Book Review: Kingston Raine and the Grim Reaper by Jackson Lear

I was kindly sent a free digital copy of this book for review by the author.  It's a very funny  and slightly bizarre fantasy story with many twists:

Sorting people into the afterlife of Heaven or Hell is already a bureaucratic nightmare for the Grim Reaper/Death, the CEO of Death Inc. But when an uprising threatens Death’s power the last thing he needs is for Kingston Raine to appear in Limbo, a smooth talking industrial thief who just happens to be fictitious.

I really love this novel, it’s fast become one of my favourites and I just couldn’t put it down. Set in the worlds of Fiction, Life and the after life, namely Limbo and Hell, this is both an exciting adventure and a very funny story at the same time. The action takes place in two main locations that of Limbo and the world of Fiction. While Death is dealing with unions and Satan, Kingston is desperately searching through a world of fiction for the woman he loves.

This book is really well thought out and despite moving from one story to the other you never forget what’s happening or lose interest. I really enjoyed the fiction world Kingston finds himself in. He meets with a lot of characters from well known classics and my favourite was John (Little John) whose manners and general way of dealing with enemies had me laughing out loud. The adventure these characters go on is a long and exciting one and you never know where they will end up next.

The story in the afterlife is really funny. Death and Satan look nothing like you’d expect and with bureaucracy, unions and lawyers the world of Limbo is very different than most of us imagine. I actually like this weird take on the afterlife. I particularly enjoyed Satan’s character who has a certain charm and wit, and an interesting dress sense.

Towards the ending of the book the story jumps around from one location to another quite a lot but you never lose track of what is happening and it really keeps you gripped to read on. The ending of the book is a really satisfying one and more so as it wasn’t at all predictable.

I really enjoyed this book and can recommend it for anyone interested in a different kind of fantasy book with humour thrown in. The book is well written and the characters are all well developed and will keep you both turning the pages and laughing yourself silly at the same time. This is the first book in the ‘Kingston Raine’ series I am already eager to read them all.

The book has very occasional use of the s swear word but no other offensive material. The only people who might feel offended are those who do not enjoy the depiction of Death, Satan or Hell in fiction. However Heaven and God are not depicted in this and there is only brief mention of Heaven in the story. Of course not all people will enjoy such a novel but if you don’t mind poking a little fun at the afterlife and enjoy the slightly bizarre humour then you will love this book!

To read the book blurb and for various links including the author's website please visit: https://happymeerkatreviews.wordpress.com/reviews/fiction/humour-comedy/kingston-raine-and-the-grim-reaper-by-jackson-lear/