The
Series
Title:
The Antithesis
Series:
The Antithesis, #1
Author:
Terra Whiteman
Genre:
Dark, Fantasy, Dystopian, Philosophical, Science Fiction, Speculative
Publisher:
1889 Labs
Ebook/Paperback
Pages:
450
Purchase:
PRINT
(ISBN: 978-1926959085)
Book
Description:
Justice
Alezair Czynri is the newest recruit of the Jury, a group of powerful
beings who reside in Purgatory and enforce the Code between Heaven
and Hell. However, Justice Czynri could not have come at a worse
time. A storm lays just over the horizon…
One that
brings with it a war.
SERIES
BLURB:
This is
a story about God and the Devil, but not how you were taught to
believe.
This is
also a story about love and hate, and the suffering both can bring.
This is
about rights and wrongs, and all of the spaces in between.
This is
about revenge, courage, death, passion; with no villains, no heroes…
only those left scorned.
This is
a story about Heaven, Hell, and the Jury that holds them together.
This is
The Antithesis.
Excerpt:
The Terabicz
Ruins was a collection of towers composed of black rock and sharp
peaks, complete with floating circular platforms hovering in the sky
like halos. Vines could be seen wedged between surface fractures,
though I didn’t understand how any vegetation could survive in this
perpetual darkness.
A winding
staircase led to the first platform a thousand feet up. As we
approached the base, Leid tripped over her own feet, landing on her
knees.
I moved forward,
but she shot out a hand to stop me. I froze.
Then she
lurched, vomiting blood all over the first step.
I reeled back,
eyes wide, fear rising in my throat. Leid only crouched on the steps,
panting.
“Jesus
Christ!” I
shouted, the confusion and fear now propelling into anger. “Are
you dying?!”
“No,” she
responded coarsely.
Leid tried to
get up, but collapsed. She attempted getting up a second time, made
it one more step, but then collapsed again.
I frowned,
kneeling in front of her with my back turned. “Get on.”
Reluctantly she
crawled over me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders, legs hooking
my elbows. She couldn’t protest this time; walking was out of the
question.
I began up the
stairs, Leid now on my back.
“Thank you,”
I heard her murmur quietly.
“Sure thing.
Just don’t puke on me.”
The climb was
exhausting, seeming to never end. Leid wasn’t heavy in the least,
and in fact Vel’Haru could probably lift three hundred times their
own weight; but the last four days of almost nonexistent sleep and
nonstop traveling had finally caught up with me. I was tired, and it
was showing.
I
took a breather on the first platform. The second, I’d decided to
just keep going. By the apex, I
was
staggering.
The apex
platform was shockingly covered in moss. An iron gate surrounded a
stone temple with a courtyard covered in…statues.
“What is this
place?” I whispered.
“Civen’s old
temple. Since the Deadland’s decline, another has been built in
Alatonia.”
I now understood
why she’d placed the statue here. It would have blended in
perfectly with the garden of others surrounding the temple. My eyes
drifted over the platform, a frown pulling at my lips. Something
didn’t feel right. It was so quiet, though that had been consistent
throughout the entire area. I really couldn’t explain why I had
this sense of impending doom.
Slowly, I
carried Leid toward the gate.
My
hand pushed against it; it opened with a creak.
I stepped
inside, eyes surveying the courtyard.
It was isolated,
save for the ever still and silent stone army surrounding us. I moved
to the side of the wall, kneeling and letting Leid slide off. She
collapsed against the ground, limply sitting up.
I
had to admit I was a little pissed off for the fact that there
weren’t any demons here. All of this for practically nothing?
Though I supposed it would have been considerably bad
otherwise
since Leid could barely move and I currently wasn’t at my best.
“Hurry,” she
pleaded.
I nodded, and
she hadn’t needed to point out which statue was the target. Despite
the clever hiding spot, it stuck out like a sore thumb.
Surrounded in
marble soldiers and half-naked maidens, a woman knelt; arm
outstretched, eyes wide and lips parted in the beginnings of a
despairing cry. She seemed carved out of black glass, shimmering like
an obsidian beacon within the otherwise white wash of the garden.
…Obsidian.
This woman.
I momentarily
forget about my sick noble, slowly moving toward it, seamlessly
weaving through the other nondescript statues. My eyes were narrowed,
head slightly tilted in curious awe.
I
stopped in front of her, drifting over the details of her face; all
the while my
face
had become a contortion of disarray. I spun, pointing at the statue.
“Why
does this thing look exactly like you?”
Leid tried to
respond but coughed instead. When she was finished, she tried again:
“Will you just
kill it, please? We’ll talk about this later.”
“…How do I
kill it?”
“With your
fists, you genius. Smash it to bits.”
“Exactly how
were you expecting to destroy this thing on your own, by the way?”
“Shut up and
finish it!”
“Not until you
take back what you said.”
Leid stared,
falling silent. She knew what I meant.
I waited, silent
as well.
Conceding, she
looked away shamefully. “I was angry; I didn’t mean it.”
“What didn’t
you mean?”
“I would never
regret meeting you, Alezair. I’m sorry.”
Though I’d
coerced her into saying this, I could tell she was being sincere. Her
expression was somber, painfully so.
I grinned.
“Thanks. One pile of black sand coming right up.”
I
turned, just as a thwump
broke
through the air. I felt a pinch. My grin faded into a confused wince
and I looked down at the source of the sharp pain.
…There was a
dart sticking out of my chest.
I looked up at
Leid, though my vision was already beginning to blur; the world
around me swayed. She was screaming something, pointing behind me,
but now everything was moving in slow motion and I was having trouble
comprehending.
I was about to
turn but was tackled; a group of hands held me down, shoving my face
into the moss. I thrashed, snarling, still strong enough to fling
some of my assailants off. But each time a pair of hands left,
another instantly replaced them. I couldn’t see anything—just a
cluster of feet as the crowd scurried around, trying to keep me down.
Another group of
feet left the crowd and began for Leid, who at this moment was
hopelessly trying to crawl away. As they got further from us I could
see them clearly:
Demons. Tons of
them; at least two dozen.
Instead
of retreating for the gate, Leid deliriously went the wrong way.
During the struggle I’d been shoved about twenty feet from the
statue. She was crawling toward
us.
The demons
pursuing her eventually backed off, waiting at the first row of
statues. When Leid passed the third row, a shadow slid out from one
of them, advancing slowly in a steady, calculated gait.
I squinted,
teeth clenched and still struggling, trying to see the demon clearly.
And then I did.
It was Caym
Stroth, Raith’s second general. Unusually dressed in a black suit,
the Obsidian Court insignia on his right shoulder, he held a giant
serrated axe, swinging it nonchalantly at his side. He whistled an
unfamiliar tune as Leid scrambled toward the statue. It seemed she
was too delirious to even see him.
“Leid!”
I
screamed, though it was pointless because she couldn’t hear me.
“Leid,
behind you!”
She was now
within a foot of the statue. Gasping, she reached toward it with a
trembling outstretched hand.
Caym stopped behind her, lifting the
axe over his head, his lips curling into a malicious sneer.
About
the Author:
Terra
Whiteman is a scientist who writes whenever she's not doing things
that scientists do. She loves philosophy, chemistry, biology,
classical literature, graphic novels, loud, obnoxious music, frog
slippers and beer.
Find
the Author:
Website
| Facebook
| Goodreads
| 1889
Labs
Review: Disclaimer: I received this book from the author in exchange for a review.
An interesting take on angels, demons, and the battle between them although the main male character takes a lot away from my enjoyment of this book.
There are many ways to spin a tale between angels and demons, God and Satan. Antithesis does a good job of creating an unusual scenario, unique worlds, and new races. A contest makes sense since, traditionally, the angels and demons are fighting for the souls of humans. While a very complex setting, I felt that not enough was explained and I couldn't get a very good grasp on other races and the mythology of the worlds.
I cannot deny that I wanted to smack Alezair. He wasn't an adult, he was a loud, annoying, petulant child. He would scream, curse, and bring items when he got upset. I didn't like how he treated Leid. He always acted like she owned him an explanation even though she was his Commander and he never acted like he deserved to know (flying off the hilt at the slight provocation does not induce confidence in a person). There was much in the way of melodramatics in this book, which wore on my nerves. I am intrigued by the ending, but it will take a while before I read the second book.
Rating:
Recommendation: I would recommend this book to those that enjoy demons, angels, and the struggles between them.
Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
