Reader's Review: "Notna" by J. D. Cunegan

Synopsis from Amazon:

History’s most peaceful race created one of its deadliest weapons.

Forged in the Living Flame by a long-extinct alien race, The Gem of Notna is the stuff of legends, on par with Pandora’s Box or the Holy Grail. But once archaeologist Dr. Jack Corbett stumbled upon the crystal deep in the Amazon, he triggered a whirlwind of events and found himself neck-deep in a centuries-old holy war. The Divine and the Underworld have been locked in a virtual stalemate for the past three hundred years, and the Gem of Notna could be the key to breaking it.

With the gem in his possession, Jack discovers a world of monsters and gods, as well as an entirely different plane of existence that watches over our own. Old grudges resurface, fallen warriors are reborn in the most violent of ways, but at the end of the day, the fate of the world may well rest in Jack’s hands.

J.D. Cunegan (Bounty, Blood Ties) introduces Notna, a supernatural fantasy epic that will leave readers flipping through the pages with every twist and turn. Grand in scale and steeped in the very comic book lore that lured Cunegan to writing in the first place, Notna proves that anyone can save the world – or die trying.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

My Review:

Cunegan doesn't mess around!

He takes a break from the intriguing adventures of cyborg vigilante/police officer Jill Andersen, and drags us readers straight into the Underworld--literally!

I appreciate the straightforwardness. I suppose I have Mark Lawrence's grimdark fantasy trilogy The Broken Empire to thank for the fact that I don't shy away from gratuitous gore in my books--provided the story is good. If the gore is just there to please people who enjoy the horror of mangled bodies and slasher films, that's not me! But there are few things that will keep me away from a genuinely compelling story, especially if said story can induce me to care for the characters!

NOTNA won me over completely, from that first scene that threw me right in the midst of the climactic battle before I even realized what was going on, or which side to actually root for! Then the story snapped back to a different block of time, and Cunegan's skills are on full display as he slowly builds the mystique and the emotion. He, like the gem, lures his readers in with promises of rich adventures and cool stunts featuring two plucky history professors well versed in archaeology--and then the first demon attacks and you know this is no ordinary tale!

The balance between the human and the superhuman element is spectacular. I don't mind a bit of religious aspect in my supernatural fiction, provided said aspect isn't blatantly flying in the face of one belief or another (such as the whole "good guys are Darwinists and bad guys are Luddites" aspect of Scott Westerfield's Leviathan... no thank you!) and Cunegan does this very well, presenting a foundational belief system that uses various religions and gives credence to the way his supernatural forces function, while at the same time remaining totally fabricated. Like the show Supernatural, it remains solidly in the realm of "influenced by" religious beliefs and parameters, instead of barreling squarely into the mire of "overriding the concepts of" said beliefs, devoid of both tact and evidence of sufficient research. NOTNA excels where THE DAVINCI CODE missed the mark!

On the whole--for a book full of demons ripping bodies apart, a possessed gem that either protects or kills with living, writhing, branch-like vines, and lots of blood--NOTNA is pretty dang awesome. I would certainly deem it worthy of a *****5 STAR***** rating, and add to it an Upstream Writer Certified Highly Recommended endorsement. At its core it's a genuinely good story, an excellent take on the battle of Good Vs. Evil--and the subtle/not subtle references to a certain other author whose paranormal investigator series is among my absolute favorites(*) are really worth everything that comes before them, if you've read the aforementioned series!

If you love intrigue, full-on battles, and worthwhile heroes, and you don't mind violence and gore and a fabricated theology--then NOTNA is waiting for you!

Further Reading: (Also By The Author/Supernatural Battles/Paranormal/Angels Vs. Demons)

The Jill Andersen Series--J. D. Cunegan
       -Bounty 
       -Blood Ties 
       -Behind the Badge 

The Grave Reports--R. R. Virdi(*)
        -Grave Beginnings 
        -Grave Measures 
        -Grave Dealings 

-Charon, Unguarded--A. H. Johnstone 

The LouisiAngel Series--C. L. Coffey
        -Angel in Training 
        -Angel Eclipsed 
        -Angel Tormented 

The Shaudrey Universe Series--J. E. Mueller
       -Fire's Song

The Books of Winter--R. R. Virdi
       -Dangerous Ways

The Firebird Fairy Tales--Amy Kuivalainen
       -The Cry of the Firebird 
       -Ashes of the Firebird

Alexi Sokolsky: Hound of Eden--James Osiris Baldwin
        -Burn Artist 
        -Blood Hound

Tales of the Fallen--Katika Schneider
       -Devotion

-Beasts of Babylon--E. A. Copen