I just want to preface this by saying I am not a Christian, so I'm not rating this 1 star because it was ~blasphemous~ or whatever. If anything it was really not nearly blasphemous enough but that's also not why the rating is so low.

On the most basic level I just think it's very poorly written. All of the characters are extremely two-dimensional and I don't even really know why any of them are THERE besides Michael and Lucifer because none of them actually do anything. The writing is very simple like 'and then he did this and then she said this and then' etc etc and the dialogue feels incredibly unnatural. Also there are some world building things I'm confused on [like why the main people are staying in anti-radiation units when 1. they go above ground anyway and 2. they meet other people who have been living above ground the entire time] and the ending was so anti climactic I don't even want to think about it.

Also it was just weirdly sexist. Women are described by the size of their boobs/butts, one is wearing her hair in a bun to 'pull her skin tight away from her face and have less wrinkles', one is described as being a tomboy and 'thinks she's as tough as one of the guys', and Michael's soulmate or whatever is literally kidnapped at the very beginning and doesn't do a single thing until he shows up to save her at the end.

I usually try to say something I liked about a book even if I give it 1 star but I honestly cannot think of a single thing here. Many of the other reviews are positive so I guess some people found things to like but I just thought it was awful.

I must start with Wow. The creativity was amazing and I wasn't really expecting i'd say that after reading this. Sorry to the author I was bit presumptuous and judgmental. But I'm a devout Christian, like really and so the reason why I requested this from netgalley is simply I was intrigued. I mean, I'm always intrigued with these kind of plot.

Anyway, thankfully I got my hands on this. It was applaudable that the author chose a topic that isn't usually touched. I even thought i'd be offended at some point. I was never. This is fiction anyway, and I know my faith. Secondly, the approach with the bible and how it was used to support the main plot was really creative though I don't think I'd ever do the same.

The characters who I don't want to name because I'd have to mention names I don't even want to say. :) Anyway, the characters are okay, just okay.

Overall this story is intriguing, provocative and imaginative. :)

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this twist on Abrahamic and Christiam mythology. What if thr Bible was a propaganda device? What if the rapture was a trick? What if Lucifer won the war in heaven? This was a marvellous reimaging and personally I found it a lot of fun. Occasional bouts of clunky prose took the edge off what was otherwise a very satisfactory fantasy but the story more than made up for it.