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A review by joe_thomas25
The Cult of Eden: Book One of the Unrisen by Bill Halpin
4.0
We’re now more than 15 years removed from religious conspiracy thrillers bursting onto the scene with Dan Brown’s blockbuster, The Da Vinci Code. It was one of the first times that a book could tackle overtly religious themes without people immediately rejecting a book as a ‘Christian novel’ and since then there’s been a slew of thrillers in this vein, from the rest of Dan Brown’s books through to Robert Harris’ fantastic Conclave a few years ago.
Even with the burgeoning popularity of ‘religious conspiracy thrillers’ (an entirely made-up moniker I thought of while writing this review), I’ve always been slightly hesitant to pick up any books which seem too overtly Christian. Raised in a Catholic family, it feels both too close to home and a little exclusive sometimes, with a knowledge of Christian doctrine required to understand some of the elements of the plot.
On the surface, therefore, The Cult of Eden shouldn’t have ever made it onto my radar. But a combination of an intriguing cover and a blurb promising a cult, otherworldly powers and a demonic ritual convinced me that this might be enough of a Dan Brown/fantasy hybrid for me.
What I didn’t expect, but actually really enjoyed, is the B-Movie type feel of the novel. It’s got slightly campy, tongue-in-cheek humour and a shocking level of violence unlike anything I’ve ever read before. In parts it read almost like a 1980s direct-to-DVD horror, with visceral assaults, graphic descriptions of injuries, nightmarish humans and creatures, fantastical set pieces and an enjoyably overblown storyline. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but for the most part I really enjoyed it.
The book does a great job at overcoming my resistance to ‘religious’ fiction. Yes, it’s about religious doctrine and belief, and yes there’s a lot of religious references, including quoted bible passages, symbolism and a deacon as one of the protagonists, but it’s actually handled really interestingly. Most of these thrillers fall into one of two categories. It’s either a conspiracy within the Church to overthrow the established order, or it’s an atheist sect or group that wants to destroy organised religion. Not here. The eponymous Cult of Eden is a cult that believes in God, with a total belief in his existence, but a burning hatred of him. When faced with some of the questions that Christians often struggle with – Why would God do bad things to me? Why are some people treated differently to others? Why do we require such specific rituals to praise God? – the Cult of Eden reject all of this, enacting horrific perversions of Christian practices such as marriage to diametrically oppose ‘God’ and everything he stands for. It’s a unique approach that I’ve not encountered before and hooked my interest much more than I ever though an overtly religious plot might.
After an intriguing, quirky opening, the book takes a real turn about a quarter of the way through, that shockingly kickstarts the rest of the plot, but then the next quarter is actually quite anticlimactic and limp, with little character or plot development and a lot of exposition. I appreciate that after intense bursts of violence it’s helpful to have some recovery time, but a quarter of a book feels maybe slightly more than needed. Luckily, the plot picked back up to a rampant fury in the last third of the novel, culminating in an incredibly bleak ending that somehow managed to leave me wanting to come back for more despite the darkness.
This is the first in a series and, though I find myself wishing that these characters could be left to enjoy the remnants of their lives without any more horror, I’d be keen to read another book in the series.
Is this a standout book that I’d recommend to everyone? No, probably not. The characters are interesting but not hugely developed, and the plot stutters at points. Beyond that it’s an acquired taste, with a slightly hokey storyline and a gruesome amount of hyper-violence, but this is exactly what I enjoyed. It was a horrifying, escapist, read-through-your-fingers thrill ride with an unashamed amount of ridiculousness and a cleverly-handled use of religion. In a world where it’s increasingly difficult to find an original idea and approach, this book finds something utterly fresh (and deliciously appalling), and for that alone it deserves reading.
Even with the burgeoning popularity of ‘religious conspiracy thrillers’ (an entirely made-up moniker I thought of while writing this review), I’ve always been slightly hesitant to pick up any books which seem too overtly Christian. Raised in a Catholic family, it feels both too close to home and a little exclusive sometimes, with a knowledge of Christian doctrine required to understand some of the elements of the plot.
On the surface, therefore, The Cult of Eden shouldn’t have ever made it onto my radar. But a combination of an intriguing cover and a blurb promising a cult, otherworldly powers and a demonic ritual convinced me that this might be enough of a Dan Brown/fantasy hybrid for me.
What I didn’t expect, but actually really enjoyed, is the B-Movie type feel of the novel. It’s got slightly campy, tongue-in-cheek humour and a shocking level of violence unlike anything I’ve ever read before. In parts it read almost like a 1980s direct-to-DVD horror, with visceral assaults, graphic descriptions of injuries, nightmarish humans and creatures, fantastical set pieces and an enjoyably overblown storyline. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but for the most part I really enjoyed it.
The book does a great job at overcoming my resistance to ‘religious’ fiction. Yes, it’s about religious doctrine and belief, and yes there’s a lot of religious references, including quoted bible passages, symbolism and a deacon as one of the protagonists, but it’s actually handled really interestingly. Most of these thrillers fall into one of two categories. It’s either a conspiracy within the Church to overthrow the established order, or it’s an atheist sect or group that wants to destroy organised religion. Not here. The eponymous Cult of Eden is a cult that believes in God, with a total belief in his existence, but a burning hatred of him. When faced with some of the questions that Christians often struggle with – Why would God do bad things to me? Why are some people treated differently to others? Why do we require such specific rituals to praise God? – the Cult of Eden reject all of this, enacting horrific perversions of Christian practices such as marriage to diametrically oppose ‘God’ and everything he stands for. It’s a unique approach that I’ve not encountered before and hooked my interest much more than I ever though an overtly religious plot might.
After an intriguing, quirky opening, the book takes a real turn about a quarter of the way through, that shockingly kickstarts the rest of the plot, but then the next quarter is actually quite anticlimactic and limp, with little character or plot development and a lot of exposition. I appreciate that after intense bursts of violence it’s helpful to have some recovery time, but a quarter of a book feels maybe slightly more than needed. Luckily, the plot picked back up to a rampant fury in the last third of the novel, culminating in an incredibly bleak ending that somehow managed to leave me wanting to come back for more despite the darkness.
This is the first in a series and, though I find myself wishing that these characters could be left to enjoy the remnants of their lives without any more horror, I’d be keen to read another book in the series.
Is this a standout book that I’d recommend to everyone? No, probably not. The characters are interesting but not hugely developed, and the plot stutters at points. Beyond that it’s an acquired taste, with a slightly hokey storyline and a gruesome amount of hyper-violence, but this is exactly what I enjoyed. It was a horrifying, escapist, read-through-your-fingers thrill ride with an unashamed amount of ridiculousness and a cleverly-handled use of religion. In a world where it’s increasingly difficult to find an original idea and approach, this book finds something utterly fresh (and deliciously appalling), and for that alone it deserves reading.