Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Full of energy, imagination and stunning imagery..., 28 Aug 2005
Sunday, August 28, 2005
60. An Alternative VIEW: The Apocalypse of Silence ~ William P Haynes ~ Lulu.comTitle: Mesphisto's Seed 2: The Apocalypse of Silence
Author: William P Haynes
Publisher: Lulu.com
Genre: Fantasy /Horror
Publication date: 2005
ISBN: 1-4116-2479-3
Length: 177 pages
Edition: Paperback Mesphito's Seed 2: The Apocalypse of Silence~ William P Haynes ~ Lulu.Com "The Apocalypse of Silence as a book full of energy, imagination and stunning imagery, not to be missed. Keep your eye's peeled on Mr Haynes' progress, he is definitely one to watch..." Back in the sixties, Josh Riley, a sheriff, and Mark Talbot were tied up in Jim Franklyn's murder case and it involved devil worship. Years later, during Mark and Anne Talbot's wedding, Mesphisto, the devil and his son Elliot trap Mark, Josh, Anne and their friend, Peggy, in hell, for their trial and sentencing. The devil, with all his contempt for humanity and its eternal suffering, finds them guilty, imprisons them in cells and condemns the incarcerated to eternal punishment. Upon their escape from the confines of their cells they discover other members of Anne's Wedding party are held captive too. One by one, their true journey for deliverance begins as they search for a way out. Hell is a labyrinth of corridors and difficult to flee. These passages lead them to only where the devil wants them to go. Every door opened teleports each member of the cast into their own private turmoil, taking them to different points in their past, back to times they'd rather forget. The devil attempts to break their spirits, hoping not only they will loose faith, but the battle also. Meanwhile, they realise Elliot's plans don't include his father, Mesphisto. To add more conflict, unbeknown to all, there is one lord of darkness whose rule is greater than that of all devils. Named by the father as Satan -- Michael Orcus of Dudael, is watching, with plans of his own. Luckily, Josh, Mark and their friends are not playing by the rules either and intend to survive and win. Fighting the devil and other beasts roaming the cursed landscape; wolves, the three headed Cerebus, Jinns, Doppelgangers and dragons. Amongst these creatures there comes a little help from the hand of death, a goddess and her pet, a black cat, both of whom have the power to determine their human fate, but which way will their luck swing? I recommend you read the preceding book of Mesphisto's Seed Trilogy if you want to find out how the characters were thrown into this epic clash of good verses evil, although not essential. The author, William P Haynes, is more than capable of writing his many characters into a plot full of tension and hellish horror. Grabbing my attention from page one, this apocalyptic fantasy has a fresh, original style. I loved Peggy (who incidentally, once had an affair with Josh which adds to the drama) a tough policewoman with a few special moves of her own! The Apocalypse of Silence as a book full of energy, imagination and stunning imagery, not to be missed. Keep your eye's peeled, on Mr Haynes' progress, he is definitely one to watch. Find him at his website, or his blog, where you can read his work online.
http://tjbook-list.blogspot.com
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Impressive sequel that redefines the battle of good vs evil, 5 Dec 2005
The Curse of Mephisto's Seed: The Day of the Awakening was a tantalizing introduction to an epic battle between good and evil waged, for the most part, on Earth. The Apocalypse of Silence builds strongly upon the events and people of the previous novel, placing the overall storyline in a much more focused and crowd-pleasing light and granting readers further visions of hell itself. This second novel is a much more impressive, polished piece of fiction than its predecessor, showing how much author William P. Haynes has grown as a writer in a very short time. It also, by the end, shifts the Mephisto's Seed series onto a higher plane as the nature of the struggle changes dramatically in the book's latter moments.In The Apocalypse of Silence, Haynes takes you immediately to hell. The heroes of the first novel have been taken prisoner by the devil and sentenced to death for their "crimes." Mark Talbot, who gained unworldly powers after his "death" (in the first book) finds himself momentarily stripped of those powers, but he, his new wife Anne, best friend Josh Riley, and Riley's companion Peggy are never to be found without a trick or two up one of their sleeves, and they effect a breakout – but only after coming face to face, individually, with their most private fears. Unlike what readers found in the first novel, the devil rather than Elliott himself is the true antagonist in these pages, and as such we learn much more about him and his ways than we knew before – such as the fact that he spends some of his days in human form and that he can be, if not blinded, certainly distracted by an obsession that might be considered love in a different context. You don't leave hell and return to Earth without paying a price. In this case, our heroes find that some twenty years have passed in their world, years in which devilish doppelgangers have gone about making messes of their lives. Their unity is sorely tested, particularly as one of them has no memory of the group's past struggles with evil, at a most inopportune time. The devil's plans for a silent apocalypse are very much in motion, and only Mark, Josh, and the others stand a chance at stopping it. Some wonderful new characters are introduced (including Death and her acolyte), adding a richer dimension to the storyline, and the ending comes with a couple of surprises that totally redefine the nature of everything that has already happened and will happen in the future. I think the plot takes on a more mythological air in the pages of this second book, and not only with the addition of Nox (Death) into the mix. The implication is that this is not a new conflict at all, but rather a restaging of an epic battle between good and evil that has been waged before. Given the nature of the ending, it's hard for me to predict how and where the story will go in the upcoming third book of the series – and that certainly serves to whet my appetite for what is to come.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
The Apocalypse of Silence, 9 Oct 2007
The Apocalypse of Silence is the second book of The Curse of Mesphisto's Seed series. In the first book of this series, The Day of the Awakening, the reader is introduced to Elliott Stephens. This highly intelligent seemingly shy and withdraw boy has a terrifying destiny and a mysterious connection to Satan. In this first book, a group of unwary individuals learns of Elliot's secret. Their world is soon full of terror, death, and events beyond their worst nightmares.
The Apocalypse of Silence starts where the first book ends. Everyone believed that they had destroyed Elliot and that life would gradually get back to normal, despite the resent terrifying and disturbing events. Happy in this knowledge, the group settled down for a wedding celebration. Celebration soon turned to torture, pain, and even more terrifying events as Elliot and his father continued on their rampage.
Like the first book in this series, The Apocalypse of Silence is a terror-filled thriller. This book, however, descends into an even deeper level of psychological terror. Of particular significance is the personal hells that each of the main characters must face at the beginning of the book. Not only is this part of the story well thought out, extremely creative, chilling, and often disturbing but it brings a whole new dimension to the personalities of these characters without losing any of the story's high paced energy. Elliot's actions in this book are also very intriguing adding some very unique twists and turns to an already exciting storyline. I look forward to book three of this series.
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