Others say...

"Simply fun to read"
I've read the previous book, Exodus, and this is just as fun and rollicking as that book. It's enjoyable, with enough story to get things moving. It's an enjoyable summer read.

"2nd in the Hellgate: London Trilogy"
Demons still have control of London, but Simon Cross and the rest of the Templar Knights are fighting back. When an old professor tells Simon of an old book called "Goetia" that could have the power to turn the tide of the war against the demons, Simon and his team find more than they bargained for. The Templars aren't the only ones after the book. Demonic forces have their eye on it as well.

Goetia picks up a while after the first installment, with even more suspense and heart-pounding action. Like all post-invasion stories, the story is dark and violent. A foe from the last book, Warren, is still being used by a demon, but also begins to discover more power within himself. And he begins to form an alliance with a surprising character. The demons are truly evil, with their own agendas. And the downtrodden humans have to look out for their own best interests, some making questionable compromises. Simon Cross and his group set themselves apart from the rest of the Templars and try to see hope for humanity.

While Goetia has a short-term ending, a mystery still surrounds the book, to be concluded in the last of the trilogy, coming soon. I'm looking forward to more answers and resolutions to the mild cliffhangers. In a thrilling battle of good versus evil, Hellgate: London is an exciting and fast-paced saga that both science fiction and fantasy fans should love.


"Lots of action but interesting characters as well"
Demons surging out of the London Hellgate have been joined by more demons in more cities across the world, the military has been virtually destroyed, and humans scratch out miserable existances, always hunted by demons. Simon Cross, a former Templar, broke with that organization when they refused to help civilians, huddling beneath London in their underground fortresses. Gradually he's built a Templar splinter group--a group that doesn't mind taking the fight to the demons, no matter how helpless that battle may seem. Now, though, he learns that an ancient book, Goetia, may hold the secret to controlling the demons. Goetia, a work created by King Solomon himself just might be the weapon humans need to survive.

Although the military has been destroyed, the British government hasn't given up the battle. One problem, though, is that they don't know whether they can trust the Templars. Agent Leah Creasey believes that Cross just might have the ability to lead the battle against the demons, but her organization doesn't trust anyone. Still, only by working together can they have any chance to find the secrets of Goetia.

Warren Schimmer didn't have much of a life before Hellgate. Now, though, things are much worse. A rogue demon has enlisted Warren, given him a demon arm to focus his magical power, and now uses him to do dirty work, or work that he can't do himself without violating demonic code. Unfortunately for Warren, the demon's next commands are to attack and destroy some of the most powerful demons in London. Unfortunately for the demon, Warren already has access to a mysterious book that seems willing to give him incredible powers--at a cost that Warren can't begin to understand.

In the second book in the HELLGATE: LONDON series, author Mel Odom delivers a fast-paced thriller. Odom wisely balances the story between super-powered Simon Cross, whose weakness is betrayal, intelligent Leah, and sneaky Warren. Warren is far from friendly with Simon and Leah--Simon cost him the arm his demon replaced, but the three find themselves working at convergent purposes as Warren attempts to stay alive and deliver his master's bidding while Simon and Leah search for the lost book of Goetia. Because Warren is so damaged, so filled with shades of gray, he actually comes across as a far more fascinating and sympathetic character than do the others.

Odom provides plenty of action, mixing technology and magic in intriguing ways. Fortunately, each action sequencefurthers the story in addition to letting us see our characters work out their own distinctive ways to deal with the superhuman strength of the demons. Fortunately, the demons' intelligence isn't on a match with their power.



"Heart-pounding action, a series not to miss"
The struggle to rid London - and the world - of the demons released from the Hellgate continues in this second novel, in which ex-Templar Simon Cross continues with the struggle of finding citizens lost in the remains of London and growing an army of fighters to battle the Darkness.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, Cabalist Warren Schimmer has become the underling of the powerful demon Merihim, who wishes to take his place in the higher demon hierarchy. To do this, Warren must, with direction from the demon and a "bound" voice, knock their opposition from their thrones so his master can rise in the ranks.

But a new weapon to battle the demons has been discovered - the Lesser Key of Solomon, or 'Goetia', a book containing the true names - a tool controlling the demons' vulnerability - of the higher demons stalking the streets of the city. Will Simon and his rogue group of warriors be able to find Goetia and save the world from the demons oozing from the Hellgate?

Odom has a great way to packing this good-versus-evil plot with enough suspense and mystery to allow it to stand out among similar stories. His clever wording throws powerful punches into tame situations and helps to clarify the happenings of a high-energy situation. This series, ending with the late August release of Covenant, is one not to miss.

- T.C. Robson

"Great story, flawed writing..."
Alright, so I'll be honest: I'm not completely finished with the book as of yet. And for that matter, I haven't read book one. I'm stationed out in Afghanistan, and the local exchange doesn't have much in the way of a good book selection usually. Still, one particular visit that I made ended up having this book on the rack, so I decided to check it out for a couple of reasons. First, it's a book based on a game. In my experience, these books are typically well written for one reason or another. And second, the cover art just got me. Yeah, I'm incredibly superficial, but it usually works.

Anyway.

So I bought the book, and I've been reading it off and on for the past couple of days. As far as sci-fi goes, it's a fantastic book, to be sure, and given me the motivation I needed to actually check out the game when I get back home. Unfortunately, there are a good deal of writing mistakes within the confines of the book that aggravate me to no end. The reason is because when I'm reading, my mind gets a solid flow going. These mistakes are more or less turbulence in this flow, and I just... stop.

I stop and I go back and analyze the sentence.

I analyze the previous two sentences. Three, maybe four. And then I'll return to the offending sentence and have to look at it again just for good measure. Here's an exerpt from the book on a page that I just recently got past as an example of this:

"It would be foolish to pursue that course," Borden said. "We've got a job to do it we need to see it done."

I honestly for the life of me couldn't get past that one for a good two or three minutes. "We've got a job to do it we need to see it done." And of course, once I finally decided it was a mistake, I corrected it in my head and put it in place of the actual statement. Something to the effect of, "We've got a job to do, and we need to see it done." A single comma inserted, a single word replaced, and it's good as gold.

But the problem lies in the fact that these minor mistakes permeate the book. At least up to the halfway point. I can't say anything beyond that since again, I'm not past it myself, but we'll see.

Otherwise again, it's a great book. Just wish the proofreaders and/or Microsoft Office grammar check could've caught it before it reached final print.