The Trouble With Being God

Review at Self-Publishing Review, Plus New Reader Comments

Posted by William under reviews

Another online review site has read and reviewed The Trouble With Being God.  This latest review comes to us from Henry Baum at Self-Publishing Review.

Henry Baum is the author of The American Book of the Dead (coming in 2009), North of Sunset, listed as the #1 self-published novel in Entertainment Weekly and winner of the Hollywood Book Festival Grand Prize, and The Golden Calf. He’s also a songwriter and blogs at Ash Tree.

Here’s a bit of what he had to say about TTWBG:

The novel begins with the brutal murder of a Catholic priest – a scene described in gory detail.  In this day and age, the murders in this book – while grotesque – aren’t much more shocking to the system than the series of murders in the movie “Seven.”  They’re effective and well-drawn, but nothing that is entirely shocking to the system, given how violent movies and horror fiction has been for some time.

… as a novel about a reporter covering a series of brutal murders, this is an enormously fast-paced, thought-provoking, and entertaining read.  Steven covers the murders for the newspaper, his personal life unravels, and his behavior becomes progressively more erratic - making for a multi-layered mystery into who committed these murders.  The movie “Seven” is a good comparison - as that was a story about a serial killer that was also a study on the nature of sin, and even celebrity. If this book was fleshed out, it could be on that level.

You can read the full review online here.

In addition to this review, we have a few more reader comments to share:

Joe [last name preserved for Anonymity]:

(via email) I must say that, “The Trouble With Being God”, is one of the best books I have read in years. In my opinion, its up there with older Palhniuk, Clevenger’s Dephamoria, and Baer’s Phineas Poe Trilogy. … there are fewer and fewer “original” authors out there that challenge you think about what you have just read.  The other problem is that there are too many people that try to copy this style of writing, and its becoming harder to find the authors that are “legit”.

Danny Moody says:

(via Twitter) I just finished your book, I really liked it! … I might be disturbed, but I have many of the same religious views steve has in your book, Is this life destiny or choice?

(via Amazon) “The Trouble With Being God” is exactly what a Philosophical Thriller is supposed to be. It will challenge your beliefs on all things religion with points of view those Hayseed religious folk tend ignore, or can’t answer. The morale decisions Steven is faced with is something we all can learn from, everybody lives with a dark side and the way we control it is ultimately how we are defined. The serial killer in this novel is very creative with a very sick and twisted mind that will leave you breathless. Aicher is a rising author that will be mentioned with the best and this book is a must read.

Amy Satzinger:

(via Twitter) I loved it!  … Good job.