Publisher : Creative Edge Publishing LLC (October 27, 2020)

ASIN : B08KGZ2FK8

Looking at the table of contents for  Kaylin McFarren's Soul Seeker (Gehenna Book 1), readers might anticipate a yarn that will unfold in two parts.  However, by the time I reached the grand finale--more accurately the set-up for the second book in the saga--I felt like the tale was really three sections linked by the life of the title character, Lucifer's sometimes favorite soul catcher, Chrighton.

The first third of the book focuses on fallible humans like Benjamin Poe  and his son whose lives are fatally menaced by a shadowy, mysterious figure. In this part of the story Chrighton is only occasionally center stage  as he pulls the strings to lure his luckless prey to their doom.  Then, the emphasis shifts to Chrighton himself.

In the second part of the book,  his character is fleshed out in vivid detail. We see him interacting with Lucifer and other condemned denizens of hell.  We meet Chrighton's mother and other demons and half-breeds (half-angel, half-demon) going back and forth between earth and hell.  In this part of the book, McFarren modernizes Biblical mythology and portrays an underworld that's something of a Twenty-First Century reworking of John Milton's Pandemonium from Paradise Lost. McFarren's version  is gritty and dark and happily  doesn't feature one-dimensional  immortal  single-minded creatures hell-bent, as it were, on tormenting human souls.  In fact, humans are essentially mere pawns in the push-and-pull between angels and demons.

Part three of the yarn is a multi-generational love story where we see Crighton, his angel "soul mate" Ariel,    his parents, and other paranormal types developed in much more depth than is typical of such fantasies.   McFarren's characters have complex backgrounds and have very personal inner conflicts and secrets. While there's no shortage of fantastic situations and events, Soul Seeker is a more earthy and, dare I say, realistic canvas than most readers might expect.

While the primary conflict is the old trope of good actors triumphing over evildoers , or at least softening them up, Soul Seeker isn't a morality play. It's not especially religious. There's lots in the latter third of the book showcasing how the hierarchy of angels is structured in heaven, but there's not one mention of God. There are many references to a future battle between the new rulers in hell and angel armies in a final showdown, which we can presume will be McFarren's take on Armageddon.  But McFarren isn't preaching any kind of sermon about the wages of sin or mending our evil ways.

On one hand, the prime redeeming virtue McFarren's demons can display is the ability to sacrifice oneself to save a loved one. On the other hand, readers uneasy about graphic sex or violence aren't going to take to many scenes in Soul Seeker. For those who like horror and paranormal fantasy, Soul Seeker is pure entertainment with some extremely well-sketched characters we'll all want to see in the next volume. I'm ready for the next chapters. Sometimes there are bad guys who are fun to root for.