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"No Rest for the Wicked"
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“I know what it feels like when two irreconcilable truths collide.”
There is no rest for the wicked when science and religion clash like particles smashed inside a large hadron collider, in this sci-fi horror novella by Dane Cobain. Alleged angel sightings grab the attention of Father Montgomery, who notices the disappearance of parishioners from his church. After his close friend Robert Jones has a close encounter with the ominous angelic beings, Father Montgomery is forced to face the ghosts of his past as the two of them face-off against the entities that are plaguing humanity. Surely the end is nigh if the sins of mankind cannot be reconciled by intervening with the divine.
There is no rest for the wicked when science and religion clash like particles smashed inside a large hadron collider, in this sci-fi horror novella by Dane Cobain. Alleged angel sightings grab the attention of Father Montgomery, who notices the disappearance of parishioners from his church. After his close friend Robert Jones has a close encounter with the ominous angelic beings, Father Montgomery is forced to face the ghosts of his past as the two of them face-off against the entities that are plaguing humanity. Surely the end is nigh if the sins of mankind cannot be reconciled by intervening with the divine.
Readability
Line for line, I think this was a well edited book, with no noticeable errors to speak of. The timeline jumps throughout the story were taxing for me, but I think it was the overall pacing that was the biggest drawback. I think the plot itself was underdeveloped, which is probably why the story felt so long for a novella. The characterization is the shining light in this piece of work. “No Rest for the Wicked” is primarily written in third person with varying points of view. The narrative revolves around two main characters, but there are also some subplots and side characters - some of which seemed haphazardly written into the story without much reason or purpose for being there (I’m looking at you, Kate and Jimmy).
Creativity
Cobain used a kind of quasi-epistolary style to create a timeline of events, with some chapters reading like journal entries or reports. The story structure skips around from the present to the past, to more current events, to backstory and back to the future again. I hated this aspect of the story at first, but in the grand scheme I think the nonlinear (and disruptive) reading experience could have been a nod to The Large Hadron Collider being the essential plot device within the narrative.
I liked the way Cobain included chapters that broke away from the main characters’ perspectives, to create atmosphere. This is the quasi-epistolary style I was referring to, for example chapter nineteen was just a series of reports from citizens during a news broadcast. I thought this technique was quite engaging as the reader, because it almost breaks the fourth wall in the sense that I felt as if I was the one watching the news unfold rather than one of the main characters. There were a handful of these “cut-away” type scenes throughout the story that were meant to show the gravity of the situation, beyond the main characters’ involvement within the plot.
There were several notable lines that I found particularly clever and thoughtful within the context of the plot, which was focused on the dichotomy of science and religion, but I think this one really set the stage:
“The whole world was riding the Mary Celeste, and no-one knew how to drop anchor and signal for help.”
The line came from an article written by the character Robert Jones, in regard to the rumors surrounding the alarming amount of disappearances being linked to supernatural beings referred to as The Angels.
Delivery
The angels are revealed in the opening chapter of the story, in what I would describe as more of a prologue. There’s a strawman character named Eric Solomon (who plays no role throughout the rest of the story) who is confronted by The Angels, to answer for his sins. In this scene it’s revealed that the angels, for one, are not the happy-go-lucky types and (for two) they “know everything and more”. Well now that makes two of us, I thought.
Throughout the novella I was trying to figure out what kind of story “No Rest for the Wicked” is, and I think there’s two ways of looking at it. There’s this surface level battle between science and religion going on throughout the plot, but there was never any real tension or explanation for anything that happens. For instance there’s a subplot where a character becomes possessed by The Angels for no other reason but to send a message to Father Montgomery. I thought that felt out of place, but after finishing the story I realized that the book wasn’t a plot driven narrative as much as it was a series of events meant to serve as a character study and trigger social commentary.
“The Angels” take on a sort of omnipresence throughout the story, but the threat they pose to humanity was vague. Their origin was revealed early on in the story and the majority of the novella is watching characters react to the impact these angels are having upon their lives. The lack of tension and suspense made it difficult to get through the book, because I felt as though I was just waiting for the main characters to get to the point. The ending, in all of its pseudo Christian glory, served to show how the entire story was unplanned from the start and more or less was written to explore various ideas involving science and religion and how those ideas affect society.
Line for line, I think this was a well edited book, with no noticeable errors to speak of. The timeline jumps throughout the story were taxing for me, but I think it was the overall pacing that was the biggest drawback. I think the plot itself was underdeveloped, which is probably why the story felt so long for a novella. The characterization is the shining light in this piece of work. “No Rest for the Wicked” is primarily written in third person with varying points of view. The narrative revolves around two main characters, but there are also some subplots and side characters - some of which seemed haphazardly written into the story without much reason or purpose for being there (I’m looking at you, Kate and Jimmy).
Creativity
Cobain used a kind of quasi-epistolary style to create a timeline of events, with some chapters reading like journal entries or reports. The story structure skips around from the present to the past, to more current events, to backstory and back to the future again. I hated this aspect of the story at first, but in the grand scheme I think the nonlinear (and disruptive) reading experience could have been a nod to The Large Hadron Collider being the essential plot device within the narrative.
I liked the way Cobain included chapters that broke away from the main characters’ perspectives, to create atmosphere. This is the quasi-epistolary style I was referring to, for example chapter nineteen was just a series of reports from citizens during a news broadcast. I thought this technique was quite engaging as the reader, because it almost breaks the fourth wall in the sense that I felt as if I was the one watching the news unfold rather than one of the main characters. There were a handful of these “cut-away” type scenes throughout the story that were meant to show the gravity of the situation, beyond the main characters’ involvement within the plot.
There were several notable lines that I found particularly clever and thoughtful within the context of the plot, which was focused on the dichotomy of science and religion, but I think this one really set the stage:
“The whole world was riding the Mary Celeste, and no-one knew how to drop anchor and signal for help.”
The line came from an article written by the character Robert Jones, in regard to the rumors surrounding the alarming amount of disappearances being linked to supernatural beings referred to as The Angels.
Delivery
The angels are revealed in the opening chapter of the story, in what I would describe as more of a prologue. There’s a strawman character named Eric Solomon (who plays no role throughout the rest of the story) who is confronted by The Angels, to answer for his sins. In this scene it’s revealed that the angels, for one, are not the happy-go-lucky types and (for two) they “know everything and more”. Well now that makes two of us, I thought.
Throughout the novella I was trying to figure out what kind of story “No Rest for the Wicked” is, and I think there’s two ways of looking at it. There’s this surface level battle between science and religion going on throughout the plot, but there was never any real tension or explanation for anything that happens. For instance there’s a subplot where a character becomes possessed by The Angels for no other reason but to send a message to Father Montgomery. I thought that felt out of place, but after finishing the story I realized that the book wasn’t a plot driven narrative as much as it was a series of events meant to serve as a character study and trigger social commentary.
“The Angels” take on a sort of omnipresence throughout the story, but the threat they pose to humanity was vague. Their origin was revealed early on in the story and the majority of the novella is watching characters react to the impact these angels are having upon their lives. The lack of tension and suspense made it difficult to get through the book, because I felt as though I was just waiting for the main characters to get to the point. The ending, in all of its pseudo Christian glory, served to show how the entire story was unplanned from the start and more or less was written to explore various ideas involving science and religion and how those ideas affect society.
#LFLR Indie Rating: 6/10
All in all I believe “No Rest for the Wicked” is more of a “what if…” kind of horror story than it is literally terrifying, and seemed to be more of a sci-fi cautionary tale of biblical proportion against mankind’s quest for knowledge. The quality characterizations and Cobain’s variety of creative writing techniques made it easier for me to overlook the questionable plot structure, and overall I thought this was a good read for being one of his earlier works. Currently, Dane Cobain has twelve published works including a couple anthologies he contributed to. His most recent release, “The Leipfold Files” (Book 3), is a collection of short stories surrounding the quirky detective of this cozy mystery series.
All in all I believe “No Rest for the Wicked” is more of a “what if…” kind of horror story than it is literally terrifying, and seemed to be more of a sci-fi cautionary tale of biblical proportion against mankind’s quest for knowledge. The quality characterizations and Cobain’s variety of creative writing techniques made it easier for me to overlook the questionable plot structure, and overall I thought this was a good read for being one of his earlier works. Currently, Dane Cobain has twelve published works including a couple anthologies he contributed to. His most recent release, “The Leipfold Files” (Book 3), is a collection of short stories surrounding the quirky detective of this cozy mystery series.
THIS BREAKDOWN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE #LFLR NETWORK.
