SIMANTOV - Asaf Ashery

Simantov and Bitton are detectives with the Soothsayer task Force who are looking to make sense of a series of strange crimes and disappearances. What the team of mystics agents come to learn is that there's a battle brewing in the heavens between the Daughters of Lilith and the Nephilim and humans are getting caught in the crossfire. But more dangerous is that this may be signaling the beginning of the apocalypse.

I really appreciate the opportunity to read works from other countries.  While humans are pretty much the same wherever we go, the way in which we look at things and how we allow outside forces to affect us does differ. Sometimes that can be reflected in art and literature.

There is, here, what I presume to be a mythology that is Israeli (I know nothing about this culture, history, or its mythology). On the surface, I was quite interested in reading this and getting something new. But as I admit I know nothing about this, I don't know where common mythology of the culture ends and the author's imagination begins.

But more importantly ... I didn't care.

Our main characters (police investigators who use tarot readers and mystics in their work) are dull, lifeless, and uninteresting. The angels (daughters of Lilith and the Nephilim) are only slightly more interesting.

It was easy to get lost and not know what was happening because it was easy to lose focus with this book. But with a book like this, it could be a cultural difference, but it could also be a translation issue. But no matter what is at the root, this book is not something I can recommend.

Looking for a good book? Simantov by Asaf Ashery is a paranormal fantasy translated from Hebrew that does not hold the average American reader's interest.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

2 stars

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Simantov

author: Asaf Ashery

translator: Marganit Weinberger-Rotman

publisher: Angry Robot

ISBN: 9780857668387

paperback, 392 pages