Review: The Truce by E. Milan

On A Side Note:
     When I went to the Calgary Comic Expo I grabbed some awesome stuff like these: 

Fabulous prints of Camilla d'Errico's fantastic works of art! That she SIGNED herself! And a couple of Little-Vampires monster button packs that are adorable! 

You also may remember the giant Everneath by Brodi Ashton inspired art piece I did for my final art project, which I got back from my prof (who loved it!) 

So why am I mentioning all this stuff? Well I'm mentioning it because I donated it all to Michelle at The Passionate Bookworm for her to raffle off in her fundraiser so that she can raise funds to make her own art! 

So if you want these packs, I encourage you to go on over to her raffle page here to learn more about what's up: The Passionate Bookworm Fundraising Raffle and if you feel like it maybe donate to get your chance to win these, and a tonne of other stuff (there's some huge book boxes and eBook packages too)! 

Review:

The Truce by E. Milan

Author: E. Milan

Publication Date: January 26, 2012

Publisher: Self Published with Createspace

Pages: 308

Genre: Fiction, Heaven Vs Hell, Angels, Demons

Source: Thank you to the Author for providing a review copy!

Book Description:

When Aaron and Amber die they will wake up in Purgatory. Unable to rest they will do the unthinkable and attempt to walk through Hell itself to find Heaven, and all they have lost, on the other side.

Once in Hell they spark a revolution 2,500 years in the making.


Review:

I haven’t read many stories dealing with the possibilities of the afterlife. The closest I’ve gotten to this subject was probably playing the Dante’s Inferno video game (loosely based on the first canticle of Dante’s Divine Comedy). When I read the synopsis for The Truce I was immediately intrigued as to what Milan’s vision of the afterlife is.

The cover is simple but effective in giving the reader a very surreal introduction into the passage from life to death for Aaron and Amber.

It begins by looking at the seemingly normal lives of three individuals that coalesce into a single defining moment that results in the pivotal deaths of the main characters. The opening to The Truce, I have to say was my absolute favourite part. There was a great introduction to each of the main characters and the heart stopping tension that mounted right before it happened made for an incredible way of snaring a reader’s attention.

The story is told from alternating view points of several different characters, but focuses primarily on Aaron and Amber. It begins with Aaron and Amber waking up in Purgatory and learning the ropes from other Purgatory residents. Purgatory is exactly how you’d imagine it, a place where you stand still in time and wait for your judgement with nothing to do; it could really drive someone mad and I can definitely see why the characters would want to try for Heaven through Hell, anything was better than waiting there for all eternity.

There are some really entertaining action packed moments as they make their journey through Hell and the personal Hells that they each face are imaginatively diabolical. I loved the buildup and the reveals of the back stories of Aaron and Amber, it really put solid reason as to why they were so determined to get out of Purgatory. Then we meet the very unique inhabitants of Hell, and their journey to Heaven becomes so much more complicated when everything is riding on their success.

However, there were a few hiccups I had while reading. I found it incredibly confusing by introducing so many characters and including each character’s personal back story. There was so much information that was unnecessary overall with minor characters that we never see again and this dragged the story. In addition, for me, the voices of the other characters all seemed to take on the same tone and style of speech, which further blurred any lines of distinction. The action sequences were interesting at first, but they became pretty similar throughout each subsequent battles (lots of running, splitting up and swooping). The romance that is inferred between Aaron and Amber feels like it never fully developed, they were more like strangers that clung together during desperate times because that’s all they know. When we finally get to the end, it sort of fell flat when the story was stretched a bit more, it could have been wrapped up in a much neater bow.

The back bone and the idea of this story are solid and it has the potential to be an amazing story. Milan dealt with a theological subject in a very inclusive manner, I liked that it wasn't preachy or offensive. I just feel like it could use some definite refining and polishing before it gets there. 

Rating: 3/5 Drinkable Cups of Tea

It's a good idea, it just feels like it could use some work.