Spirit of Independence

Spirit of Independence, Keith Rommel, Barclay Books LLC, 2001

Travis Winter is your average soldier fighting in the latter days of World War II. One day, he is killed in cold blood by another American soldier. Then his adventures begin.

He has been recruited, by Heaven, as a new kind of warrior in the age-old battle between heaven and Hell. Now called the Spirit of Independence, Winter's first stop is at the Gates of Hell. He is confronted by the ruler, a being who calls himself Navarro and claims to be a nice guy who was thrown out of Heaven by a mean and vindictive God. Winter is rescued by a group of angels, and so thus begins a new phase in the Heaven-Hell battle.

As a Spirit, Winter is able to travel in the spirit and material worlds. One of his duties is to bring souls to the Light when the time comes. He meets all sorts of beings, including his predecessors as Spirit. Among the humans brought into the battle is a woman named Amanda. During a time in the material world, she is dragged into a building and brutally raped. While she is unconscious, Navarro shows up and changes the DNA of the fetus to match his own. Amanda is pregnant for two full years, then gives birth to a being that changes, within minutes, from a newborn baby to a full-grown adult with horns, red skin and a tail.

As you might have guessed, this is a very strange novel. Written from several different perspectives, it's intended as a sort of guide for the reader, chosen as the next Spirit. The first of a four-part series, this is also a pretty graphic story, with a considerable amount of violence. It's not a very easy read, but it's a very well done and very satisfying read that is well worth the reader's time.