Noah Primeval
Chronicles of the Nephilim - Book One
Brian Godawa
Brian Godawa has put flesh, bones and action sequences to an incredible story in Genesis--the world as it was experienced in the generation leading up to the great flood. The yarn takes readers through the world of Noah and his neighbors, the spiritual, physical, and political intrigue that lead up to the sealing of the of Noah's immediate family with two of every kind of animal into a vessel like the world had never seen before.
We have a fairly clear idea now of what that Ark looked like, but what about the offspring of the giants that mated with people leading up to the flood? Godawa describes a godless society and creatures governed by fallen angels that would fit very well into the movie 300 or The Immortals. Reptilian, covered in tattoos, piercings and obsessed with sex, they are hard at work to eradicate God's chosen people who seem to have as firm a grip on the concepts of freedom and liberty as any contemporary survivalist and the theology and faith every conservative mega church pastor hopes he is imparting to the congregation.
Other aspects of the novel are less anarchistic, particularly the three-layered, flat, cosmos where the action takes place, very true to the one first outlined in the first written language by Sumerians, but I wish Godawa had trusted more in his reader's critical thinking. Including FOUR appendixes on that ancient view of the cosmos and the ancient gods whose names and and actions he borrowed for his fallen angels plus an academic, lengthy forward take up half the pages in the book, will be very discouraging for the reader of fantasy/action, who seem to be the intended audience. The prose portion of the volume was frustratingly uneven until this reviewer re-read Godawa's bio.
Noah Primeval makes more sense as a story treatment for another highly regarded Godawa movie or, best of all, the prose for a graphic novel, destined to be made into a movie, much like 300 or The Immortals. That would be worth seeing. Until then, follow Noah, his sidekick guardian angel, his wife Emzara and the surprising career of their youngest son Ham as they travel through the known visible and invisible world toward their ultimate destiny. It is quite a yarn.
