The Book of Sam
The Book of Sam
Stolas, his face half-covered by a brandy snifter, looked like royalty. He was wearing a black jacket and sitting in a wingback chair at the far end of a long table covered by a deep-purple tablecloth. He placed the snifter on the table and returned to his plate, on which raw meat sat in a pool of light-coloured blood. There was something odd about the way he delicately cut the meat as blood oozed out.
“Sit,” he said. “Tell me, what do you know about the girl you travel with?”
“Not much.” Why was he curious about Hollinshead? I slumped in the chair next to him.
He got up and filled a chalice to the brim and placed it in front of me. I drank it. The briny liquid burned my throat.
“Tell me, why did you really come to Hell?”
“To save my friend.”
He smiled, not a pleasant smile, not the comforting kind, not even the kind that Hollinshead would throw my way, a smile of pity. There was something hidden beneath it. Bitterness.
“Those who are brought to Hell are mourned, not rescued, Sam.” He walked around the room, making a show of circling me. “You must be running from something.”
I had nothing to say. He probably wasn’t interested in hearing about my dad or how an entire school was bullying me. I had to change the subject.
“Who’s in the room down the hall?” I said.
“Oh, them. I don’t know their names but they should never have been here. Irekeep is my home.”
He stared out of the window, onto his land. “I’ve been forgotten,” Stolas said. He walked back to the table and ran his finger along his plate, catching a dollop of the watery blood. He placed it on his lips. His mouth formed a smile that looked like a knife slice from cheek to cheek.
“All my blood to make this world pure. It was all for nothing.”
“I thought peace was your thing?” I said.
“I’m pleased that my legacy wasn’t lost on you,” he said. “Why do you want my help?”
“’Cause in those stories you were fearless and selfless, and I know I can’t do this alone.”
His eyes latched on to mine. He mulled over my response.
“You know I was a slave, but do you know what the heart of the slave truly desires?
“To be free.”
“To be the one cracking the whip.”
A vein pulsed between his horns. Red took hold of his slate grey eyes. In only a moment, his face had twisted into something sinister. I was taken aback. His behaviour and words contradicted the version of him that leaped from the pages of The Book of Stolas. The one that lived in my head. I gripped the arms of my chair with sweaty palms. My anxiety was spiralling out of control.
“This is a godless world, poisoned by all the lessers that came to my shores, those who sought to dilute us.” He looked deep into my eyes. “You sit in a room in a castle built by slaves. I never saw the value in the freedom of others.”
Oh crap. Hollinshead was right.
Sam Sullinger is just a boy who likes a girl – a girl who happens to be his best friend and who also happens to be stuck in Hell. Harper, Sam’s crush and best friend, convinced Sam to look in the secret room in his Uncle Bear’s shop, Cloaked Atlas, where they found an artifact that brought forth a demon and sent Harper to Hell, all before Sam could even confess his feelings for her. Now Sam, who is the youngest and least accomplished in his family (something his father never fails to point out), has gone to Hell to find Harper and bring her home. Against the advice of his uncle, Sam will have to face all kinds of demons to find and resurrect the one named Stolas, who Sam knows from the stories his uncle told him, to find Harper before it’s too late. Along the way, Sam meets the incubus, Thorlton, and a fellow human trapped in Hell, Hollinshead. With their help, Sam manages to find Stolas and bring him back, but he turns out to be less than the hero Sam thinks he is, and now Sam must not only find Harper but also stop Stolas from destroying Hell. Sam also needs to find a new way home for himself, Harper and Hollinshead since he accidentally broke the box that was their way out. The real question is whether or not Sam can confront his own insecurities and feelings of inadequacy to do all this before it’s too late for all of them?
Rob Shapiro has created an action-packed coming of age story that will suck readers in with its charming characters and bountiful plot twists. The true charm of Shapiro’s story, however, is balance. He has managed to write a story that is balanced between character development and plot as well as action and rest. Sam’s development from a scared and shy teenager into a brave person of action is just as important as the action of the story, and the two rely upon each other to advance. In addition to this, the story is exciting and fast-paced, but not without its pauses for the characters to stop and open up to each other. Sam and Hollinshead’s burgeoning relationship is a delight to read, and these pauses are part of what allow the characters to develop in the way they do.
Along with the marvellously balanced story, Shapiro has crafted Hell into something unique. Demons are pulled from different cultures, folklores and traditions from around the world, making for a diverse and engaging environment. Shapiro has made this Hell into one that is not traditionally Christian, but one that is its own fleshed out world. There are cities, cultures, slavery and power struggles that Sam and his friends must work in and around to complete their quest.
The Book of Sam is a wonderfully created and thoughtful story that will enthrall readers. With engaging characters and some truly comedic moments and writing Shapiro’s story takes a new twist on the classic hero's tale that will leave readers wanting more.
Deanna Feuer is an English Literature graduate from the University of the Fraser Valley. She lives in Langley, British Columbia.