REVIEW OF THE CREATION: Chaos Rising by Art Gulley, Jr.

IMAGINATIVE STORY

Know what a Celemor is? Neither did I. It’s where THE CREATION: CHAOS RISING by Art Gulley, Jr. comes in. The book is Mr. Gulley’s take on heavenly goings on, and believe me, they are watching us … and gossiping! They seem to have their own winged version of TMZ!

If that thought doesn’t frighten you too much, you might want to dive right in and read Mr. Gulley’s take on what might be happening if everything we were taught about our world is a lie. I should add here that it’s all done rather reverentially. And the tone? The tone is similar to one found in sci-fi and not fantasy thrillers. I liked the approach, and I see from Mr. Gulley’s bio that he does indeed write that genre so I think a bit of that style rubbed off in this tale of celestial forces gone wild.

The main crux of the story has to do with Nina Delcielo, a woman who eschews involvement with organized religion, but who partakes in numerous philanthropic activities. She’s had good luck in the market (and how I’d like to know? Might be another story there), and she uses that success to help those less fortunate. In other words, she does the Lord’s work and doesn’t just talk about it. And while she doesn’t engage in organized religion, she has become “involved” with certain proponents of it. I’m talking about a certain young, buffed out priest who wasn’t a member of the clergy back in the day when they had their fling. But Nina is destined for greater things. In fact, she just might be a Harbinger that the Lord uses to instill changes in the realm where we mortals mess things up, er, I mean, live. She soon starts to have visions that eerily come true. It's these physic manifestations that signal her life is about to change. 

I’ll give the negatives first. There are a few grammatical problems so if that sort of thing bothers you, be forewarned. Since they were minor, they didn’t hamper the enjoyment, but the flow did. While the book is obviously edited, I really wish Mr. Gulley would choose an editor with a better ear for flow. It would raise the level of the story from being an enjoyable read to being a great read. Because of it, I wasn't able to really sink all the way down into this as the off-putting transitions forced me to remain on the surface and not care as deeply as I should. 

The positives?  There are many. There is a very imaginative mind at work here crafting out realms, worlds, and a fabulous storyline. The characters are also very engaging and have depth. They held together and battled up until the end to keep us interested and motivated in the outcome. I also appreciate that Mr. Gulley has an extensive background in varied doctrines and that he managed to weave those diverse opinions into his work. It makes for a very nice speculative read. 

I’m giving this story a final grade of 3.7 which rounds up to 4.0. But if the parts that are stilted in language and dialogue were smoothed out, it would easily earn a 5.0.

Nice solid story and I heartily recommend for those who like their religion on the entertaining side. 

3.7 Stars