Fires Rising (Leisure Fiction)
by Michael Laimo
|
List Price: Our Price: $1.99 You Save: $6.00 (75%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Fires Rising (Leisure Fiction)
Book Review: Only those of great faith stand a chance to survive
Summary: 5 Stars
New York, the metropolis of the East is shockingly succumbing to its end. The once glimmering cosmopolitan streets of Manhattan are under an ancient threat, it seems that deep in the bowels of the city a great evil has ceased its slumber and the once holy grounds of an old church are the new birth place of something that promises the end of man kind. Tamed in the past, darkness finds new followers who will do anything to bring it back to its full glory filled with blood and screams of the innocent. What was once medieval fiction is staring non believers in the face and reaching out for their flesh.
The main hero of this story is Father Anthony Pilazzo, and elderly priest with spunk and character who has lived and conducted masses at the Church of St. Peter for many years. When strangeness envelops the city; on the street people stand and stare, whispers and enigmatic messengers tell Pilazzo about an upcoming end and the construction workers who are working as if in a trance are starting to act in a bad manner, it is becoming clear that something malevolent is about to be unleashed. A group of homeless men who hid in the belly of the church feel as if they have been woken up from some dream and feel a strange connection to the church and it's future, which is to be torn down because of some loophole in the church's contract - who with the act of demolition have uncovered something hidden deep below the floors. What they uncover comes with shocking consequences and the true beginning of the end. The powers of good and evil are on the rise and their horrific collision is imminent. As fires and violence engulf the city, a dark force takes over the sinners and ignites a battle that will leave very few to taste any unlike victory. It is up to the priest and those with nothing to loose to win back the freedom and stop the darkness from turning the city into scorching bellies of hell.
This tale was a true feast for the senses; violent, gripping, non-stop action packed and full of vivid and picturesque scenarios, it was not only intense but also a lot of fun to read. For those who like their horror gory and filled to the brim with horrific details this is a great place to get their fill, it reminded me a bit of Edward Lee's work, I can see his fans flocking to this book and coming out satisfied. Fires Rising is a new take on the end of the world type of a story, it made me happy that it was fiction, living in Manhattan and reading this was hitting very close to home and considering how real this book felt it would be one experience I would never want to witness. I absolutely loved the last chapters, they flowed off the pages and they felt like a sea of colors and action, it all read like the best stuff that movies are made of, and for a book it's a tough feat. The richness of the character development was brilliant without taking away form the action and the story started off powerful from the beginning, there is no beating around the bush with this book, and once it starts it never stops to shock the reader.
This was a wonderful tale of epic proportions - another winner from Laimo.
- Kasia S.
Book Review: Less than horror
Summary: 2 Stars
Fires Rising is the latest novel by Michael Laimo, is another Good vs. Evil type book. The back states that the church is supposed to be renovated but in actuality it is being destroyed and the protagonist, Father Pilazzo was in a sense being evicted. The main plot is follows the unearthing of items found buried in the church leading to a Good vs. Evil struggle and the gathering of sides. There are a couple side plots involving Father Pilazzo's current predicament and the homeless gathered in the church that may have stumbled onto something.
This fits the horror genre because it contains gore and a horror type storyline. There is nothing really scary here and the writing is ok. I really had to push myself to continue reading this so that I could get to the end. There were many times that my eyes would get heavy and I would start nodding off and that was during the action parts. The prose of the novel was quite jumpy. There were a few parts that really moved and parts that somewhat flowed and then those places that I had to drudge my way through. The characters were not bad. I did find myself more concerned with the homeless than I did with the main protagonist. The climax kept well with the character development of Father Pilazzo, but what he does in the end felt forced by the story so that it could end in a certain way.
Some criticisms
- "Evil that promises man the end of days," was a repetitive phrase that was overused. Just seeing those words so many times throughout the story really detracted from it.
- The main protagonist's character was just 2 dimensional and really didn't seem to have much of a place in the story until the end and then it felt as if the plot was pushing him along to a chosen goal.
- The fact that I had to push myself to finish reading it. The story was average and the writing was less than I expected.
Some positives
- The homeless characters felt more natural and I began to care more for them and found myself rooting more for them.
- A lot of the similes that Mr. Laimo used were just great. If there is one thing that Mr. Laimo has a knack for, it is using the appropriate similes through his work even though he did use one of them twice.
- This is the one that Mr. Laimo did not go overboard and bore me with gore details. In this one, he used the right amount to make the story really gruesome, but not in a way that it detracts from the story because you are reading just pages and pages of gore.
Overall, this story just didn't do it for me. I just couldn't wait to get it over with so that I could say that I was finally done. There was just not enough oomph to it. This is something that I would recommend only to those die hard G vs. E horror fans that love gore, and even then I only barely recommend it.
Book Review: Middle-of-the-road horror
Summary: 3 Stars
Michael Laimo's last name is very similar to a bigger name in horror fiction, Richard Laymon. Based on my first reading of a Laimo book, Fires Rising, he is not quite ready to be put in Laymon's league.
Fires Rising is a rare haunted church. A prologue in 1892 concerns the opening of the Church of St. Peter. A crate, supposedly from the Vatican is intended to be put in the building's foundation, but it breaks open and two artifacts are exposed: a chalice that unleashes great evil and a rosary that offers the necessary goodness to stop it. Although contained for the moment, it will be unleashed again in modern times as the Church is being razed to make way for an office building.
Father Pilazzo, the priest at the church, starts getting messages about the evil being released. Meanwhile, a group of homeless living at the soon-to-be-demolished church, find themselves trapped and at the mercy of an ever-growing presence of bestial hellfire. Only the rosary offers some protection, but to work at its best, it must be in the hands of a sinless one. Pilazzo fits that bill, but as the city begins to erupt in riots caused by the unleashed evil, is he too late to stop the end of days?
Fires Rising is neither good nor bad, strictly average. Any talents that Laimo has as a writer are offset by problems with the story itself. Principally, this reads more like a disaster story than a horror novel. The unleashed evil is more like a hurricane, just a force of nature creating a path of destruction. There is not a lot of conscious villainy, the sort of malice that truly brings depth to a horror novel. There are also unresolved issues (where did the crate really come from?) and characters that are not all that interesting. Pilazzo is, however, rather refreshing in one respect: he seems to be the rare Catholic priest in fiction who is not either twisted or having a crisis of faith. He just is not a strong enough character to carry the story.
I like a good apocalyptic story, but Fires Rising is not it. I don't know if this is an aberration in Laimo's career, but if this is indicative of what he has to offer, he will not be able to make it into the horror big leagues. This is a strictly middle-of-the-road horror novel.
Book Review: This One Didn't Do It For Me
Summary: 2 Stars
As a fan of Michael Laimo, I was excited to dig into "Fires Rising", and it starts off strong. While building a church in New York at the turn of the century, a crate arrives and upon breaking turns the parishoners into murderous lunatics. Flash forward to present day, and this same church now facing destruction has become home to a number of winos and bums...(ooops sorry I mean "homeless"). Whatever evil that was in the crate has been unleashed, and it's up to the homeless residents and the former priest of the church to stop the evil from consuming New York in the form of angry sweaty construction workers. Yes that's right....the world ends not with a bang, but with a yellow hard hat, stained wife-beater, power tools, and just a hint of butt-crack showing.
Unless, spooky church imagery is frightening to you, you won't find much here. I am a big fan of Laimo's writing style. His descriptive passages fairly drip off the page, you can almost smell the smoke of fires burning, taste the blood and feel the goo coming off of some of his creations. But the subject matter of "Fires Rising" just wasn't frightening.
I highly recommend you try "Dark Ride", Laimo's latest collection of short stories to discover this author. There Laimo covers a multitude of horror bases, and you are bound to find something you like. Then turn to "Fires Rising" after you are familiar with his style, and if you have an interest in religious horror....or angry construction workers.
Book Review: Michael Laimo - A creative genius when it comes to horror
Summary: 5 Stars
Just when you think Michael Laimo cant top his previous book, he not only meets your expectations but exceeds them as well. I found this book to be very suspenseful with just the right amount of horror to keep my mind running wild trying to figure out the ending.
There were times while reading this book that I said "YUCK" and "GROSS",because the details were just so strongly written that you could actually visualize the scenes as they were/are taking place,which also makes it seem like YOU are part of the story as well. After reading a book like this it makes me believe that the author behind this horrific novel may just be proving himself to be quite the creative genius, whom writes like no other (atleast none that Ive seen).
"Fires Rising" gave going to church a whole new experience,wrapped up in one amazing plot and ending. Next time I go to church Ill make sure that the door stays open :-)
I strongly believe that "Fires Rising" may be his BEST book so far that he has written. I enjoyed it so much that I may read it again.
Looking forward to the release of "Dark Ride" next month".