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A review by brennanlafaro
The Fourth Whore by EV Knight
4.0
I went into this book not really having any idea what to expect. Truth be told, this is how I generally enter into my stories these days, synopsis be damned. A lot of times even without the back cover, you can nail down what genre a story might fit into, what tropes await, and where you anticipate the story may go because of all the aforementioned bits. The Fourth Whore doesn't really work that way.
At it's heart, this is the story of Kenzi Brooks, a young woman who had a rough go of it and is now being drawn into a world of gods and demons among other colorful figures. The book draws from various sources of history, theology, and mythology to assemble quite a cast.
Principal among the players is Lilith, entering into an apocryphal telling of Genesis and now Sheol-bent on taking revenge and bringing the world to it's knees in a dramatic and brutal fashion.
This is not an overly easy read. The violence is gruesome and detailed. However, despite the realistic depictions, the semi-fantasy backdrop made some of the more brutal scenes easier to get through. The sexual nature of this book is raw and unashamed. Knight holds absolutely nothing back, and essentially puts on display in the first few pages what you're going to be getting. So basically, if the first chapter is too much for you, I'll tell you it doesn't really relent.
The Fourth Whore clocks in at just over 220 pages, but you'd swear you just read a sprawling epic by the time the credits roll. The chapters are very short, usually from 2-5 pages, but the subject matter was such that I didn't find it easy to read for long stretches. Instead, for me, it was most palatable to read 25 pages or so, stop to digest, and then go back for more when my psyche was good and ready.
In the first third or so, it felt like there was a Good Omens vibe, and while the humor is not what you're going to want to pick this up for, the interactions between characters of mythological/theological significance are well-done and very enjoyable. They add another layer to an already well-crafted book.
At it's heart, this is the story of Kenzi Brooks, a young woman who had a rough go of it and is now being drawn into a world of gods and demons among other colorful figures. The book draws from various sources of history, theology, and mythology to assemble quite a cast.
Principal among the players is Lilith, entering into an apocryphal telling of Genesis and now Sheol-bent on taking revenge and bringing the world to it's knees in a dramatic and brutal fashion.
This is not an overly easy read. The violence is gruesome and detailed. However, despite the realistic depictions, the semi-fantasy backdrop made some of the more brutal scenes easier to get through. The sexual nature of this book is raw and unashamed. Knight holds absolutely nothing back, and essentially puts on display in the first few pages what you're going to be getting. So basically, if the first chapter is too much for you, I'll tell you it doesn't really relent.
The Fourth Whore clocks in at just over 220 pages, but you'd swear you just read a sprawling epic by the time the credits roll. The chapters are very short, usually from 2-5 pages, but the subject matter was such that I didn't find it easy to read for long stretches. Instead, for me, it was most palatable to read 25 pages or so, stop to digest, and then go back for more when my psyche was good and ready.
In the first third or so, it felt like there was a Good Omens vibe, and while the humor is not what you're going to want to pick this up for, the interactions between characters of mythological/theological significance are well-done and very enjoyable. They add another layer to an already well-crafted book.