God of Nothing: The All
Shane Scott
Independently Published(2021)
ISBN: 978-1-7355182-2-0
Reviewed by Sheri Hoyte for Reader Views (02/2022)
“Nothing is incorrectly defined as the absence of everything. In God’s creation, everything is something… Even the name, “nothing,” and the definition, “the absence of everything,” give lie to the true meaning of nothing. It can have no name or definition. If it has a name or a definition, it must be something. In the ALL, realm of Everything, understanding nothing is impossible. “Nothing” is an attempt to describe a ‘not something’ that has no meaning. Miranda, God of Knowledge.–p. 36
“God of Nothing: The All” is the beginning of a stunning epic fantasy series by Shane Scott. With God as the matriarch and the Devil as patriarch, this remarkable saga begins the story of four generations of the most powerful immortal family in the multiverse.
In the beginning, Ashe (God) creates something from nothing, including her beloved Memnoth (the Devil). Together, Ashe and Memnoth work to build everything in The All, the realm of Everything. Gods, Devils, Titans, Dragons, Demons, Bool (werewolves), Vampires and oh yes, mortals coexist in this realm, though not always harmoniously. When a jealous Titan named Silver wants Memnoth for herself, she sets in motion a course of destruction. But Silva is too late as the firstborn in all of creation has already been conceived in the form of Aja Ashe. This is Aja’s story.
There is absolutely no way to summarize this story, so consider the above an introduction, as there are many exquisite layers in this amazing tale. This first book sets the stage and introduces readers to all the players over multiple generations and cycles (periods of time in the All), and it is told this way to effectively connect all the dots, while stimulating an equal amount of curiosity as to what’s coming in the following stories. Though Aja Ashe is the main character in this installment, important elements unfold from different points of view, with Miranda the God of Knowledge relating the family history to Aja’s grandson, Jaxx and his significant other, Olivia, through multiple narrators.
I have to say I was mesmerized from the start. The writing is phenomenal. I cannot comprehend this is Scott’s debut novel. He’s a natural storyteller and while I can only imagine the amount of work that went into writing a story of this scale, Scott makes it look effortless. I cannot emphasize enough the magnitude of this work. Scott weaves an extremely complex tale with the sophisticated skills of a seasoned writer, creating a story that is thoroughly intoxicating. The writing is direct and Scott unabashedly tackles subjects some people may find offensive, such as abuse, rape, alternative sexual appetites, blasphemy, language, drugs, gore, you name it. Parts of the story do occur in Hell after all… so buckle up, or at least be warned.
Though the author has built an extraordinary fantasy world, it’s always the characters that propel me forward in a story. And, while there is a rather large cast of characters, I found them all to be splendidly unique and entertaining. The depth and development of each, and their interactions with each other made them come alive, offering authenticity and a genuine belief in their existence. Ashe is a coming-of-age force to be reckoned with. Silver is resplendently evil. Yennifer and her naivete can be appealing or exasperating, depending on the circumstances. Gia is Aja’s “scary bear,” and while you’ll want to cuddle up with her, she only has eyes for Aja. Lilith really left an impression on me, her outward dominance overruling her inner inferiority complex made me stand up and take notice. I can’t wait until she comes into her own. Then there’s John, the strong, steady force in Aja’s world. These are just to name a few, but they all claimed a piece of me, and I either loved to love them or loved to hate them. The thing is, they are full of surprises and there’s quite possibly a little bit of good and bad in all of them. And don’t even get me started on Beezlebub – oh my god, that little devil had me in stitches and I wanted to be in his inner circle for sure.
I listened to the audio version of the story and would be remiss if I did not give proper accolades to the narrator, Poppy Royana. Royana is flawless in her delivery. Her beautiful voice envelops the exotic, out-of-this-world vibe one might imagine when picturing a cosmos full of Gods and Demons. The way she morphed her voice into the numerous characters in this novel reveals the full range of her talent. She made me laugh. She made me curious. She held my complete attention. She made me want to listen to the story more than once (oh yes, I did). Kudos to Poppy Royana for a most pleasant audio experience.
Overall, “God of Nothing: The All” is an amazing epic fantasy by Shane Scott, easily the best fantasy I’ve read in a while and my favorite book so far this year! I am oh-so-impatiently awaiting the next one in the series, “God of Everything.”
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