said what. Then once the climax hits it lasts for 20 pages (I feel like there's a 'that's what she said' joke in there somewhere). You never know who to root for because Charles Grant doesn't ever fully explain the plot. The entire book is some weird meta version of the end of the world, where most of the story needs to be done in your own head through assumption. Usually I like that kind of stuff, where the reader is left to do their own interpretations. But this was much too vague and nothing close to enjoyable. As I sit here thinking about it, I have yet to understand who the antagonist really was and what Casey, the main character, actually did to fight them off.
I also didn't realize, when I started Symphony, that it was the first of four books-- I don't know why I thought all four horsemen would be in one tiny book but I did. Of all the horses, Death should've been the most exciting. Extremely disappointed that I won't get to hear about Famine-- Jeepers I can't imagine how excrutiating that story must be. Sorry Grant, but I won't be picking up any of your other books anytime soon.
avalonenigma's review
3.0
The construction of this book was all over the place, there were far too many characters and too many of these were uninteresting to me and the were moments when I felt like someone had torn pages from my (digital) copy just to confuse me.
I have read this author before and I find his prose to be simple and at times compelling, but I am most familiar with him as an editor to quite a few anthonlogies I read growing up. This is surprising as its the editing of Syphony that really seems to let it down the most, taking out those unnecessary characters and putting more emphasis on the lead four would have been a real push for this book; for me - in fact - putting the emphasis on the group of "villains" and their mission would have been a more interesting angle.
The core of the story revolves around Casey, a small time preacher who can perform miracles and is destined to be the foil for Death - one of the Four Horsemen - but for me Casey is underwritten and somewhat uninteresting. He follows the tired old "man of faith who loses his faith" plotline and we never really learn the whys and wheres of it all.
I didn't dislike Casey, but he was a secondary character and not the lead needed to perform a beat-down on Death itself and it never seemed to occur to him (or the author) that in doing so he was doing not the work of his God, but the work of the Devil; I mean, wasn't the Apocalypse ordained by God in the first place?
This is one of the questions that Syphony sidesteps and it weakens the book for it to do so.
There is a far more interesting story here. One of a man of God, a man of faith, who loses his faith because he finds he has to oppose his God's will to unleash the Apocalypse.
I mean thats a story I'd like to read.
I have read this author before and I find his prose to be simple and at times compelling, but I am most familiar with him as an editor to quite a few anthonlogies I read growing up. This is surprising as its the editing of Syphony that really seems to let it down the most, taking out those unnecessary characters and putting more emphasis on the lead four would have been a real push for this book; for me - in fact - putting the emphasis on the group of "villains" and their mission would have been a more interesting angle.
The core of the story revolves around Casey, a small time preacher who can perform miracles and is destined to be the foil for Death - one of the Four Horsemen - but for me Casey is underwritten and somewhat uninteresting. He follows the tired old "man of faith who loses his faith" plotline and we never really learn the whys and wheres of it all.
I didn't dislike Casey, but he was a secondary character and not the lead needed to perform a beat-down on Death itself and it never seemed to occur to him (or the author) that in doing so he was doing not the work of his God, but the work of the Devil; I mean, wasn't the Apocalypse ordained by God in the first place?
This is one of the questions that Syphony sidesteps and it weakens the book for it to do so.
There is a far more interesting story here. One of a man of God, a man of faith, who loses his faith because he finds he has to oppose his God's will to unleash the Apocalypse.
I mean thats a story I'd like to read.
logopoetics's review
2.0
Personally I found the narrative a little lacking; it might well have been a personal taste issue. The pacing dragged periodically. Otherwise, I really don't have complaints, it just didn't hit any of my sweet spots, I suppose. The characters were well developed, but even though the stakes were set reasonably high in the novel, I didn't feel it. Not a bad read at all and for anyone considering it, it's worth a shot! My experience was just that it didn't grip me as tightly as I'd hoped. I do have the next in the series, so I'll hopefully get to that sometime this year and maybe that will draw me in a little more!
apostrophen's review
3.0
The Millenium Quartet begins with this book, "Symphony." The four demons of the apocalypse are coming, and the first of them is Death. This is Death's story, and the story of a single human being who might just have the power to stop - delay? - the oncoming demon.
Casey, a small town preacher, suddenly starts showing major miraculous abilities - even though he is losing his faith. A chosen one to defeat a demon? When the whole town suddenly splits along the sides of dark and light, forced to choose between good and evil, the way the tale twists will certainly keep you guessing.
Casey, a small town preacher, suddenly starts showing major miraculous abilities - even though he is losing his faith. A chosen one to defeat a demon? When the whole town suddenly splits along the sides of dark and light, forced to choose between good and evil, the way the tale twists will certainly keep you guessing.
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