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Dead Forever: Apotheosis

William Campbell
Glyd-Evans Press (2010)
ISBN 9780971796058
Reviewed by Charline Ratcliff for RebeccasReads (09/10)


“Dead Forever: Apotheosis...” Where should I begin? Earlier this year I read “Dead Forever: Awakening” by author William Campbell. I was intrigued by that book’s concept; for the most part I enjoyed the story and I wrote a favorable review for it. A few weeks ago I noticed that the next book in this series “Dead Forever: Apotheosis” was available for review. I immediately requested that it be sent to me. I received the book shortly thereafter; admired the cover’s artwork and then began reading.

In this episode, Adam, the main character and hero for this series, is still trying to remember his past. Without this knowledge he has no idea how he is supposed to bring peace to the civilization he is currently trying to save. At one point he had regained his memory but, as luck would have it, he accidentally died and had to start the remembering process all over again. This time around even more is riding on the outcome of Adam’s actions and if he dies again there may not be another body for his consciousness to inhabit.

“Dead Forever: Apotheosis” started out well. The majority of the characters from the previous book were still around and I expected another enjoyable read. Sadly, I was disappointed. See, the premise for the complete series is that a person never really dies. Oh sure, their body wears out but their spirit returns and inhabits another body. For those of you scratching your head right now – in this series bodies are simply empty shells until someone needs to utilize one. The villains of the series don’t want anyone to remember this consequently they are trying to eradicate both the body farms and anyone who remembers that you never really die. They just want you to be dead. Forever.

As I read further, I began to be overwhelmed by the various twists and turns “Apotheosis” took. It seemed to wind backward then forward, sideways then diagonally until finally it wound through itself again only to end in what I felt was a very unlikely place based upon everything leading to that point. Confused yet? Yeah, me too. I read the last page. I set the book down and stared at it in disbelief. It seems that the author is intent on making his readers question things like consciousness, memories and the possibility of reincarnation. However, I feel he went overboard in his attempt. As a result, I felt “Dead Forever: Apotheosis” was too convoluted and the chronological inconsistencies made me unable to really enjoy the book.

On the bright side, Campbell hasn’t lost his easy-to-read writing style and his readers should still enjoy the dialogue between characters. I hope to read the final book “Dead Forever: Resonance.” I just hope that Campbell is able to complete the series in a more palatable manner.