Enoch Primordial (Chronicles of the Nephilim) (Volume 2) Paperback – July 17, 2012

I really MUST say, I was stoked to read the prequel to Noah Primeval and am now EXTREMELY pumped for Gilgamesh Immortal. I got Enoch as one of few gifts for my much anticipated SIXTEENTH birthday and would allow nothing to come between me and reading that book. Not even youth camp. I admit, I am not a fast reader, but finished that book in one week with of course, limited reading time. Of that I am proud, I must say. And I truly am excited and glad to write this review, which will contain two parts, or better put, aspects, as they will bleed over with each other in my somewhat excited writing. First, as a professional observer, and the other as a fanboy. So, the book rocked. It jammed. It broke my heart. It strengthened my relationship with the Lord. It honestly taught me more of the truths of our Savior God than my whole week at camp (bittersweet truth). This book laughed. It mightily exceeded ALL expectations. I was not prepared for such a book. I have read many books of the mythic genre- from RAMSES: Son of Light (I read this book directly before Enoch), to the whole Percy Jackson series, to certain of other books by Rick Riordan (The Red Pyramid and the first half of the Throne of Fire before I got bored, the Lost Hero and the beginning of the Son of Neptune), and this one book, Enoch Primordial surpasses them all in an instant in its excitement and its truth and awe. Now, I have also read some of the classics. I have read the full Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Chronicles of Narnia, along with others by C.S. Lewis (the Space Trilogy, Mere Christianity, A Grief Observed) and at the risk of comparing with giants, Enoch Primordial HONESTLY rivals for the prime real estate of my few favorite books ever that I have read. This book is elegant in its storytelling. It provides an exposition. This exposition is cool. Religiously it (both the expo as well as the whole book) is both near and far from the norm. It is near enough to stretch your understanding and to be able to stand up in the face of a theology student, while at the same time being separate enough to stand on its own and not infringe upon one’s beliefs. This brings me to a good point. I would really actually love to sit down and talk with this author; just hang out. Because, I’ve had close up contact with people with some really OUT there ideology when it comes to religion. This guy, Godawa, seems to me to know boundaries. To me, he seems to keep his story and his ideas separate from his faith. When you read his appendixes, you will reach certain points (especially at the back of Noah Primeval, where he discusses the divinity of angels… ;) where you say, I don’t know WHAT he’s talking about. But then you go on, and you realize, oh. That makes sense. I like that. After that exposition, you find a BANG of a beginning. And that beginning holds its own for quite a while. At the end of it, you find a decisive second act. This book has cannibalism, giants, king giants, wars of giants, giant killers, bounty hunters, and more giants; magic, sea monsters, dinosaurs (I think?), angels, gods (or “gods”?), Cherubim, visions, archangels, demons, lies, surprises, werewolves, deaths (but no spoilers for you!), betrayals (And the internal book-reader dialogue of “No they didn’t! Yes they did! They couldn’t have! Now they finally have! Wait… They haven’t!” And finally, “OH NO! Wait… what?”), and romance (lots of it!). Whatever this book does, it gives its whole heart to it. And then it goes and does something else. This book finds a balance in the way of adventure; between the explicit choices of the protagonist, the unknown plots of the antagonists, and fateful chance, which is a hard line to walk. Because, if there is no chance, you lose a certain magic, but if there are only chance occurrences and the adventurer has no decisive role in the plot then I really just… get… bored. That was a weakness of Jacq’s Ramses: Son of Light, which was absolutely absent from Enoch. As a cinematographer hopeful, throughout the book I pictured for myself, what would this scene be like in a Lord of the Rings-esque movie? And trust me, I blew my own mind. One day, hopefully soon, I want to see someone (hopefully myself) get with Godawa and make a movie of this book with an EXTREMELY large make-up budget. Gosh, what a beautiful day… Beginning this book, I thought the hard-core, R-Rated aspect of the first book was absent, and although that very aspect made Noah so it was not at all a kid’s book, I missed it in Enoch. But don’t worry, the finale of this book has enough hard-core gore to satisfy even a sixteen year old boy’s palette! (I would know; I am one!) I used to watch Burn Notice on Netflix; one of my favorite things about the early episodes was their multiple endings- to get you to say, “Oh it must be over”, and then give you one more punch. And then one more. This book does that, while even having an epilogue worthy of being a Marvel Movie Universe after-the-credits scene. The last line of that book almost made me shout with glee in the middle of a vanful of tired campers on the way home. So, to conclude my extremely long winded review of this extremely worthy novel, it really was fun. Read it. Please. For yourself. And not only because it is fun. It will grow you. The night I barely finished it, I looked at my Heavenly Father differently, and the next morning, I read my Bible differently. This Godawa is a man who knows his scripture and PREACHES his gospel.

I could hardly put this book down. Many of the things written in this book COULD have happened. Brian Godawa built an incredible story. This would make a great video game!

A PREQUEL WORTHY OF IT’S PREDECESSOR, “ENOCH PRIMORDIAL” IS BRIAN GODAWA’S SECOND BOOK IN THE EPIC SERIES “CHRONICLES OF THE NEPHILIM”, AND IS SET HUNDREDS OF YEARS PRIOR TO THAT ”NOAH PRIMEVAL” BOOK I’VE FINISHED EARLIER. NOT ONLY AN EXTREMELY AMBITIOUS TAKE ON THE WHOLE ENOCH STORY (IN AND OUT OF THE MOSTLY NON-CANONICAL ”BOOK OF ENOCH”), BUT ALSO A CRUCIAL ADDITION IN TERMS OF WORLD BUILDING, THE FIRST NOVEL HAD DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB AT INTRODUCING US TO. HOW EXACTLY DOES THIS BOOK FARE AGAINST THE FIRST ONE? WELL, IT IS COMPARABLY MODERATE IN TERMS OF INTENSITY AND IT’S CONSISTENT DRAMATIC COMPONENT. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT’S A LOT MORE UNPREDICTABLE, DESPITE BEING A PREQUEL. AND IT’S MUCH MORE EVENTFUL WITHIN IT’S STORY, AT TIMES EVEN TOO EVENTFUL IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT. IT FELT SLIGHTLY CONVOLUTED IN PLACES, OVERLOADED.YET, IT READS NOTICEABLY FASTER, GIVEN MAJORITY OF IT’S CHAPTERS BEING MUCH SHORTER. BUT IT’S PACING NEVER SUFFERS FROM ANY SIGNIFICANT SUBSIDENCE, TREATING IS TO AN EVEN MORE DYNAMICALLY CHARGED ADVENTURE, SET IN THE VERY SAME ANTEDILUVIAN WORLD. A FAIR CHUNK OF THE EARLIER CHAPTERS FOCUSES ON THE “FALLEN ANGELS” AND THEIR RISE TO POWER WITHIN HUMAN CIVILISATIONS, AS WELL AS THE INCEPTION OF THEIR WICKED OFFSPRING, THE NEPHILIM GIANTS. SCALE-WISE (IN TERMS OF THE GIANTS AND THEIR DEEDS) THIS BOOK OUTDOES THE PREVIOUS ONE BIG TIME, DEPICTING A WHOLE BUNCH OF EVENTS, ONLY BRIEFLY MENTIONED IN BOOK 1. THUS, A WHOLE BUNCH OF QUESTIONS ARE ANSWERED, AND STUFF GOT CLARIFIED IN WAYS WHERE NO INNUENDO WAS LEFT.THE CHARACTER OF ENOCH, HIS DEVELOPMENT FROM A PAGAN PALACE DWELLER TO A KILLER OF GIANTS CRAVING SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT - IT WAS ALL AN EXAMPLE OF UNDENIABLY DECENT STORYTELLING. AS FOR THE YOUNG AND STUBBORN METHUSELAH, AND HIS INTENSE STORY ARC - THAT WAS THE MOST COMPELLING PART OF THE NOVEL. HE ONCE AGAIN REMAINED THE COOLEST CHARACTER OF THE BOOK.AND JUST LIKE THE FIRST ENTRY IN THE SERIES, THIS ONE DOESN’T SHY AWAY FROM DELIVERY OF IT’S CREATIVE PLOT TWISTS AND OTHER COOL IDEAS THAT FILL THE PLOT UP TO THE BRIM. THE NEANDERTHAL MEN BEING THE MOST UNUSUAL ASPECT, WHILE THE ANCIENT ADAM AND EVE, STILL BEING ALIVE AROUND THE EVENTS OF THIS BOOK - BEING THE MOST HEARTFELT.ALBEIT IT GOT LOTS OF COOL ACTION, SOLID DRAMA, AND EVEN ROMANTIC ANGLES, IT WASN’T WITHOUT CERTAIN DEAD-END PLOT DEVICES, THAT FELT RATHER UNDERWHELMING, EVEN STUPID. FOR EXAMPLE, THE NEPHILIM GIANT, WHO WAS AT FIRST DEPICTED TO BE MORE THAN JUST AN EVIL GIANT, AND WHO SEEMED LIKE A VERY COOL SPIN ON THE VILLAINOUS NATURE OF THE CHARACTER, WAS COMPLETELY WASTED LATER IN THE BOOK, IN MANY WAYS - TAKING AWAY FROM THE STORY’S OVERALL SIGNIFICANCE. SIMILAR ISSUE I HAD WITH THE WAY CAIN WAS USED. OR RATHER MISUSED. I COULD ALMOST SAY THIS WAS THE MOST DISAPPOINTING POTENTIAL WASTING POINT OF THE WHOLE BOOK. HE COULD HAVE HAD A MORE INTRICATE PART OF THE STORY, GIVEN HIS INFAMOUS BACKGROUND. YET, HE WAS PLACED IN THERE LIKE A USELESS PAWN, A SIDE VILLAIN WHO’S PRESENCE WAS TURNED INTO A MEDIOCRE JOKE ALMOST. BUT THAT’S PROBABLY ME BEING BIAS, FOR I BELIEVE DRAMATURGY WORKS IN SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY. OH, AND THAT HEAVENLY COURT SESSION, THAT WHOLE ANGLE WAS ACTUALLY QUITE INTERESTING, AND DESPITE SOME NEGATIVITY TOWARDS IT FROM OTHER READERS, I THINK IT WAS MAKING TOTAL SENSE WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE STORY.ALL IN ALL, EVEN WITH ALL THE SHORTCOMINGS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION, ”ENOCH PRIMORDIAL” IS A GREAT READING EXPERIENCE. IT WORKS WELL AS A FOLLOWUP (FROM THE OTHER END THAT IS) TO ”NOAH PRIMEVAL”, AND MAKES THE WHOLE THING COME FULL CIRCLE. DEFINITELY CHECK THIS ONE OUT.

I so enjoyed the characters and personalities Brian Godawa created and presented in the first book of the series, I wanted to read more of their adventures. And yes, we get to experience Methuselah and Uriel begin their relationship here!In this prequel, the author takes us to creative situations that either provide graphic polemic against current evil in our society or apologetics wrapped in an engaging courtroom sequence, in addition to the action, banter and relationships of the main story arc.As with the first installment in the series, Brian does an excellent job filling in the narrative blanks between the hard facts given in the Bible with memorable - even lovable - characters and their wonderful relationships.If you enjoyed the first book, definitely read this one as well!

Remember it’s Biblical fiction/faction, so yes you will find things that you might not agree with, it’s not meant to be doctrinally sound, such a subject can’t be. We don’t have all the info. Having said that, it was great to read through, enjoyed the characters and personally found the plot helpful to picture just how the fallen ones ‘might’ of gone about deceiving the human race. Have purchased others now by this author.

Ich habe mir drei Bände des Autor gekauft (Noah Primeval,Enoch Primordial,Gilgamesh Immortal) und bin enttäuscht. Mangels an Fachbüchern mit dem Grundtext inklusive Interpretation griff ich auf diese Romane zurück, damit ich mir endlich merken kann, was in den Geschichten im groben steht.Der Autor ist der Meinung Hollywoodfilme sind wertvoll, daraus lässt sich schliessen, dass der Autor nicht sehr tiefgründig sein kann. Die Vermutung bestätigt sich, wenn man die schiere Anzahl seiner Bücher vor Augen hat. Er weiss einfach, wie man mit einem simplen Grundgerüst Story strickt.Die Bücher die ich mir gekauft habe, haben kaum einen Mehrwert in Bezug auf das Leben heute, amüsant war allerdings der Vergleich unserer heutigen Welt mit der Welt der verrückten "Götter". Geschichtenkonstrukteure beleben ihre Figuren mit nervigen Persönlichkeiten und Marotten. Das wirkt auf mich hölzern und unseriös. Die Figuren haben seltsame Vorlieben und geben sich gegenseitig dusselige Kosenamen. Man kann ehrwürdige Personen nicht so behandeln! Dabei verwischt die Grenze und man weiß nicht mehr, welcher Teil der Story belegt ist und welcher Teil Fiction ist. Normalerweise lese ich 400-600 Seiten an einem Tag, hier quäle ich mich schon seit Wochen durch. Ich weiss nicht viel über die historischen Texte, aber ich habe stark das Gefühl, dass eine Menge fehlt. Die Möglichket aus der Kabbala Informationen einzubauen, hat der Autor nicht genutzt.Die Bücher haben sehr schöne Cover, aber es fehlen Abbildungen innen. Es gibt zwar eine grobe Karte, die sieht aber nicht gut aus. Karten wie man sie in alten Bibeln findet, sucht man in seinen Büchern vergeblich. Zur Not hätte man auch selbst eine zeichnen können, nicht mal das wurde dem Leser gegeben.Der Druck selbst ist ein ausgedrucktes PDF mit, am Ende des Buches sieht man noch die Links zum anklicken. Das Papier taugt nichts, es wellt sich ab einer bestimmten Feuchtigkeit.Fazit: Der Bestsellerautor und Gewinner hat in Massenproduktion PDFs erstellt und in Polen drucken lassen und verkauft es über Amazon. Die Storys sind nett, mir aber zu flach und viel zu weit weg vom belegten Text.

The story started off slow but built up as the narrative got intense. I have never read a book like this and I see that the author has done his homework. I teared up in one of the scenes.I still have questions about the Leviathan and Rahab creatures. Where are they right now?Genesis is starting to be my favourite book. The world before the flood is truly fascinating, there's so much we don't know. I can't wait to read the other books in Chronicles of the Nephilim.

There is nothing I disliked about this book, it was a page turner from start to finish, I loved the way that the author brought the bible to life in a very special way.