Nora Weston

In The Twelfth Paladin, Nora Weston puts a modern twist on the age old classic tale of good versus evil. Unlike some of those classic tales, however, the protagonist in this story, Jake Cottrell, isn’t depicted as an honorable, virtuous hero who does what’s right and resists evil temptations. No, Jake is a man who doesn’t hesitate to look the Devil, himself, in the eye and say, “Bring it on.” He isn’t overly concerned about what happens to his eternal soul; he’s just focused on mindlessly getting through each day working a dead-end job while living with an abusive, alcoholic father. Danger, mischief, and women are the vices he seeks out in his free time.

So, when Jake finds himself caught in the middle of an eternal supernatural war between Heaven and Hell, God and Satan, angels and demons, well, let’s just say he doesn’t take it as seriously as he should. Instead of turning toward the light, Jake embraces the darkness that begins to immerse him after a deadly motorbike accident that he barely survives.

Much of this story is told from Jake’s POV, which initially limits our understanding of the events taking place. Jake has no idea that God has chosen him to become one of his mighty warriors, one of his paladins in the war against Satan. Unbeknownst to Jake, his life changes when he decides to forfeit a win in a motocross race to help save a fellow racer in danger. Instead of dying, God leaves Jake scarred by “angelfire,” a supernatural power that will help Jake to fight and kill demons that prey upon human souls. However, before Jake can use his emerging powers, he must first awaken to this new role God has planned for him and realize his worthiness in God’s eyes. This will be a challenge for Jake since he has also drawn the attention of demons intent on stealing his soul for Satan. To make things worse, Jake openly taunts these demons, initially welcoming the evil that descends upon him. I like the use of Jake’s POV in building suspense as he gradually discovers the truth about the demons surrounding him.

I have to admit that I had a difficult time liking and connecting with Jake as the central character in this book. His apathetic nature and foolish choices kept me frowning through much of the story. Yes, Jake had a difficult childhood. Being abandoned by a selfish mother who cared more for material possessions than her own son and being raised by an abusive alcoholic father has certainly played a role in the man he has become. Even though I understood Jake hadn’t experienced much, if any, goodness, love, and support, I still wasn’t able to fully empathize with his character as much as I would have liked. Now, upon further reflection, I have a sneaky suspicion this may have been one of Weston’s intentions. Jake is a man easy to dislike, easy to fault, easy to judge...but who among us can really know and understand what’s in another’s heart and soul? This is a prominent theme illustrated throughout the novel.

Micah, a powerful angelic warrior, is an important character in developing the plot and reinforcing this theme. God has sent Micah to watch over and protect Jake as he struggles to escape darkness and find redemption before joining God’s army of supernatural slayers. Micah is distressed over his new mission and grumbles about his fall from God’s favor for disagreeing about Jake’s worthiness. Although it was easy to see that Micah is too quick to judge, it took a bit of time for me to realize that I was being just like Micah in my assessment of Jake. Both Micah and Jake are two well-developed, dynamic characters whose emotional growth infuses the story with a sense of hopefulness about our humanity.

A part of being human is the frailty we have toward temptation, and Jake’s former high school classmate, Davis Travers, knows exactly how to entice Jake to embrace his sinful nature. Davis loves to arouse feelings of self-doubt and jealousy in Jake, which makes him more vulnerable to the seductive demon temptress, Rachel, who has been sent by Davis to claim Jake’s soul. Although Jake easily gives in to the sexual fantasies Rachel promises, these scenes are not explicit but, instead, focus more on Jake’s inner conflict, knowing what he’s doing is wrong, yet unable to physically resist this demon succubus with her own plans for Jake.

To retaliate against the evil Davis has inflicted upon Jake’s family and friends, Jake runs away with Angie, Davis’ fiancé. Angie is basically a good person, but like everyone else in the story, she has flaws, and her choices have left her living in fear and darkness with Davis. Just like Jake, Angie wants nothing more than to be free from the demonic hold Davis has on her. Angie also becomes a powerful motivator for Jake to change. I enjoyed the twist that Angie’s situation added to the story’s major conflict and loved seeing the impact she made in helping Jake move away from the darkness that had enveloped his life.

As Jake increasingly moves toward God’s light, the evil intensifies leading to Jake into the ultimate battle for his soul. I found the resolution to be unified and satisfying in wrapping up the story.

Although the story had a solid, well-developed plot, I did have some issues with story’s POV and narration. Although the majority of the story is told from Jake’s limited POV, at times the author switches to the perspective of other characters, such as Micah and Davis. This is fine except that in a few places, the POV becomes unclear. Another aspect I found problematic is the use of both past and present tense in narrating the story. Jake tells the story as if it has already happened, and, at times, he interjects his own reflective commentary about what he knows to be true now. These reflective comments are helpful in establishing conflict, foreshadowing, and building suspense. Unfortunately, when Jake describes events in past tense and then reacts to them in present tense, I found that the switch disrupted the flow of the story. I would have preferred that the author used the past tense consistently. I know the present tense can help intensify a scene’s drama, but this switch became awkward for me as a reader.

Overall, I am glad I read this book; I enjoyed the complexity of Jake’s character, the suspenseful storyline, and overall, how Weston made me think about my own perceptions of others.

I received a copy of this book from the author via Book and Trailer Showcase in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)

When playing a game with hell someone is going to get burned. Every character has a choice in the story between good and evil and of course evil is always the more enticing option. The use of the first person character viewpoints was effective, although the lengthy internal dialog often felt overly descriptive and caused a break in the flow. With that being said the characters are not segregated into all good or all evil, making them more realistic to people you might meet. The hero and heroine of this story come with their own issues but we do see them develop and mature along the way.

I was provided a copy of the book by BTS eMag for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review – all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Also on http://lrjohnson13.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-twelfth-paladin-by-nora-weston.html… (plus d'informations)