The Eighth House
Grade : C-

People have always been fascinated with stories about our own doom, and the struggle between Heaven and Hell, good and evil. Movies such as The End of Days, and The Seventh Sign are good examples of this concept. This book is like one of those movies as it is mostly a standard offering about the battle between Heaven and Hell, but there is a dollop of astrological mysticism mixed in with the Christian concepts.

Edward Hastings was born in the very early 1900's in the crime-ridden streets of the lower east side of Manhattan. His mother was a prostitute controlled by her violent and greedy pimp. Edward never had much of a chance at life and when he was a young teenager, he made a decision that would impact his immortal soul forever. Satan sees in Edward someone who can help him further his revenge against God. Under Satan's tutelage, Edward loses all his kinder, gentler emotions and gains supernatural powers in order to cause death, destruction and despair.

Edward, in the arrogant manner of villains everywhere, writes down all of his experiences and instructions from Satan in a journal. He encodes his writings in a form of ancient Latin and a complex astrological chart. Predictably, the diary is removed from Edward's possession in the late 1950's and he starts a frantic search for it.

Fast forward almost 55 years. Tericita Ellis, an expert astrologer from the Caribbean and her boyfriend, Jewish professor Aaron Jacobs, are about to stumble across Edward's path. Aaron discovers the journal at an estate sale and buys it for Teri. Unfortunately, Edward also tracks down the sale of the journal and sets off to get it back.

Years earlier, before she died, Teri's wise old grandmother warned her that she must choose her mate wisely and pick one who believed in her extraordinary talents, for she had some difficult challenges to face. Aaron is that perfect mate - he studies ancient religions, accepts Teri for who she is, and wants to spend the rest of his life with her.

Before Teri and Aaron can settle down and have a normal life, all hell breaks loose, literally. Edward realizes that Teri is a genuine danger to his and Satan's plans because she can read the charts in his journal. More predictably, death and destruction follow Teri and Aaron as they attempt to decipher the journal before Edward kills them.

There is definitely an element of romance here and Teri is a interesting character. Unfortunately, Aaron is not as well-developed as character as she is in this book. However, the main focus of The Eighth House is not the romance between Teri and Aaron, but their race to save the world.

For those of you who dislike overabundant point of view changes, this book is not one for you. Everybody, even people who are about to die suddenly, gets a point of view. Many times there were multiple POV changes on one page. Then, just when I thought The Eighth House would wrap up nice and neatly, the author sets the story up for a sequel. If you like the Heaven vs. Hell concept, there is nothing terribly wrong with this book, but there is nothing new either. I'll leave Teri and Aaron to save the world on their own in the next book.

Reviewed by Liz Zink
Grade : C-
Book Type: Fiction

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : July 11, 2000

Publication Date: 2000

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Liz Zink

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