Sons of God by Rebecca Ellen Kurtz, a Review

Self-published by Maximilian Press Publishers, 2007, 209 pages.

Genre: Christian horror. Think of Twilight, the Mummy movies or Indiana Jones, full of paranormal activity. But this one has a Biblical worldview. Also, it’s not for kids.

This novel doesn’t really fit with others I have reviewed. It’s not fantasy or science fiction. In fact, it’s at heart a romance. It describes plenty of violence, so much that I am glad it’s not a movie.

It does fit in with some others I have reviewed in that it is self-published and could use some editing. Kurtz is an amateur archeologist, not a professional writer. Occasionally she “tells” rather than “shows” action–mostly in these gory situations where I didn’t want to hear the details anyway. She also jumps around with her point of view from one character to another in an unsettling way, something a good editor would have changed. Dialogue is occasionally clunky and often too modern.

However, given the fact that the publishing industry pretty much shuts out unknown authors in this genre, I am often willing to check out self-published novels and look past the rough edges.

What I found was a wild tale of the paranormal: demons and immortal half-angels (some with vampire characteristics) sharing the earth with the rest of us, who are mostly unaware of them.

The protagonist of the book, Rachaev, is an immortal Nephilim (a halfbreed race, offspring of fallen angels and humans who mated at the dawn of time). Although her parents had chosen the evil path, she has chosen to follow Elohim (God). She is in a spiritually dry spell, lasting 2,500 years. At first she blames God, but she eventually figures out isn’t God’s fault.

There’s a love interest for Rachaev; after all this time she finally has found a man who interests her. However, it is forbidden for her to wed a human. How is this resolved? And how is she able to finally do what Elohim has commanded her to do (kill her evil, bloodthirsty mother, Ishtar)?

This book is for adults, because of the violence and the sexual tension (no sex scenes — the emphasis for Raechev is purity). If it were a movie, it would probably be rated somewhere between PG-13 and R.

The book is not only a story. It also contains translations of ancient manuscripts including the Bible, interpreting them to show that Nephilim, half-angel, half-human, are talked about in a variety of texts from around the world. I am not sure what to make of this. Is she arguing that Nephilim really exist? If so, this argument is muddying the waters–what she is selling is a tale, not a history.

It’s a gripping story, hard to put down once you get into it. The best thing about it is its rock-solid affirmation of the existence of God and his control of all things, and of his mercy–in providing eventual happiness for Raechev despite her long disobedience.–Phyllis Wheeler