Shades

The Gehenna Dilemma

Fiction - Science Fiction
330 Pages
Reviewed on 04/20/2015
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Lit Amri for Readers' Favorite

In 2039, the government turns dead debtors into shades (zombies), and they will do all types of work until their debts are settled. To prevent his dying mother from becoming a shade, Jonah Adams joins the IRS as a ghoul, an agent that collects recently deceased debtors. The pay is good but with a high cost, especially when others come to reap what Jonah has sown. As in this kind of story, the plot ultimately provides for a satisfying read. And the plot of The Gehenna Dilemma is certainly shot through with intrigue.

The story starts with Jonah and his partner Spenner on the hunt in Louisiana. The Devereux clan plan to bury one of their family members before the government turns him into a shade. After the bayou job, Jonah returns to New York City and parts ways with Spenner, who promises to turn in the shade to the IRS receiving station. Spenner never did, and Jonah finds himself disoriented in an interrogation room, trying to remember what has happened to him. From there on, the plot becomes increasingly twisted into unpredictable situations.

Eric Dallaire’s Shades: The Gehenna Dilemma is a great debut for its series. Protagonist Jonah is a calm and tactful ghoul. With his aide Sasha, a resident artificial intelligence program embedded within his specially created wrist-com, I personally think he doesn't need a partner, especially one such as Spenner – a reckless ghoul who gets results but with a lack of empathy. The Gehenna Dilemma is a sci-fi novel with a morally distorted theme that would challenge your sense of ethics. Dallaire manages to create an appealing web of intrigue out of this. This is a great read, engaging from start to finish, and with a keen sense of narrative drive that ensures the plot moves on at an excellent pace.