Blog Tour Book Review: The Die of Death (R&R Book Tours)
Good Morning Folks,
Let’s start this week off with a bang! What better way than with a book review?
This post is all about the second book in Kenneth B. Andersen’s series The Great Devil War entitled The Die of Death.
As with the first book, I received a free digital copy from R&R Book Tours (aka Shannon) and am super grateful for the free read. I always say if it’s free, it’s me.
All right, so let’s not waste any more time. Cue the trumpets, on to the book review!
Author Blurb
Kenneth B. Andersen
Bio:
I WAS BORN IN DENMARK ON A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT IN NOVEMBER 1976 …
… and I began writing when I was a teenager. My first book was a really awful horror novel titled Nidhug’s Slaves. It didn’t get published. Luckily.
During the next 7 years, I wrote nearly 20 novels–all of which were rejected–while working as a school teacher. The rest of the time I spent writing.
In 2000 I published my debut fantasy book, The Battle of Caïssa, and that’s when things really took off. Since then I’ve published more than thirty-five books for children and young adults in genres ranging from fantasy to horror and science fiction.
My books have been translated into more than 15 languages and my series about the superhero Antboy has been adapted for film, which is available on Netflix. An animated tv series is currently in development.
A musical of The Devil’s Apprentice opened in the fall 2018 and the movie rights for the series have also been optioned.
I live in Copenhagen with my wife, two boys, a dog named Milo and spiders in the basement.
Book Review
Blurb
Philip’s adventures as the Devil’s apprentice have changed him—in a good way. Although he misses his friends in Hell, he has made new friends in life.
But when the future of the underworld is threatened once again, Philip’s help is needed. Death’s Die has been stolen and immortality is spreading across the globe.
Philip throws himself into the search—and discovers a horrible truth about his own life along the way.
The Review
I gave this book three and a half die-rolling stars.
It pained me to give this book this rating to be honest. Reading the first book, I fell in love with the creepy world of Hell that we were introduced to and the main character Phillip.
However, this time around, there were some things I couldn’t ignore that bugged me. Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of great stuff in this book, I just felt it paled in comparison to the first one.
So in a nutshell, Phillip has moved on with his human life on Earth. He’s no longer the goody two shoes that he once was, and in return he’s beginning to make friends at school and actually enjoy life.
But when he’s out with his new friends being mischievous, events occur that make him think that something is after him, and it wants him dead. Soon, Phillip finds himself in Hell once more, only this time the stakes are higher.
Someone has stolen Death’s die that gives mortals their lifespan, and unless Phillip can find it, all humans born will be immortal. Can Phillip find the culprit of this evil deed before his world is irreversibly changed?
This book had a lot of pros going for it.
For starters, Phillip as a character was much more interesting this time around. Instead of being the innocent do-gooder, he’s become his own person with his own flaws. I think he was better fleshed out as a character this time around.
The concept was, again, really great. Immortals walking the Earth? Yeah, that can’t be. I was invested in this story very quickly and wanted to see how things turned out. Hell was fleshed out even more than the last time, and I enjoyed that as well, especially from Death’s part of that universe.
The writing style didn’t really change and was primarily easy to read, and that’s probably my favorite thing about YA novels. The pages turn fast.
However, there were some things that I didn’t enjoy this time around.
In the first book, though the novel revolved around Phillip, it remained plot-driven in my eyes. This time around, it felt more character-driven. It’s just personal preference, but I prefer the plot to be the main driver in a novel.
Connecting with my previous point, the plot felt disjointed in certain areas. Things start out really well, but after that, things fall off for a while for me. The characters begin looking for the die, but about a third in something happens and it feels like they simply stopped looking for it. Eventually things did get back on track, but the entire time I kept asking myself why they stopped looking for the die. I mean, that’s why he’s there.
There were small bits where I got a tad confused or the conversation had a little too much back and forth, like when Satina and Phillip are navigating the stairs to Hell. They have this dialogue where they are theorizing what happened, but it goes a bit too far and overreaches to where I just had to skim over it.
It definitely wasn’t a dealbreaker, but I’ll admit it was an annoyance.
All this being said, I enjoyed my time reading The Die of Death. It was vivid, entertaining, and I am hoping that I enjoy the next book a bit more than this one. That ending really hooked me!
That’s A Wrap!
Thanks so much for stopping by for this special Jaunts & Haunts post! I hope you enjoyed your time here.
If you’d like to check out Kenneth B. Andersen’s work, you can find out more at the links below, as well as other participants in the blog tour.
Thanks again, and happy reading!
Author’s Social Media Links
Book Links
Blog Tour
January 27th
Books Teacup & Review (Spotlight) https://booksteacupnreviews.wordpress.com/
Turning the Pages (Review) https://turningthepagesonline.wordpress.com/
The Magic of Wor(l)ds (Spotlight) http://themagicofworlds.wordpress.com
Jaunts & Haunts (Review) https://jonathanpongratz.com/
January 28th
Didi Oviatt (Review) https://didioviatt.wordpress.com
Jessica Belmont (Review) https://jessicabelmont.wordpress.com/
The Bookworm Drinketh (Review) http://thebookwormdrinketh.wordpress.com/
Rambling Mads (Spotlight) http://ramblingmads.com
January 29th
Books to Get Lost In (Spotlight) https://bookstogetlostin.blogspot.com
Banshee Irish Horror Blog (Spotlight) www.bansheeirishhorrorblog.com
The Faerie Review (Review) http://www.thefaeriereview.com
January 30th
Life’s a Novelty (Review) https://lifesanovelty.blogspot.com/
Scarlett Readz & Runz (Spotlight) https://scarlettreadzandrunz.com/
Phantom of the Library (Review) https://phantomofthelibrary.com/
January 31st
Reads & Reels (Review) http://readsandreels.com
Entertainingly Nerdy (Review) https://www.entertaininglynerdy.com
Misty’s Book Space (Review) http://mistysbookspace.wordpress.com
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Hopefully the third book in the series will be better!
Me too! I do really like the series, so I’m not ready to give up.