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A review by ojtheviking
The Acolyte by Nick Cutter
3.0
Having previously read and thoroughly enjoyed Cutter's two first novels, The Troop and The Deep, I went into this optimistic. Now that I've read The Acolyte, it's not so much that I was disappointed, but maybe to some degree slightly underwhelmed.
The story itself is interesting enough. This time, Cutter has written a futuristic, dystopian novel, and the world-building seems very well thought out. We find ourselves in a society where faith is the law – a law that's enforced with extreme prejudice. There is only one true religion, anything else is outlawed. People are living in a reality of brainwashing and censorship, threats of conversion therapy, torture, oppression, a place where science is disbanded and astronauts no longer exist – the ultimate conservative dictatorship, amen.
Conceptually, the premise isn't too far-fetched in some ways, as Christianity has historically been very aggressively trying to dominate the world. Invading, conquering, and shackling entire cultures in order to force their faith upon everyone. This story basically demonstrates – albeit to quite a dramatic degree - what it might look like if they succeeded in a complete takeover.
With that said, the plot moves along a bit fast. Not much time is spent on introducing the characters or establishing their personalities before they are thrown right into the action. Not that it's flat-out bad that a story is fast-paced and action-packed, but still, I always say there should be room for some introductory exposition just to make sure you genuinely care about the characters, and about what happens to them.
The writing isn't bad per se; I still think it has that distinct Cutter style. The narration has a steady pace and he knows how to make the action stand out and be suspenseful for the most part. And you can always rely on Cutter to have some fairly violent and gory moments. My only gripe is that it's all just a bit surface-level. Very plot-focused, without that much character development.
I do realize that this may be slightly intentional, since this story is essentially a hybrid between futuristic dystopia and something like an old noir detective story. Such detective stories could often be very to-the-point and just present the murder mystery.
Speaking of the murder mystery, it's not so much a whodunit, but why-are-they-doing-it. I'd almost say there are some supervillain elements to this part of the story, as the whole city is made unsafe due to the way the murders are committed. It all could have just been slightly more captivating had I cared more about the actual characters.
All in all, though, it's undeniable that Cutter also has sprinkled a fair share of social commentary over this story, shedding some light on all the actual hatred, prejudice and religious narcissism that does exist in our world today. In his own author's notes, he says it was a struggle for him to write certain parts of this book, having to put himself in the mind of such hatred for the sake of the story. His efforts are as such commendable.
So, while this was my least favorite of the three Cutter books I have read so far, I'm still not saying this was bad altogether. And I am still interested in reading more of his work one day.
The story itself is interesting enough. This time, Cutter has written a futuristic, dystopian novel, and the world-building seems very well thought out. We find ourselves in a society where faith is the law – a law that's enforced with extreme prejudice. There is only one true religion, anything else is outlawed. People are living in a reality of brainwashing and censorship, threats of conversion therapy, torture, oppression, a place where science is disbanded and astronauts no longer exist – the ultimate conservative dictatorship, amen.
Conceptually, the premise isn't too far-fetched in some ways, as Christianity has historically been very aggressively trying to dominate the world. Invading, conquering, and shackling entire cultures in order to force their faith upon everyone. This story basically demonstrates – albeit to quite a dramatic degree - what it might look like if they succeeded in a complete takeover.
With that said, the plot moves along a bit fast. Not much time is spent on introducing the characters or establishing their personalities before they are thrown right into the action. Not that it's flat-out bad that a story is fast-paced and action-packed, but still, I always say there should be room for some introductory exposition just to make sure you genuinely care about the characters, and about what happens to them.
The writing isn't bad per se; I still think it has that distinct Cutter style. The narration has a steady pace and he knows how to make the action stand out and be suspenseful for the most part. And you can always rely on Cutter to have some fairly violent and gory moments. My only gripe is that it's all just a bit surface-level. Very plot-focused, without that much character development.
I do realize that this may be slightly intentional, since this story is essentially a hybrid between futuristic dystopia and something like an old noir detective story. Such detective stories could often be very to-the-point and just present the murder mystery.
Speaking of the murder mystery, it's not so much a whodunit, but why-are-they-doing-it. I'd almost say there are some supervillain elements to this part of the story, as the whole city is made unsafe due to the way the murders are committed. It all could have just been slightly more captivating had I cared more about the actual characters.
All in all, though, it's undeniable that Cutter also has sprinkled a fair share of social commentary over this story, shedding some light on all the actual hatred, prejudice and religious narcissism that does exist in our world today. In his own author's notes, he says it was a struggle for him to write certain parts of this book, having to put himself in the mind of such hatred for the sake of the story. His efforts are as such commendable.
So, while this was my least favorite of the three Cutter books I have read so far, I'm still not saying this was bad altogether. And I am still interested in reading more of his work one day.