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A review by dark_reader
The Destroyer of Worlds: An Answer to Every Question by Steven Seril
5.0
I read it . . . and I'm a little bit gobsmacked. It accomplished what it set out to do magnificently, so I couldn't help but give it five stars. It really surprised me; given the nature of the story, the first-time, independently-published status of the author, and the bombastic-sounding marketing, I didn't think it would be nearly as good as it is, although the writing in the preview was quite decent. I am so glad I gave it a fair shot. I found it oddly compelling, heartfelt, and genuine.
The book's genesis goes back to the author's childhood, age eleven, and there's a bit of that childhood imagination informing some elements: Space dragons fighting cosmic dinosaurs! Mountain range-sized beasts that even the gods can't stop! This giant dragon grows a new head out of whatever body part is attacked and bites Zeus in half! But the book has clearly grown over its twenty years of development, because it quickly expands from there to themes of the nature of the universe, the commonalities of world mythologies, moral growth and change, social justice, theology, stuff like that.
The prose is wonderfully clean. At first I thought it showed a bit of immaturity; though clear, it lacks sophistication. But, in this book's context, it fits. It has a tone and rhythm reminescent of mythological storytelling. I came to appreciate the clarity of the writing, especially during massive battle scenes involving huge numbers of participants. There was no trouble at all following the action, which is frequently a problem in superficially-similar books. The way that the author writes about politics and morality meant that even I could follow it with ease. It gives the story the primal, iconic feel that this epic demanded.
The plot could have gone off the rails easily, but it always reined it in with small-scale emotional moments at all the right points. It seemed at first as though we were headed for just a series of realm-shattering battles, when the space dragon armies serving the embodiment of death attack first the ancient Greek pantheon, and then the Norse gods, but then the plot takes off, and we shift to Neela's story, providing some necessary humanizing (or dinosaurizing, in this case) moments that launch the emotional core of the story. There were some irritating bits when it dragged, but these were much less frequent that I feared, and there were far more heartfelt surprises; it got me right in the feels, often right out of left field.
The only enduring irritating aspect of the story was Loki's speech pattern. Each character has highly distinctive dialogue, another surprise hiding in the deceptively simple prose. Loki had far too much written-out laughter ("Heeheeheeheehaaa"), and it took me a long time to accept his frequent anachronistic references; once I paired those to his character trait that let him see into distant futures, I understood this aspect. Aphrodite's speech could be offputting to some but I found it endearing; her valley-girl accent (she literally says, "Gag me with a spoon" at one point) reminded me of the goddess's characterization from the Xena TV series. Her dialogue gave me the most laughs, like in this exchange she has with Thor (Thor speaks first):
This book comes from a place of honesty, goodness, and love that is transmitted via its pages. I don't know what else to say. This book won't be for everyone, but if you approach it with an open heart and mind, it may surprise you as much as it did I.
*********************
This is a pre-reading review.
(Apologies to the author in advance for the snark to come. I promise, I will read the fuck out of your book, and give an honest full review. And honestly, from perusing the first pages, the writing is really not at all bad! All that follows here is simply me saying, "Wow!" at the no-holds-barred marketing effort for this book. To readers of this review: Give the book a try for yourself! It's only 99 cents, why the heck not?)
This book only came to my attention by way of the Amazon "Explore similar books" banner on a different book's page. I can't wait to read it; bought and downloaded, ready to go. How could I not with all this in store:
Even further:
But let's be serious for a moment. This book supports some important causes:
An endorsement from "one of the top tin whistle teachers on YouTube" is good enough for me. (Sadly, the top tin whistle teacher was unavailable). And how about this guy?:
Oh well. At least the book got a review from noted book reviewer, "Book Reviewer". And, a quote from Trisha Hershberger (SourceFed/Smosh, TV Show Host):
All ribbing aside, the book knows who its audience is.
Am I done? I'm done. [EDIT: the author has since modified the Amazon description to say 16+.]
I am honestly looking forward to reading the book. It looks like a tremendous effort, 22 drafts over 20 years (placing the book's origins at author age 11), from just your normal, average, everyday, unremarkable...
It's okay, he got better!
With that, it's time to get serious. Yes, I've been an asshole here today. In truth, other than the vanity book awards, I'm impressed with the marketing efforts and the book's presentation. The book's front matter is loaded with love, charity, and kindness, proving the author to be a much better person than I. I promise to read it with love in my heart and review it in this light.
And for real, please put this character in my veins:
Peace out. I'll be back once I actually read the book.
The book's genesis goes back to the author's childhood, age eleven, and there's a bit of that childhood imagination informing some elements: Space dragons fighting cosmic dinosaurs! Mountain range-sized beasts that even the gods can't stop! This giant dragon grows a new head out of whatever body part is attacked and bites Zeus in half! But the book has clearly grown over its twenty years of development, because it quickly expands from there to themes of the nature of the universe, the commonalities of world mythologies, moral growth and change, social justice, theology, stuff like that.
The prose is wonderfully clean. At first I thought it showed a bit of immaturity; though clear, it lacks sophistication. But, in this book's context, it fits. It has a tone and rhythm reminescent of mythological storytelling. I came to appreciate the clarity of the writing, especially during massive battle scenes involving huge numbers of participants. There was no trouble at all following the action, which is frequently a problem in superficially-similar books. The way that the author writes about politics and morality meant that even I could follow it with ease. It gives the story the primal, iconic feel that this epic demanded.
The plot could have gone off the rails easily, but it always reined it in with small-scale emotional moments at all the right points. It seemed at first as though we were headed for just a series of realm-shattering battles, when the space dragon armies serving the embodiment of death attack first the ancient Greek pantheon, and then the Norse gods, but then the plot takes off, and we shift to Neela's story, providing some necessary humanizing (or dinosaurizing, in this case) moments that launch the emotional core of the story. There were some irritating bits when it dragged, but these were much less frequent that I feared, and there were far more heartfelt surprises; it got me right in the feels, often right out of left field.
The only enduring irritating aspect of the story was Loki's speech pattern. Each character has highly distinctive dialogue, another surprise hiding in the deceptively simple prose. Loki had far too much written-out laughter ("Heeheeheeheehaaa"), and it took me a long time to accept his frequent anachronistic references; once I paired those to his character trait that let him see into distant futures, I understood this aspect. Aphrodite's speech could be offputting to some but I found it endearing; her valley-girl accent (she literally says, "Gag me with a spoon" at one point) reminded me of the goddess's characterization from the Xena TV series. Her dialogue gave me the most laughs, like in this exchange she has with Thor (Thor speaks first):
“So, what plan hadst thee to find Athena, fair dame?”The story gives primacy to Judeo-Christian mythology, wrapped around traditional Greek, Norse, and Japanese myths, with some nods to Hindu mythology. Jesus has a direct influence in the story, but that need not put off non-Christians. This book contained the most understandable interpretation of Jesus that I have yet to encounter (just don't ask me to explain any of it). The main spiritual character, Azure, develops his own moral center over the course of the book.
“Uh… give me a second, ok? Like, oh, my gawd.”
“Of thunder.”
“You really are, like, dense.”
“Why, thank you, fair dame. I’ve been bearing the full weight of a planet for years.”
“You mean, sorta like Atlas?”
“No, I have a natural sense of direction. I don’t need maps.”
This book comes from a place of honesty, goodness, and love that is transmitted via its pages. I don't know what else to say. This book won't be for everyone, but if you approach it with an open heart and mind, it may surprise you as much as it did I.
*********************
An all-seeing T-Rex recalls the violent and tragic history of the cosmos including Heaven's War, the Titan War, Ragnarok, and the Apocalypse. These catastrophic events converge as gods, goddesses, angels, and demons from all of mythology take sides in a war between ALIEN DINOSAURS and COSMIC DRAGONS!Sold! Where has this book been all my life?
This is a pre-reading review.
(Apologies to the author in advance for the snark to come. I promise, I will read the fuck out of your book, and give an honest full review. And honestly, from perusing the first pages, the writing is really not at all bad! All that follows here is simply me saying, "Wow!" at the no-holds-barred marketing effort for this book. To readers of this review: Give the book a try for yourself! It's only 99 cents, why the heck not?)
This book only came to my attention by way of the Amazon "Explore similar books" banner on a different book's page. I can't wait to read it; bought and downloaded, ready to go. How could I not with all this in store:
* The MOST POWERFUL characters ever writtenEvery mystery! Missing socks! Amelia Earhart! The name of that thing hanging down in the back of your throat! Further:
* The HIGHEST STAKES ever put to paper
* Every mystery of the universe explored
- The most powerful character in the history of fictionSince these are two separate things, we know the most powerful female character is at best second place in overall power. Sad!
- The most powerful female character in the history of fiction
Even further:
- Incredible plot twists & payoffsTHIS IS GONNA BE LIT, YO!
- Fulfilling character arcs
- Surprisingly gritty, realistic, and believable
- Action-packed from beginning to end
- MORE SUBSTANCE packed into 500 physical pages than any other work of fiction
But let's be serious for a moment. This book supports some important causes:
At least 10% of profits go toward the World Literacy Foundation, Cancer Research Institute, and Lauren McCluskey Foundation (making campuses safer and saving feral animals).I take heart knowing that I am supporting good causes with my book dollars. Or dollar; it was only $0.99 after all. At that price point with Kindle Direct Publishing the author gets a 35% royalty. So, $0.35, divided by 10... that's three and a half cents split between three charities. But it's not just my dollar, it's the dollars of everyone that buys the book that matters! And so far according to the book's website, https://www.destroyerforpulitzer.com/ , it has sold over 6000 copies. Terrific! What's important for a new author is getting your book into people's hands:
An endorsement from "one of the top tin whistle teachers on YouTube" is good enough for me. (Sadly, the top tin whistle teacher was unavailable). And how about this guy?:
the voice of Goku from Dragon Ball ZTHAT IS FUCKING AWESOME, I LOVE DRAGONB—oh there are more words there
the voice of Goku from Dragon Ball Z AbridgedHuh? What the heck is Dragon Ball Z Abridged?
Oh well. At least the book got a review from noted book reviewer, "Book Reviewer". And, a quote from Trisha Hershberger (SourceFed/Smosh, TV Show Host):
"I love how big it is too!"That's what she said.
All ribbing aside, the book knows who its audience is.
Am I done? I'm done. [EDIT: the author has since modified the Amazon description to say 16+.]
I am honestly looking forward to reading the book. It looks like a tremendous effort, 22 drafts over 20 years (placing the book's origins at author age 11), from just your normal, average, everyday, unremarkable...
In 2003, at the age of 13, he recorded a 181 IQ. He was even invited to the White House that year for this and other accomplishments!Whoa. That's, uh, wow. Well I'm sure glad nothing bad ever happened to that great big brain of—
after suffering a hit-and-run accident in May 2016 that changed his life, leaving him with limited movement & amnesiaOh, shit.
It's okay, he got better!
Not only did he succeed in powerlifting and authoring his book following this accident, but he also married his beautiful wife, Diana, a nurse and one of the few Turkmen in the USA. The two met after a chance encounter on public transit that garnered considerable media attention.It's all true! You can google his powerlifting record, and feast your eyes on the adorable couple: http://kutv.biz/news/local/utah-couple-finds-love-on-trax
With that, it's time to get serious. Yes, I've been an asshole here today. In truth, other than the vanity book awards, I'm impressed with the marketing efforts and the book's presentation. The book's front matter is loaded with love, charity, and kindness, proving the author to be a much better person than I. I promise to read it with love in my heart and review it in this light.
And for real, please put this character in my veins:
Peace out. I'll be back once I actually read the book.