This week, Enoch’s Device received two more reviews on the web. Steven Reynolds’ review on SPR went live on February 12. You can read the complete review here, but here are some highlights:
“Enoch’s Device is a wonderfully imagined, vividly described, alternately lyrical and violent romp of a novel that should give lovers of historical fantasy just the kind of fix they’re looking for.”
“There’s a lot to like here. Finley drops the reader immediately into the action, allowing the characters to reveal and explain themselves as the story unfolds. The prose style is clean and functional without being drearily plain. Finley isn’t afraid of complex images or longer sentences, and he has the skill to wield them usefully. Where extended narrative sections are required, as in describing the historical settings, Finley calls on extensive research and deploys some well-chosen facts and delightful visual details to immerse the reader deep in the historical moment. The descriptions of Poitiers and Córdoba are especially impressive. They had me rushing off to Google Earth to see how much of their medieval magnificence survives today.”
I really appreciate that last comment. It was a both a challenge and great fun to imagine what these cities looked like in the Tenth Century. Here is another comment I really appreciated:
“Finley combines astrology, Celtic myth, and the Jewish and Christian faiths to draw out commonalities and connections, arguing, it would seem, for a universal origin. Better yet, he does so in a way that is convincing: it doesn’t feel forced or faintly ludicrous as the claimed connections do, for example, in The Da Vinci Code.”
Marty Shaw of Reader Views also reviewed the novel. His review first appeared on Blogcritics.com, and will soon be featured on Reader Views. Here are some excerpts, and you can read the entire review here:
“I’ll be honest and admit I wasn’t a fan of Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code, so I was a little hesitant when I flipped open Enoch’s Device by Joseph Finley, imagining a dry mystery buried within a description-heavy historical setting, but I was hooked within the first few pages and that other novel was quickly forgotten.
“The number one difference between Finley’s debut novel and any other historical fiction book out there is that the story offers much more than a mystery to be solved. Real magic exists within these pages, and it’s woven into the story so well that you will be wondering exactly where fact turns to fiction.
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“In addition to the people that populate the story, the setting itself is a powerful character within the book. You’ll easily imagine yourself standing on the grassy plains of Ireland and feel the salty spray of the ocean against your face as demons attack the ship you’re on which sailing. The locations, the experiences, and the time period itself come to life with the author’s talented use of words.
“If you enjoy tales of magic and adventure that are perfectly blended with reality and history, Enoch’s Device by Joseph Finley will be an exciting read for you.”