Breaking The Devil's Heart: A Logic of Demons Novel [Hardcover]

Breaking the Devil's Heart is not naturally the kind of novel I would pick up but giving it a good go I have to say I was impressed with the sheer imagination the author possesses. Fantasy and Sci-Fi novels are fantastic for experiencing a brand new and completely imagined world and H A Goodman offers his readers a fascinating look at the world he has created.
Goodman creates his own variation of Hell and deftly describes how the inner workings of his Hell work, in an extremely interesting and engaging way. The novel cannot be accused of lacking originality for a second. In Goodman's created world there seems to be an answer for almost everything, although at times the sections dedicated to theory and philosophising are a little heavy going and detract from the plot.
That being said, my main misgivings lay in the characterisation and development of characters as none of them particularly appealed to me, which could simply be down to personal preference but it did influence my enjoyment of the novel.
This novel is an extremely interesting and thoroughly thought out but sometimes the focus on theorising does mean story-telling comes second and reading a novel, I always want a great plot and characters before getting immersed in a fantasy world. However, if you're looking for a deeply thought provoking read you can't go wrong with Breaking the Devil's Heart.
Beth Townsend - The Kindle Book Review

A uniquely imaginative read the likes of which I've never read before, Breaking The Devil's Heart is a thought provoking read for the individual reader and would make a great read for any readers group such is its potential for discussion.

The story of two Observers (Stewart and Layla) who, neither angels nor demons but something in between, join forces with both the demon Franklin in the hope of eradicating evil by infiltrating hell (or The Company as it is known) and the flamboyant tattooed angel Adrian whose goal is to find an antidote to evil. Our 'heroes' along the way coming to realise that neither good nor evil are necessarily as straight forward as they might at first seem. Yes, even Heaven is not without its problems in this story of the afterlife.

A difficult novel to review without giving too much away. On one level this is a humorous read in that I loved the idea of hell being the not traditionally depicted pit of fire and brimstone but ....... well, lets just say you'll never think of advertising, call centres or the stock market the same again. And yet on a totally different level the flashbacks to the atrocities carried out by mankind over the decades, many of them very topical, though a very necessary part of the story were very harrowing, the author obviously not afraid of exploring some of humanities most darkest moments.

Peopled by a numerous cast of characters, it is the vulnerability shown by even the 'worst' of them that really appeals to me as anything.

Too many to name let alone discuss, funnily enough it was the demonic somewhat psychotic thoroughly English Franklin that I liked best whilst it was Stuart that I found most intriguing in that I found just how far he would go to justify the outcome of his actions interesting stuff.

My only real criticism. The fact that the narrative did not always flow as well as it perhaps could have done meant that at times the book felt like a chain of events as opposed to a story.

An enjoyable enough read though it was marred for me by the fact that I just couldn't help but feel that there was some underlying agenda that I just wasn't getting.

DISCLAIMER: Read and reviewed on behalf of the author Hal Goodman, I was merely asked for my honest opinion, no financial compensation was asked for nor given.

Breaking The Devil's Heart: A Logic of Demons Novel

`Breaking The Devil's Heart', is such a unique, imaginative and thought provoking premise for a story, that it is difficult to know where to start. There is definitely no formulaic or predictable storyline on offer here!

The action is fast paced, moving at a phenomenal speed, as the two main protagonists, Stewart and Leyla romp around Heaven and Hell, searching for an alternative afterlife, one where Satan has been defeated and Heaven does not have to endure a civil uprising. It is just as well that Hal sticks to a single character narrative and we get the whole story told to us by Stewart, as it would otherwise be all too easy to become lost and confused in this highly energised and exhilarating race against time.

The plot has more twists and turns than enough, as we discover that good and evil are not straightforward concepts, when we are dealing with Heaven and Hell! The lines become very blurred, as Stewart and Leyla discover that, not all bad people are all bad and not all good people are all good!

When a tragic accident sees them depart this human life, we discover that choosing their future direction, becomes as seemingly a difficult decision for them to make, as it had been when they were mortal. Personally, I believe that Stewart and Leyla are the embodiment of any average, living human entity. Trying to be good, `do the right thing' and maintain their belief in the basic goodness and kindness of human nature, whilst all the time vulnerable, having their faith tested to its limits and having to fight the myriad temptations which life and `the little devil on their shoulder' throws at them, on an almost constant basis.

It is therefore not a surprise that the pair can't really decide whether they want to become fully paid up angels, or not. The idea of residing in Hell permanently, doesn't have much real appeal. However, after realising that many of their earthly traits are not so easily left behind or able to be controlled, living forever in Heaven might also have its drawbacks, especially when it seems that there are those who have made it to Utopia, only to be hell-bent on causing trouble and strife from within. The pair begin to feel just as vulnerable in death, as they did in life.

The characters are all complex, seemingly confused by their individual roles in the bigger picture and all posturing for position in the hierarchy of their respective domains. I didn't find that any of them were particularly likeable individuals, even though I could visualise them all only too clearly, so Hal has done a great job on the descriptive writing here.

There is great maturity, passion and perceptiveness in Hal's writing and he freely uses historical, religious and philosophical references to illustrate a point. The book is particularly rich with words, with Hal paying meticulous attention to detail when forming sentences and paragraphs, every one of them having a distinct and definite message, which comes across very strongly in the reading. However, there were a couple of occasions when I felt that he wasn't really connecting with me personally, the reader, in a very fluid or conversational way. Despite the interesting analogies, it began to feel more like a history or philosophy lesson, as the examples of referential material seemed to take over the narrative exponentially and almost became too intellectual for my poor little brain to cope with! Overall, I felt that the reliving of some of the darkest moments of humanity's flawed history and of our seeming ineptitude at not making the same mistakes over and over again, could have been a little more succinctly illustrated.

The humour is there .. heavy and dark, satirical and brooding, yet often just downright funny! .... The concept that Stewart and Leyla are `naughty Angels', is one that I loved and could easily relate to .... The premise that Hell is known as `The Company', with the CEO represented by Satan, who just happens to be female, is thought provoking and quite satirical .... The notion that `The Company' is basically just one huge Stock Market, although the only commodity being traded, is that of the human soul, is downright dark and and full of foreboding. More especially so, when you consider that `The Company' doesn't always need to influence humans about which way to choose to live in the afterlife, as greed and self-preservation is already lending a helping hand in the decision making process right here and now, in real-life time.

Given recent world events and the negative and catastrophic impact which has been wreaked upon ordinary individuals by the institutions so clearly implicated and designated as `Hell' in this story, I can quite see that the trade in human souls would be a very lucrative market indeed, although the question which then arises, is one of ... Can we really blame others for our situation, or is it time to start taking personal responsibility?... If we carry on down this same pathway, what is the future for humanity? and if we were all forced to see the means and consequences of our own demise and passing, would we live our lives any differently? ... There is plenty of pause for thought!

I came away with the distinct impression that Hal was using the book to express some of his own personal frustrations with the Hell that he sees as life here on Earth and the messages that I took away from the experience were:

Man's unceasing and unrelenting inhumanity towards his fellow man
You should choose your friends with care
Hell is possibly what we are living right now, here on Earth
We should stop trying to atone for the past and try to change the future for the better

The book has great potential for a discussion document and would be ideally suited to a group read.

This was compelling and compulsive reading, even for someone like myself, who reads from the fantasy genre sporadically and infrequently. For a fantasy enthusiast, be prepared to be blown away by this story and to have all your preconceived ideas about Heaven, Hell and the afterlife shattered. All other superlatives, such as; honour, respect, determination and even compassion, are all irrelevant and are by far outstripped by that one little word that really matters and can defeat Satan every time .... CONSCIENCE!

"Conscience saves you from regret"

"... and now it was time to create a silver bullet - made from the foundation of the human conscience - that could destroy evil forever"

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This book was a Kindle review copy, sent to me by the author, H.A. Goodman and as such, was free of charge.

This in no way influenced any comments I may have expressed about the book, in any blog article I have posted. Any thoughts or comments are my own personal opinion and I am in no way being monetarily compensated for this, or any other article.

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I personally do not agree with `rating' a book, as the overall experience is all a matter of personal taste, which varies from reader to reader. However some review sites do demand a rating value, so when this review is posted to such a site, it will attract a 4 out of 5.

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