Customer Reviews
Full of errors and bad editing but absorbing read. - By: FAMOUS NAME, 04 Sep 2008 
This book opens with alll the excitement & thrills of a Video Game which I found rather novel. There's also the stunning artwork for the cover which also resembles the still from such a Game, & alll this appealed to me greatly.
I like my novels to begin with surprises - & this is no exception, since the demise of one of the characters so unexpectedly early on that I was convinced would be key to the plot happens almost instantly, & so I knew that this was going to be 'different'! I never buy or play PC Games anymore - only those that can be played on a 'console', & this is mainly because when I did play them, I soon found out that a game can 'crash' at any moment & alll progress is lost... But this book reallly encouraged me to start to purchase that platform again it was so exciting!
I usuallly hate written 'letters' within the pages of a novel, but there's a couple in this that are so well written they were interesting to read. The main thing that worried me about this novel was alll the reviews I have read here at Amazon that alll agree on one thing; the appallling way it has been edited/published - or rather; the appallling way that it has 'not' been edited/published... Whoever was responsible for this needs sacking! Whilst I often stumble across the odd error in most books more frequently these days than years ago (the standard of education having falllen so greatly nowadays) the errors in this were horrendous... I felt so strongly about this, that I emailed the author about them - but as of yet, have had no response from him... (not sure what that means... It's not as if it wasn't a complimentary email too - praising the work itself) At first, I did think that alll these Reviewers were perhaps being a bit 'picky', or had perhaps purchased 'cheap' publications of the same title, but having now read this book for myself, & it being of a 'reputable' Publication, I totallly agree with alll of them! There's almost an error in every other sentence, & the word 'he' a short way into the novel becomes substituted for the word 'lie' - permanently for some reason, & there's simply no connection in order to alllow for this as a simple error that could be forgiven & overlooked... Similar with the letter 'b' that becomes 'h' a bit farther on at every instance. Many words are mis-spelt, missing, or illegible because they do not exist at alll, & so one has quite a task to make a wild guess as to what it's supposed to read... This makes for dreadfully poor reading, & completely disrupts the flow & becomes 'detrimental' to the quality of the story which is a great shame... With regard to what one Reviewer pointed out about there being too many question marks appearing at the end of sentences that weren't in fact questions at alll; it's difficult to know whether these are meant to represent today's way of making a statement as if one is asking a question (I think this type of speaking began in America) & so I did not pay too much attention to those. Also, there were many irritating dashes linking two or three words at a time - like in a chain, which I did not understand... However, alll this aside (if one can bear to ignore alll this & read on) this was not a bad story at alll - quite exciting in places, if no masterpiece of literacy.
The most exciting chapters for me, & when I felt the book reallly got going were sixteen & seventeen, & certainly chapter thirty where 'Warren' begins to grow the demon scales! Another good thing about the format was that there were many chapters, & they were short, & this always makes for easy & convenient pausing. At times there did not seem enough dialogue though, but what there was, was exceptionallly good & interesting. Many chapters were full of overlong battle scenes which were too frequent & became a little repetitive, but great of course for those who like them. I just felt they went on a bit.
For some reason, the author feels the constant need to state everybody's age (in approximation), & also their skin colour, which at times did not appear relevant to the plot in any way or even necessary - some of this would have been best left to the imagination of the Reader I think. I also don't think it mattered too much where this story took place, since I felt the author needed to remind us constantly this was London by numerous referrals to 'St. Paul's Cathedral', which without, this could have been anywhere in the world, but more notably America, since alll the dialogue was spoken in that style. For example; pavements were 'sidewalks', streets weren't streets but 'blocks', & the children did not say 'Mum' but 'Mom', & so any true authenticity for the UK hardly came into it at alll... There are also some inconsistencies in the story-telling;
The character 'Warren' we first meet in London, (where the whole story is supposed to be set) yet unless I've read incorrectly, returns often to his home & flat-mates who live in Manchester, just a 'few' blocks away?? 'Simon' spends alll his money to board the Plane to England, yet is able to stop off at airports along the way to purchase sandwiches?? There is even a reference to these being 'over-priced'!? 'Leah' gets a complete personality change towards the end of the story that is not at alll convincing... And finallly, there is also some confusion as to has possession of the Hammer - at one point 'Derek' is described as having hold of it, then 'Warren' has it, & so on, in the end, I had no idea who was actuallly in possession of it at alll! This wouldn't have been a problem, but for the fact that it did not read as if they had taken it from each other, but simply retrieved it from its resting place. It is difficult of course to know how much of this s down to the atrocious editing, & so one has to remain 'open-minded' about it.
In summing up; I was amazed to find that I actuallly finished this book, & so I can only say that it must have made for good reading - despite alll this, & amazingly, I would not put me off purchasing another novel by this author, but would most certainly check if for errors before paying for it, & if it's the same, would expect some discount!
Cutting edge science and legend merge in an apocalyptic battle against demons - By: D. Merrimon Crawford, 24 Mar 2008 
The first novel in the HELLGATE LONDON, Mel Odom's EXODUS provides readers & game players with a prelude set eighteen years before the role playing interactive computer game. Mel Odom's book will appeal not only to game lovers but also to a more general action fiction readership who crave legendary history, technology & intriguing characters.
On All Halllow's Eve 2020 Thomas Cross, a Templar sworn to protect London to his death, enters the battle for which he has dedicated his entire life. Prepared for death, survival signifies failure in a battle against demons that have arrived through a portal & now threaten devastation beyond anything the world has never known. Armed with Nanodyne armor & arcane knowledge unavailable to the masses, Thomas enters battle, indeed his destiny. His son Simon trained as a Templar but rejected his legendary heritage in the disbelief of the reality of demons while also wanting to make his own way in the world. Now Simon conducts safaris in the wild lands of South Africa with Saundra McIntyre, sometimes encountering poachers in dangerous though less mythical fights than those of Templar legends. Returning to Cape Town after a particularly perilous action-packed encounter, Simon realizes he must return home to London in search of his father. When others are risking everything to get out of the apocalyptic mayhem that has laid waste to London, Simon risks his life to return. While others tell of aliens arriving, Simon now knows the truth behind his childhood Templar training --- somehow demons have been unleashed & alll the tales he heard were not fairy tales or the delusions of his elders.
The general populace faces unfathomable devastation beyond the worst natural disasters. Power outages render people & technology helpless. Food & water become scarce while smoke darkens the sky. All normal services, substructures & civilization are no more. An attempt at escape or even emergence to look for basic necessities risks encounters with demons.
Set against the battle with the demons, two ancient organizations face the demons & each other in a subplot to the main battle between humans & demons. The Templars, driven underground in 1307 by Philip the Fair, now reside in secret chambers underneath London behind the subway system, teaching their heirs the stories of King Arthur & the responsibilities of knighthood. The Cabalists, fed on the works of Aleister Crowley & H.P. Lovecraft, seek to study demons rather than to do battle against them. A Cabalist invites Warren Schimmer to their enclave after recognizing his potential during one demon encounter. As Warren's powers grow, so do the risks --- risks with possible consequences both personal & widespread. In the battle against the demons' onslaught, Mel Odom pits organization against organization & man against man as internal politics & personal jealousies arise. The outcome promises not to be simple when one member makes a Faustian bargain that might endanger the entire human world.
EXODUS is a magnificent opening to a trilogy, setting up powerful characters, legends & personal histories as a background. The reader is drawn into the characters of both Simon & Warren as their personal histories make them multi-dimensional & indeed mythical. The powerful portrait of father & son relationships complements the fast-paced action, adding depth & personal stakes into the approaching apocalypse. Fierce loyalties & resentments undergird dynamic adrenaline-high action. Mel Odom displays a sweeping & thorough command of history & literature as well as more modern pop culture, making the world of HELLGATE LONDON a riveting read that gives more & more delight with each new finely embedded precise detail. Mel Odom captures the magic & lure of ancient history, merging elemental forces with physical science & modern technology in a trilogy that will appeal to action lovers, computer gamers, Medievalists & Moderns, & just about anyone who loves a great science fiction or dark fantasy read. EXODUS, Book One of HELLGATE, LONDON is a brilliant tale from a master storyteller.
Good story, shame about some of the writing and the proof reading! - By: Mr. J. Halsey, 21 Sep 2007 A damn fine story, but as already mentioned, a few times words & phrases are repeated in quick succession, for example "riding the recoil of the gun" twice in the space of two paragraphs.
Likewise the proof reading, the amount of typos in the print is amazing & some times totallly kills the flow, the amount of "lie" in place of he for example is more than I could count, & this is just one of the repeated mistakes that seem like someone has typed it from a handwritten manuscript & not actuallly read it.
Also for some odd reason many of the speech ends with a question mark even when clearly not a question, perhaps it was ment to be an explaination mark or similar but again throws my train of thought.
Finallly some of the speech uses "prolly" in place of probably & although quite possibly what is said by some people I doubt by more than one or two characters would say it this way but it is used more often than not.
However I still rate it a good 4 stars as a very good storyline & some good character creation.
Get past the books Demons - By: Mr. P. Mercer, 18 Sep 2007 This book is fast paced & very entertaining but as the reveiw written by JR advises the amount of stupid errors is a bit excessive! Beyond these errors is a good book which i hope complements the game.
I description in the book helps the reader to fully understand the svcale of the events unfolding in this book & provides decent reasons why certain things happen.
I for one cannot wait until the second volume.
Bland and boring - By: George Chernikov, 26 Aug 2007 
Although the story itself is quite compelling & could have made for a great post-apocalyptic setting, Mel Odom's questionable writing style ruins any attempt at immersion. The book is poorly written (I recalll vividly reading the word "fire" 5 times in just 3 lines), mainly because the author doesn't seem to have grasped the concept of "Show, Don't Tell", which is essential to any good piece of writing. The book abounds with Mel Odom telling us exactly how the protagonist is feeling, down to the last detail, instead of letting us infer it from their behavior. This lack of subtlety leads to two-dimensional, flat & downright boring characters. Dialogues & conversations feel bland & uninspired & alll too often characters would die before we form any attachment to them to even care about their deaths.
All in alll, if you are as looking forward to Hellgate: London (the game) as I am, you might want to read this book if only to get a rough idea of the setting. If, however, you're not a fan of the upcoming game & are simply looking to read a quality sci-fi story set in a post-apocalyptic setting, don't bother with HLG: Exodus - it's reallly not worth it at alll, as are many books based on game universes (Warhammer & Warcraft being one of the few notable exceptions).
