Hell Spawn
Not Us, But The Book
It’s that time, brethren:
What are your thoughts in response to reading Hell Spawn by Declan Finn?
The two biggest ideas in the book are that Officer Nolan is, by his own description, a saint—he’s got supernatural powers that he uses for good. (He also uses them for amazing action sequences.) And that policing can be done in a way inspired by his understanding of Catholicism. But this book is full of characters and places, too. What all/else do you see?
I’ll weigh in with more thoughts of my own in a few days to give all you gentlemen time to point out what you like and notice about how this book does what it does.
Note that Declan’s Newsletter is also something you could subscribe to.
In October we’ll be reading Colony Launch by John Del Arroz so you can plan ahead.
Review of Hell Spawn
You love to get yourself lost in the head of a character?
In the St. Tommy Series, you ride along with one of New York's finest, a typical beat cop who got promotions by persistent excellent work. The detective has bought in on the community policing idea, meaning he knows his local crooks.
Thomas Nolan is that cop who's aura effects those he arrests into agreeing and cooperating when he brings them in. They know he caught them fair and square. A man of great faith, he constantly prays throughout his day. This includes, in the middle of the Epic fights that come at him, because we start our ride along on an atypical day, thanks to an atypically, supernaturally powerful foe.
First, he reeks like a corpse, but only Tommy is able to sense this. This scrawny junky in his precinct is somehow powerful enough to throw large cops and their desks across the room. And Tommy fights him well hand to hand like New York's Bruce Lee in Blue. As we go, it is amazing the clever creative use of what are called "wonders", the little things that people later known as saints did, or happened to or around them, which can only be miraculous effects. Like being in two places at once. Or more.
Despite what is so obvious to everyone around him, the persistent humility of Tommy is striking and endearing. He's almost one of those characters, like Reacher, who doesn't undergo so much obvious character growth, but causes change to the people and world around him as he moves through it and touches their lives.
The narrator being Tommy sucks you in and you discover the most engaging tour of New York from the POV of a local. The kind of intimate knowledge and history of the place that only someone alive on those streets can make it Come Alive in your mind's eye.
Because, like Nolan, Author Declan Finn is a NYC Native. He's describing streets he walked, with all the tiny landmarks and their unique smells, restaurants and past landmarks that are now closed buildings that have or had living people adding life to their blocks. His descriptions are native, real, detailed, alive. I loved all the perfect secret driving directions of one who must have been through there dozens of times to find their way home. (Finn has since Escaped New York and friends helped him rescue his family into the DFW area.)
Because, as in so many great works, the setting, NYC, is a living breathing character in this series. Alive thanks to the amazing talent for description of Finn, pouring out of the narrative tongue of Thomas Nolan.
You get So swept up you completely lose track of time. Lost running through the surprising plots in this detailed world, I didn't sleep and found morning alarms going off telling me to make coffee, and eggs for my wife. I immediately upgraded, buying the 12 book series on Kindle and didn't realize I was in book 4 until I stopped to write some feedback to Finn and praise on Twitter/X.
I am sure you will quickly add more and then the entire Saint Tommy Series to your collection and then turn to more works by this talented author. Fortunately he is very prolific, at over 40 works so far, and counting. I look forward to reading Your reviews, as you too enjoy this highly entertaining police procedural/SFF series.
Looking forward to December