If you enjoy Biblical-apocalyptic adventures then you are probably going to have a blast with Seyi David’s latest book. The story moves at such breath-taking speed that I felt dizzy and bewildered from the very first page. No wonder at least one of her reviews on Amazon suggested the book is destined to become a movie. The pace, action and visually explosive nature of the tale certainly has all the makings of a blockbuster.

Technically the sequel to The Feet of Darkness, Cydonia stands alone quite happily (which is good because I’ve not read the first book!) and you quickly get into the gist of what has  been going on. I would probably still recommend reading The Feet of Darkness first just on principle but there’s no need to. Cydonia is quite enjoyable in and of itself.

The book follows the adventures of Aaron Cohen, descendant of the Biblical Aaron the high priest, as he pursued by Tyrus, the son of Satan. Tyrus is after the ‘stones of fire’ of which Aaron is the keeper and Satan himself has schemes afoot to bring about the end of times and re-take his position in Heaven. Everyone, it appears, is looking for the fabled Ark of the Covenant for their own purposes and the epic battle which ensues between good and evil is so desperate at times it seems there is little hope for the side of good.

At 634 pages, the book is not a quick read and as a busy writer, I despaired of finding time to finish it. It is an easy read however and the pace is so fast you simply don’t have time to be bored. If anything, I struggled to keep up! Be prepared then to sit down and take a few hours out to get through it all. If you like this genre of fiction though, you will be kept entertained.

If I’m honest, it’s not a perfect book. I think Seyi David is a good writer but here she’s been let down by whoever at ArrowGate is her editor. Parts of the book read a little like a first draft; there’s far too many characters who seem to have unrelated stories for most of the time; too much time is given to providing long back stories for many characters who often die (gruesomely) a few pages later and play no further role; and some passages babble with a few mixed metaphors thrown in (my favourite being ‘Joseph felt the cold hands of fear eating away at him’). But then, I’m struggling these days to find novels not guilty of the same or worse. I suspect most of these ‘faults’, as I see them, are part of the writer’s curse when reviewing and that the average reader won’t notice or be distracted by any of them. Nevertheless, my personal feeling is that a third of the book could have been cut to make a much tighter story. However, others may well disagree with me and wish the book went on for longer.

What is certain is that if you enjoy battles between angels and demons, action, murder, gore and a story with an explosive ending, Cydonia won’t let you down. Set in multiple places – America, London, Jerusalem, Ethiopia, Somalia and probably other places I’ve forgotten – there’s a never-ending game of cat-and-mouse and you just can’t predict who will die next, who will win or even how. There are no lulls, no spaces to catch your breath; if Hollywood turns this into a movie it will need a warning that those with weak hearts are recommended not to watch it. For everyone else, it’s a gripping yarn of impending doom and mass destruction.

Seyi David herself is a London-based writer and columnist for Black Heritage Today. Cydonia is her third novel and Seyi runs a blog which she updates frequently. She’s also a very lovely lady with a big heart – join her blog and enjoy the wide variety of subjects she discusses and stories she shares.

Buy Cydonia: Rise of the Fallen on Amazon.co.uk here.

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