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UNHOLY CONCEPTION
By John Elliott
Writers Club Press 0-59521577-6
Paper
$15.95"Unholy Conception" is an ambitious '80s epic that mixes horror, fantasy, and adventure (think Steakley's "Vampires" and McCammon's "Baal") that unfortunately leaves you disappointed.
Satan is at it again, trying to destroy the world and make it his own, but there is a clause in this prophecy: his son has to show him the way. With the help of a dark warlock named Victor, a business tycoon spearheads the cloning of the first human being, an empty vessel for Satan's son to occupy. The results, a horny, and power hungry young man named Raven.
Meanwhile, the signs of Satan's arrival are obvious to an eclectic group of heroes: Brother Thomas, who represents the Catholic Church; Achmed, his mysterious companion; Kyle, an ex mercenary; and Mark, a white warlock who trains the last hope for mankind; Jamal, an inner city kid.
The characters start on their separate journeys, eventually meet up, and result in an explosive climax in the desert where they face off Raven and an army of demons.
At times, the prose is over-written, the rhythm and pace is jumpy, but the biggest disappointment for me was the shallow and emotionally easy characterization.
Jamal, the character that I thought would be the most interesting, goes through no struggle. Here is an urban black kid who is suddenly faced with the weight of saving the world, and we never know how he feels (besides fear) or how he deals with it. Plus, for a ghetto kid my dawg is holding it down white.
The character who is even close to fulfilling a character arc is Kyle. Before he is able to save the world Kyle has to get over the nightmare he lived in his past.
There are some great campy moments of mellow drama, especially with the dialogue. The one that sticks out:
There is this gang member named Jimmy who wants to kill Kyle and Jamal, so he chases them across the country. In the process, Jimmy carjacks a young woman then gets in a shoot out with some guy in a truck. The guy in the truck dies, the truck explodes, and Jimmy is left with the woman who witnessed it. The solution: Jimmy punches the woman in the face and throws her onto the burning truck.
There are also some great scenes with Victor and Raven where the dark warlock is always stopping the son of Satan from having sex.
The ending is also pretty cool: the heroes battle the demons and it ends somewhat spiritually, but I'm afraid, in the end, I felt greatly disappointed. I hope that Mr. Elliott will do better next time around.
Review by Mike Purfield
Critical Raves for Mike Purfield's "Dirty Boots."
"If you're looking for a good read, something you've never experienced before, then this is the book for you." Paul Kane of Terror Tales.
Rated 3 out of 4 by Unhinged Magazine.
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