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ghostmuppet's review against another edition
4.0
This was on an offer, and i thought - what the hell. I had read a couple of Kroese books in the past and enjoyed them, so i thought i knew what i was letting myself in for.
Mercury is an angle, and plays an important part in this story. The main player is Christine, who is a mortal, but someone who has been classed with an importance in the upcoming apocalypse.
This story plays the christian religion a lot. The anti-Christ was done via a competition, for a series of books that reminds me of the Harry Potter series. Demons, Angels and pillars of fire are all in here, with a lot of dry humor that is right up my street.
There are other books in the series, which is great news for me.
Mercury is an angle, and plays an important part in this story. The main player is Christine, who is a mortal, but someone who has been classed with an importance in the upcoming apocalypse.
This story plays the christian religion a lot. The anti-Christ was done via a competition, for a series of books that reminds me of the Harry Potter series. Demons, Angels and pillars of fire are all in here, with a lot of dry humor that is right up my street.
There are other books in the series, which is great news for me.
spidergirl502's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book and it actually made me laugh out loud a few times. I'm looking forward to Mercury Rises.
josephkoss's review against another edition
2.0
Summary:
The main premise is that the the Apocalypse is about to start and angels are attempting to implement a millenniums-old accord between Heaven and Hell. The main characters are a rogue, but apathetic angel, and a not-quite-made-it religion reporter. The apocalypse is about to happen, Lucifer is up to his old tricks, and Mercury, the rogue Angel is trying to make sure that nothing happens... nothing at all.
Plot:
The plot is good, but not great. The concept is unique, but honestly I felt like the story was too hard of a juxtaposition between reality and fantasy. There was almost too much mundanity to believe it was fictional, and it was too far fetched to believe it was real. Yet, it did do a good job of pulling you into the plight of the situation. The idea that the world ending was more important than humanity seemed to make you root for people, even if you didn't want to. I felt like this was written as a disaffected version of the book of revelation. If it is ever made into a movie I am sure the soundtrack will be full of Indie bands.
Characters:
The angels for the most part made sense, except for the main character. You never got enough about him to love him or hate him. He was just there, but not in a compelling-bored sort of way... The main human, Christine, reminded me of the female lead from the movie "Dogma." In fact... I feel like Christine was patterned off of her almost exactly. I guess this is good in that I could relate the character to someone, except the person I related her to was fictional. Aside from that, the characters were quirky, but never developed enough for an epic tale. I really wanted to connect with Mercury, or to feel something for him as a character. I wanted a glimpse of something worth hanging on to. In the end there were a few flashes of that, but they didn't come from the plot, but instead an understanding of what heroes (or maybe anti-heroes) represent... I just wanted something...
Theology:
As a Catholic, this book had very little loyalty to Catholic teaching. Not that I expected much loyalty from a Protestant writer, I was still hoping to hang a theological hat on something... that wasn't to happen. I couldn't tell if this was satire or mockery... that left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
Overall:
Generally, the book was OK, but not super compelling. You saw how it was going to end early on, but even with twists and turns, you weren't scooting out to the edge of your seat at any point. Too much emphasis was placed on the wrong things, and I felt like the characters only got to about 2 3/4 dimension. As a Catholic, I felt that there was a strain of anti-Catholicism in the book, especially in the "anti-moral." I dont know exactly what the authors intent was, but there were bits that made me a little squeamish. In the end, I am glad I read it, but it took me longer than I thought to get through it.
It isn't up there with a Dekker or Peretti in terms of "Christian Fiction" but it is worth the read. There is a follow up, "Mercury Rising" and something tells me that it will bet better than this one... hopefully the coincidental altruism of Mercury will blossom into some virtue driven heroic trait.
The main premise is that the the Apocalypse is about to start and angels are attempting to implement a millenniums-old accord between Heaven and Hell. The main characters are a rogue, but apathetic angel, and a not-quite-made-it religion reporter. The apocalypse is about to happen, Lucifer is up to his old tricks, and Mercury, the rogue Angel is trying to make sure that nothing happens... nothing at all.
Plot:
The plot is good, but not great. The concept is unique, but honestly I felt like the story was too hard of a juxtaposition between reality and fantasy. There was almost too much mundanity to believe it was fictional, and it was too far fetched to believe it was real. Yet, it did do a good job of pulling you into the plight of the situation. The idea that the world ending was more important than humanity seemed to make you root for people, even if you didn't want to. I felt like this was written as a disaffected version of the book of revelation. If it is ever made into a movie I am sure the soundtrack will be full of Indie bands.
Characters:
The angels for the most part made sense, except for the main character. You never got enough about him to love him or hate him. He was just there, but not in a compelling-bored sort of way... The main human, Christine, reminded me of the female lead from the movie "Dogma." In fact... I feel like Christine was patterned off of her almost exactly. I guess this is good in that I could relate the character to someone, except the person I related her to was fictional. Aside from that, the characters were quirky, but never developed enough for an epic tale. I really wanted to connect with Mercury, or to feel something for him as a character. I wanted a glimpse of something worth hanging on to. In the end there were a few flashes of that, but they didn't come from the plot, but instead an understanding of what heroes (or maybe anti-heroes) represent... I just wanted something...
Theology:
As a Catholic, this book had very little loyalty to Catholic teaching. Not that I expected much loyalty from a Protestant writer, I was still hoping to hang a theological hat on something... that wasn't to happen. I couldn't tell if this was satire or mockery... that left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
Overall:
Generally, the book was OK, but not super compelling. You saw how it was going to end early on, but even with twists and turns, you weren't scooting out to the edge of your seat at any point. Too much emphasis was placed on the wrong things, and I felt like the characters only got to about 2 3/4 dimension. As a Catholic, I felt that there was a strain of anti-Catholicism in the book, especially in the "anti-moral." I dont know exactly what the authors intent was, but there were bits that made me a little squeamish. In the end, I am glad I read it, but it took me longer than I thought to get through it.
It isn't up there with a Dekker or Peretti in terms of "Christian Fiction" but it is worth the read. There is a follow up, "Mercury Rising" and something tells me that it will bet better than this one... hopefully the coincidental altruism of Mercury will blossom into some virtue driven heroic trait.
derbit's review against another edition
5.0
"Mercury Falls" is a light hearted and humorous approach to the Apocalypse and I absolutely loved it! It's been a long time since I've picked up a book which actually made me laugh out loud and which I enjoyed as much as this one. Kroese's writing style and humor remind me a little of Douglas Adams.
mousie_books's review against another edition
2.0
Heaven and Hell engage in political machinations to control the Apocalypse while Christine, a fluff reporter, and Mercury, an apathetic, jaded angel, question the wisdom of the whole end of the world thing.
I really enjoyed the beginning plot setup/progression, but it lost steam for me during the resolution. The tone/style is similar to Terry Pratchett/Douglas Adams, and the antics/puns were pretty funny. (The reoccurring pawn/prawn bit went a little long for me though.) However, I probably am missing the context for many of the jokes. My knowledge of Christianity is pretty sparse. The only names I recognized were Lucifer and Michael, and I'm not sure I remembered who Michael was.
I really enjoyed the beginning plot setup/progression, but it lost steam for me during the resolution. The tone/style is similar to Terry Pratchett/Douglas Adams, and the antics/puns were pretty funny. (The reoccurring pawn/prawn bit went a little long for me though.) However, I probably am missing the context for many of the jokes. My knowledge of Christianity is pretty sparse. The only names I recognized were Lucifer and Michael, and I'm not sure I remembered who Michael was.
valerigail's review against another edition
5.0
What can I say that hasn't already been said about this book??
It was beyond anything I expected! I can not even count the amount of times I was literally laughing out loud! I would have to stop reading cause I was laughing too much. My husband was reading this at the same time, but I finished faster... so on our long car rides, he asked me to read outloud to him! That was even more hilarious! Cause I new what was gonna happen, and was anticipating his reaction!! Priceless I tell you!!!
By far the BEST apocalypse book I've ever read! I will never look at footnotes the same again! ;)
It was beyond anything I expected! I can not even count the amount of times I was literally laughing out loud! I would have to stop reading cause I was laughing too much. My husband was reading this at the same time, but I finished faster... so on our long car rides, he asked me to read outloud to him! That was even more hilarious! Cause I new what was gonna happen, and was anticipating his reaction!! Priceless I tell you!!!
By far the BEST apocalypse book I've ever read! I will never look at footnotes the same again! ;)
ptaradactyl's review against another edition
3.0
It had its moments, like angels talking smack about Southern Rock classics. And it was very light-hearted for a book about the end of the world. I didn't even mind the crosses, double-crosses, and psuedo-counter-crosses. What I could have done without were the sudden departures into freshman-dorm-quality philosophical ramblings.
Still, definitely a good read for a flight to LA.
Still, definitely a good read for a flight to LA.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘The Apocalypse has a way of fouling up one’s plans.’
Ah yes, it’s the end of the world. Again. Agreements have been reached and the associated paperwork has been completed. The Four Attache cases of the Apocalypse are out there, as is the Antichrist.
What can prevent the Apocalypse?
Enter Christine Temetri, a journalist who covers the antics of ‘End of the World’ cults for a religious magazine. Christine is thinking about a career change, and is seeking some new floor-covering. Hmm: one out of two isn’t bad. Christine meets Mercury, an anti-establishment angel who would rather play ping-pong than attend to his real job which is helping to orchestrate the Apocalypse. As the End draws closer, the Apocalypse is threatened by conspirators amongst the angels and demons seeking to subvert the End for their own purposes. Along the way, Christine and Mercury save Karl Grissom, the selected Antichrist.
I loved the dialogue in this novel: ridiculously funny in parts, deliciously droll in others. And this novel is mainly dialogue as seems appropriate, really, given the role of bureaucracy. Who’d have thought that the choice of linoleum for a breakfast nook could be quite so significant? Or that one department (at least) of Hell is a massive Dilbertian cubicle farm? Read ‘Mercury Falls’ and laugh. But don’t ignore the footnotes: they are important.
‘Divine providence is a mysterious and wonderful thing.’
Ah yes, it’s the end of the world. Again. Agreements have been reached and the associated paperwork has been completed. The Four Attache cases of the Apocalypse are out there, as is the Antichrist.
What can prevent the Apocalypse?
Enter Christine Temetri, a journalist who covers the antics of ‘End of the World’ cults for a religious magazine. Christine is thinking about a career change, and is seeking some new floor-covering. Hmm: one out of two isn’t bad. Christine meets Mercury, an anti-establishment angel who would rather play ping-pong than attend to his real job which is helping to orchestrate the Apocalypse. As the End draws closer, the Apocalypse is threatened by conspirators amongst the angels and demons seeking to subvert the End for their own purposes. Along the way, Christine and Mercury save Karl Grissom, the selected Antichrist.
I loved the dialogue in this novel: ridiculously funny in parts, deliciously droll in others. And this novel is mainly dialogue as seems appropriate, really, given the role of bureaucracy. Who’d have thought that the choice of linoleum for a breakfast nook could be quite so significant? Or that one department (at least) of Hell is a massive Dilbertian cubicle farm? Read ‘Mercury Falls’ and laugh. But don’t ignore the footnotes: they are important.
‘Divine providence is a mysterious and wonderful thing.’
morgue3as's review against another edition
4.0
not bad, as I had kindle unlimited + narration, and it wasn't unfunny. That's really what I look for above and beyond considerations like "do the characters make sense or feel real" and "is the plot worth the ammount of effort it would have taken to follow it" (no, and IDK I didn't follow it).