The Nine by C.G. Harris Goodreads
Gabe is recruited to join the most dangerous organization the world has never heard about. As a double agent he has to fight within their ranks to stop them, all with no training, no experience and no support. If he’s caught, they will tear him apart. But that’s not the real twist.
Gabe is dead, he lives in Hell and Judas Iscariot just became his new boss.
Judas assigns Gabe a beautiful new partner with plans to sow a disease that could wipe out the modern world. Without revealing his true identity, he must find a way to deal with insect wielding super agents, firestorms, and worst of all, the nauseating envisage travel to get Topside to save the earth.
Thank you to The Write Reads and the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. This review is part of the finalists’ blog tour organized by BBNYA.
The Nine took the tenth spot in the BBNYA finals of 2021 and it’s easy to see why. This urban fantasy has an original setting, the ninth circle of Hell mixed with current day USA, and interesting characters. Gabe, Alex, and Stray all have very distinct characters to slowly grow into multi-layered personalities. Especially after it’s revealed why they’re in the ninth circle. although I don’t agree that Alex deserves to be there.
There are two big plot lines. One concerns the girl Gabe rescued at the beginning of the book, Stray. The other involves a mission given to him by Judas. The only thing they have in common is that Gabe investigates both. Aside from that not much. I’ll say that these plot lines cover two heavy subjects (human trafficking and a deadly virus) so you might want to skip this book if those topics can be triggering.
The writing style is incredibly fast. There’re a lot of things happening in a chapter plus there’s not too much space spent on the details of the world except for what’s necessary. Gabe’s 80s persona getting used to the new world is fun to read but kept short because that’s not what the story is about. Despite the heavy topics, the writing style is light and filled with humour.
I give The Nine 3,5 stars. I enjoyed it and if I had more time, I probably would’ve finished in one go. It’s a page-turner but there’s a lot that could be better too. The two large plot lines seem big enough to earn their own spotlight instead of being mushed together. If you like urban fantasy and want something fresh, you might want to check it out.
