In this continuation of the Preacher saga, Jesse, Cassidy and Tulip head over to France for another bizarre adventure. This time, their search leads them to a battle against the mysterious, religious organisation known as the Grail, with the Allfather at the head of it, ensuring the purity of the descendants of Jesus.
Book Two has delivered almost as much as Book One. I found this one to be less gruesome and violent, however it was more f*cked up – the cruelty of Jesse has reached the new level and some of his actions were just horrific. It is so much funnier as well!
In this book we get introduced to new characters that have a significant presence in the novel’s universe. As well as that, the story has really picked up, it has started to build shape. Cassidy is kidnapped by the organisation, after he has saved Tulip’s life and so Jesse is determined to get his friend back.
One of the newest addition to the cast is Herr Starr who’s working for the Grail.
As the descendant of Jesus is now retarded, after hundreds and hundreds of years of inbred in order to keep the line pure, Herr Starr’s plan includes getting rid of the child and to replace him with Jesse as the new Messiah – due to the power of the word – and to put himself as the new Allfather. He is a hilarious character, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud in certain scenes with him and I hope that future books will explain his backstory.
However, even with all the praises, there was one small thing that I really couldn’t stand in book two. I like Tulip and Jesse as individuals, however as a couple they sucked in this read. All throughout, every interactions that they had with each other was nearly identical. Jesse wanted to go and seek revenge on his own, and to leave Tulip behind in a safe place, away from the fight. In turn, Tulip wanted to go with him and help. It felt monotonous and unnecessary to go through it multiple times.
Also, at some point, the novel takes a different spin, when we learn the backstory of Cassidy – and how exactly did he become vampire.
I found that bit to be very confusing. Without spoiling too much, Cassidy had a brother and their story begins during a war. For whatever reason, whether it was my fault or whether the authors did it deliberately, until the very, very end, I was convinced that Cassidy is the character that actually turned out to be his brother. So when that part of the story finished, I felt so confused, I had to go back and re-read it quickly. That backstory itself was amazing, however I couldn’t help but feel betrayed after finding out which character is Cassidy, the impact of the story was gone for me, I got distracted.
Overall, amazing read just as I expected. The universe is getting bigger and we start to see the characters that are playing out the major roles. With the holy trinity of main characters, we also see the return of the Saint of Killers, the God and the Angel. It is starting to get more complex and I enjoy how gradually it’s done. Also the backstories are really interesting and allow to appreciate the characters more and understand where they’re coming from, why they’re as f*cked up as they are.
I hope you enjoyed this review, let me know what you think down in the comment section!
Thank you for reading it and until next time, Dream on, Dreamers!
The Wolf Pad 