Guest Post by Author, Joseph Devon, and Book Review of Persistent Illusions

Guest Post by Author, Joseph Devon, and Book Review of Persistent Illusions

  

Blurb : 

In Probability Angels, we were introduced to the world of Matthew and Epp. Back then, Matthew thought he had his hands full just learning how to be an undead tester of humanity, but then Hector staged an uprising and everything Matthew thought he could take for granted fell apart.
Yet, over the past few months, a strained peace has settled over his world and Matthew is starting to feel like he can finally get back to training at his usual New York haunts.
However, things are more fragile than they appear. Nobody can see the stress lines already clawing away at the new peace. Nobody has guessed the toll that was taken on those at the forefront of their war. And, when a new tester wakes up with the power to possibly unravel the universe...well that's when things really start to get interesting.
Come see how a zombie can protect and serve, a photographic memory can earn you a permanent place on Mount Everest, and a teenage drug addict can hold everyone's fate in her nail-bitten fingers.

Author Guest Post:

What sets your book apart from others in the genre?

Persistent Illusions is technically an urban fantasy novel. It has fantastical elements in the form of the main characters, dead humans who have taken on the role of ghostly testers tasked with pushing humans to their full potential. And it takes place in modern times amidst backdrops like New York City or suburban California. So you have a fantasy novel set in the modern world: urban fantasy.

That being said, if you Google “urban fantasy” you will find that it is a genre very heavy on the “sexy heroine battling vampires” motif. Or “sexy hero battling sexy vampires.” Or “sexy ghosts seducing sexy ghost hunters.”

I’m exaggerating a bit for humor, and I appreciate straight genre work as much as the next guy, but my point is that there isn’t a lot of representation for works that are, strictly speaking, urban fantasy, but that don’t fit into the current well-known mold.

Persistent Illusions is the sequel to Probability Angels. Over the course of these two books we are introduced to the world of testers, once living humans who now must push humanity to reach its full potential. We meet a variety of characters, from Matthew, the newcomer to this world, to Epp, the two-thousand year old Roman slave with power comparative to a god.

The philosophy of this whole concept is explored, what it is that makes us grow as humans, and whether true growth only comes with sacrifice. There’s also the fact that the way the testers interact with our world is all based on modern-day physics, so there are discussions about the theory of relativity or of how gravity works added into the mix.

Plus, as the plot develops a civil war breaks out amongst the testers’ kind with fairly complex stances being made by a number of characters. Persistent Illusions, being the sequel, follows the repercussions of the new rifts that have appeared in this society of testers, and how it has affected their basic power structures, the personalities of my characters, and its impact on our world as well.

On top of all of that you have action, knife fights, Isaac Newton, snappy dialogue, and an undead samurai.

My books fit very neatly into the definition of urban fantasy. They contain fantastical elements in the modern world. But I also like exploring so many other issues, digging deep into the various characters’ moods, examining how their society is structured, and all the while crafting a moving plot. So I suppose what sets my books apart from others in my genre is that I also like to work elements from outside my genre into my writing, from philosophy to science to history and more.

Book Review:

            Interesting book.  I’m not sure I totally get it yet.  I think this is the type of book you have to read and possibly mull over in your mind until you grasp it.  Definitely intriguing and a bit surreal.

            I give this book 4 out of 5 clouds, and a definite re-read in the near future.

This product or book may have been distributed for review; this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.