I swore I was done with Nick Cutter after The Deep, but a friend of mine kept going on and on about this book and how it wasn't like Cutter's first two books, and he described it as "dangerous" and "amazing". So, four days ago, I relented and bought it.

I must admit, the opening was shocking, horrible, and every bit as dangerous as my friend had stated. Hmm, I thought, this really isn't like the other two books. Maybe I really will enjoy this one. So, I settled in for the long haul.

There were things--as in all the Cutter books--that were brilliant. The set up and basic concept of this book are phenomenal. The same could be said for both The Troop and The Deep.

Unfortunately, for me, there were things--as in all the Cutter books--that rang so totally false and against all the rules of logic that they kept yanking me out of the story. The same could be said for both The Troop and The Deep.

For example, when the first bomb goes off, Murtag and a fellow Acolyte, Doe (who are the law in this scenario), having survived the devastating blast, and as officers of the law, decide the smartest thing to do is...run? But they don't run far. So, why? It really had no impact on the rest of the plot. They both came right back on the force and kept plodding. Hell, Murtag was almost immediately put into a position of dangerous authority when he helped carry out a covert mission shortly afterward (a mission, I might add, where others were shot to avoid the information leaking).

Cutter also goes to great lengths to point out that in this new world, science is essentially shunned. There are no modern forensic crime solving techniques anymore, nor life-saving drugs. Yet, there are computers, cell phones and video games. That makes no sense.

And my final concern with the novel is that the protagonist, through probably 80-90% of the novel, really doesn't do anything. Things all happen around him and he's pulled from situation to situation, with no control or fight in him. And, though he should die at least a couple of times, he's always, inexplicably, let go. His only real decisions in the novel (aside from the end) are to stupidly run from a bomb blast crime scene, and to take in some birds and animals and a homeless girl--all for no apparent reason and again, with no impact to the plot.

I felt like much of this novel was written on the fly, with no real planning.

The author states that the novel came from a dark place, and I do believe that. He touches on themes that are insanely relevant right now. Blind faith in religion. Bias against religions other than your own. Outright hate of that which you don't understand. Church corruption.

As usual, I believe Cutter had the opportunity to create something great, a classic of the genre and a novel that speaks intelligently of our times. But instead, it's basically Logan's Run with a religious slant.

Once again. A novel I desperately wanted to love. But didn't. I will say, however, it's likely the best book of Cutter's I've read. ( )

**I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**

"1984" meets "Fahrenheit 451", meets the Spanish Inquisition and crime noir.

Brilliant, brutal, mildly horrifying; at times savagely funny…I think I have another favourite author in Nick Cutter.

In a country ruled by fundamentalist Christians, Jonah Murtagh is an Acolyte, an officer of the Faith Crimes Unit in the City of New Bethlehem - a unit which enforces religious conformance and operates outside the law. Jonah’s involvement in an investigation into a series of terrorist bombings, expose him to the machinations of the extremist theocracy.

I could not put this book down. At times I was horrified and at others I laughed out loud at the biting satire of Cutter’s writing. The scariest thing is that I can see how you could extrapolate our current world into this dystopian vision.

The characterisations are wonderful and the story is fast paced. Cutter’s writing and use of imagery immerses you in this harsh world and two of the scenes made me grimace in their savagery; it takes a lot to make me do that. I loved every minute of it.

This has to be one of the best books I’ve read in a long while.

Five out Five Stars. Brutally Awesome.

Release Date: May 5th, 2015
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3.5 stars

Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com

I've been planning to read The Troop for some time but when I got my hands on an ARC for The Acolyte, I thought I might as well start with that one instead. And if I could only say one thing about it, it would be that it's certainly not something you read everyday.

Jonah is an Acolyte, member of a special religion police force that puts the Dystopian into this Dystopian society. As he fails to protect a very important person at a bombing Muslim terrorists are the first suspects. But the evidence might point in a completely different way, and besides Jonah has bigger problems. He's lost his faith.

One thing that's certainly creepy about this kind of dystopian stories is that it doesn't feel like something that could never really happen in one way or another. (As opposed to let's say a zombie apocalypse). The Acolyte started really good and I thought it was going to be a very good read, perhaps even more than 4 stars, but the second half was very weird. Don't get me wrong, I like weird as much (perhaps a bit more) as the next person when it comes to books and movies but not everything made sense to me, even after I considered that there were religion fanatics and terrorists in play. I never understood exactly why the Quints needed to be added to the story.

Near the end there's a gruesome scene that makes me conclude this review with a warning that it's not for people with a weak stomach.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )

A dystopian future in which Judeo-Christianity is the One True Faith and all other non-confirming faiths are illegal. Anyone caught breaking that law is subject to anything from The Cure (a lobotomy) to execution.

The Acolyte was an extremely dark reading experience. Multiple times I had to skip over scenes that were just too graphic. And it definitely had too much animal violence, which Cutter's novels seem prone to. I think, maybe, if he'd toned down the violence a smidgen the story (or message?) would've had more of an opportunity to shine. Behind all the bloody shock and awe was a scary vision indeed.

3 stars ( )

The Acolyte is pure film noir, a mystery set in a dystopian Christian theocracy where any deviation from the Bible is illegal, to the point where using common police forensic techniques is heretical because such methods also prove the existence of dinosaurs and the like. You know; the sort of repressive, right-wing society that Ted Cruz has wet dreams about. Detective (or “Acolyte”) Jonah Murtag is beginning to find his job of eradicating all heretical religious faiths, their practitioners, and artefacts, is taking its toil on his psyche. As he investigates a string of bombings that threaten the underpinnings of this repressive world, he is also faced with the eroding of his own faith.

Read more at the Redeblog. ( )