Satan’s Grip by Paul Sherman
Dreaming Big Publications
Reviewed By: Ariel
ABOUT THE BOOK
Inspired by the black magic novels of Dennis Wheatley.
Esther’s eighth birthday.
The day that her mother, Charlotte, had been fearing.
As a teenager, Charlotte had gotten involved in a satanic cult and had made a promise to Satan that he could have her firstborn child. At the time, she really didn’t believe any of this was true. It was just a silly thing she did to fit in.
But now…
Can Charlotte save Esther from Satan’s grip? Or is she destined to fulfill that long-ago promise?
(Amazon)
MY REVIEW
Rating: 4/5
Paul Sherman’s Satan’s Grip is a modern-day gothic novel that explores the never-ending battle between God and Satan in under 120 pages. As a fan of gothic novels, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The novella is short with no wasted words. Everything that is said adds to the story and is not used as filler. The story of Charlotte and her daughter, Esther, is a fascinating one. While the reader does not fully meet teenage Charlotte, there is enough to infer a huge transition from a satanic teenager to a devoted, protective mother. Her love for her daughter and the fear of what will happen to her really keeps the pages turning. The supporting characters are also interesting. I did not know who to trust!
My only problem with the book was the character of Satan. There is not much of him and the little we get of him is the stereotypical Satan. There is a lot of evil chuckles and red eyes that do not seem terrifying at all. In fact, his minions seem more terrifying and I feel like that is a mistake. Satan wants to take Charlotte’s daughter away from her. Because of this plotline, I think the novella shortchanged what could have been a more exciting and gripping story with an appearance of the evil Satan.
Despite that one negative aspect, I enjoyed this book. I recommend this book to people who want to introduce themselves to gothic novels. It is a quick read and is a fascinating story that can be expanded upon. In fact, I believe that this is a great introduction to an amazing book series that can explore these characters further.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul Sherman is a teacher, author and director of Youth Theatre. He has had stories published in various hard copy magazines, but most recently, he has had three fantasy-horror stories (The Jokers of Sarzuz, Daemon Page and Missed!) published by TWB Press which are available on Amazon, OmniLit, etc. He has also written poetry and plays which have been performed at various locations in the UK, including the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. His play ‘Kilmainham Kids’ about the children imprisoned in the gaol in Dublin in the 1850’s is shortly to be published. He is currently working on a collection of short stories ‘Tales out of Herm’ all set at different locations on Herm Island, one of the smaller Channel Islands, but steeped in history and mythology and ripe for short story settings. (Sherman)
https://www.amazon.com/Satans-Grip-Novella-Paul-Sherman-ebook/dp/B01DHH3PK4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495475964&sr=8-1&keywords=satan%27s+grip
DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.
Dreaming Big Publications
Reviewed By: Ariel
ABOUT THE BOOK
Inspired by the black magic novels of Dennis Wheatley.
Esther’s eighth birthday.
The day that her mother, Charlotte, had been fearing.
As a teenager, Charlotte had gotten involved in a satanic cult and had made a promise to Satan that he could have her firstborn child. At the time, she really didn’t believe any of this was true. It was just a silly thing she did to fit in.
But now…
Can Charlotte save Esther from Satan’s grip? Or is she destined to fulfill that long-ago promise?
(Amazon)
MY REVIEW
Rating: 4/5
Paul Sherman’s Satan’s Grip is a modern-day gothic novel that explores the never-ending battle between God and Satan in under 120 pages. As a fan of gothic novels, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The novella is short with no wasted words. Everything that is said adds to the story and is not used as filler. The story of Charlotte and her daughter, Esther, is a fascinating one. While the reader does not fully meet teenage Charlotte, there is enough to infer a huge transition from a satanic teenager to a devoted, protective mother. Her love for her daughter and the fear of what will happen to her really keeps the pages turning. The supporting characters are also interesting. I did not know who to trust!
My only problem with the book was the character of Satan. There is not much of him and the little we get of him is the stereotypical Satan. There is a lot of evil chuckles and red eyes that do not seem terrifying at all. In fact, his minions seem more terrifying and I feel like that is a mistake. Satan wants to take Charlotte’s daughter away from her. Because of this plotline, I think the novella shortchanged what could have been a more exciting and gripping story with an appearance of the evil Satan.
Despite that one negative aspect, I enjoyed this book. I recommend this book to people who want to introduce themselves to gothic novels. It is a quick read and is a fascinating story that can be expanded upon. In fact, I believe that this is a great introduction to an amazing book series that can explore these characters further.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul Sherman is a teacher, author and director of Youth Theatre. He has had stories published in various hard copy magazines, but most recently, he has had three fantasy-horror stories (The Jokers of Sarzuz, Daemon Page and Missed!) published by TWB Press which are available on Amazon, OmniLit, etc. He has also written poetry and plays which have been performed at various locations in the UK, including the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh. His play ‘Kilmainham Kids’ about the children imprisoned in the gaol in Dublin in the 1850’s is shortly to be published. He is currently working on a collection of short stories ‘Tales out of Herm’ all set at different locations on Herm Island, one of the smaller Channel Islands, but steeped in history and mythology and ripe for short story settings. (Sherman)
https://www.amazon.com/Satans-Grip-Novella-Paul-Sherman-ebook/dp/B01DHH3PK4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495475964&sr=8-1&keywords=satan%27s+grip
DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.
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