What's weird is I can't say if I liked this book or not! It kept me interested and I had to know what happened but I can't say I am satisfied with how it ended. Maybe it's just me but it seemed to make complete sense at one point but then later not at all.

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I did enjoy this thriller-with-a-supernatural-twist, but ultimately, I was a bit disappointed. Though it is not a direct sequel to his _Straw Man_ trilogy, events and even one character were mentioned, seeming like a rather purposeful red herring tossed out to his own fans, which is a little... well, intentionally rude. The ending was not terribly satisfying either. The beginning, and general premise, was very strong, as well as Marshall's general witty writing style. The idea and resolution just needed a bit more flesh to make this a truly wonderful book. I must admit that it was exciting, and I am still looking forward to the last book that I have purchased by this author (_Bad Things_). I do hope that this one involves a better conclusion, and maybe a different sort of villain...

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Good book! Jumps a bit from character to character and that's a bit hard to follow sometimes, in the same genre of King and Koontz

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Michael Marshall addresses his favorite theme -- Ordinary Joe has the scales ripped from his eyes, and confronts the Powers of Darkness, which have been hiding in plain sight for years/decades/millennia -- again. Whether you like this depends on how much you like Michael Marshall (Smith).

I like Michael Marshall's writing a lot. Marshall's own "very particular set of skills" reminds me of Stephen King, at his best: the ability to create characters, even walk-ons and red-shirts, who feel like real people, who have backstories, dreams and desires, and who woke up that morning not planning to be crushed under the wheels of a fiendish supernatural conspiracy. Ditto, creating dialogue for said characters, major and minor, that sounds like the way real people speak -- even when, in the interests of the plot, they are having to recite info-dumps, or the biggest load of codswallop you have ever heard.

Marshall also has a nice sense of humor -- some of the info-dumps and codswallop is leavened by side-long verbal glances that say, to me, "yeah, I know. But we're all in this together. Have fun!"

So, I enjoyed this, and it was a great page-turner, and I can't promise you that I won't pick up another novel my Marshall, or his alter-egos Michael Marshall Smith or Michael Rutger, as soon as decency allows. However, I do feel that I'm beginning to feel diminishing returns from the "Ordinary Joe has scales ripped from eyes, and confronts the Powers of Darkness ..." playbook.

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This was not one of my favorite books. It was a little slow getting started and for me didn't get much better. The last few chapters were a bit more grabbing but not enough to make this one of my better reads.

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