With suspense in spades, Toby Tate makes his debut in Lilith. Each plot twist is edged with a sense of mystery and thrill and Tate fully realizes the aircraft carrier backdrop. Taking an old tale of and turning it on its head, Tate brings an entertaining story in Lilith.
Before evil had a name, there was LILITH.
Something has come aboard the U.S. Navy’s newest state-of-the-art super carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, something supernatural and as ancient as time itself. And it’s taking over the crew one by one.
Reporter Hunter Singleton and his wife Lisa, guests invited aboard to witness a routine training mission off the coast of North Carolina, soon learn that the CIA is onboard as well, and that some of the ship’s crew are acting irrationally, even violently. When an unexpected monster hurricane slams New York, the ship rushes to assist in the aftermath, and Hunter,
Lisa and the crew are faced with the terrifying realization that whatever has come aboard the Ford must be stopped before it is set free on the streets of Manhattan.
But how do they fight something beyond human comprehension? How do they kill something that may not even be alive?
The clock is ticking…and Time itself is running out.
The prologue of Lilith truly sets the tone and is one of the better prologues I have read. However, this amazing tone sharply takes a turn southward as Tate takes the story to the aircraft carrier. Despite the many sordid tales I have heard from several friends in the Navy, I found the initial chapters to be over sexualized and read not unlike a soap opera. That being stated, Tate took the time to add authentic details such as consistent mentions of characters navigating their way via ladders and references to hitting the head. This initially feels somewhat contrived but as Lilith continues, Tate reaches his stride and effortlessly imbues these naval details.
Character development in Lilith is somewhat disjointed. Though there is a full cast of characters, none of them truly feel multi layered or frankly all that interesting. Instead, they play out as individuals who try too hard to be unique yet ultimately rely upon one feature. Take for instance, the character of Lisa, the wife photographer of mixed ethnic origin who finds out she is pregnant early on in the book. With a background as a park ranger and experience in Kung Fu, she seems to be intriguing on the surface. However, Tate writes the story in a way that makes the reader continuously identify her as the pregnant woman. This is better to the alternative of characters which are forgettable which unfortunately is also a persistent problem The time this is the most glaring is the title character Lilith. Though she makes an epic transition from a mysterious woman to the ultimate villain, she too is destined to forever be associated with her ability to breed.
As in my character descriptions, there is an overwhelming theme of offspring and mating. This theme is not my favorite but at least it is consistent and remains entwined throughout. This cannot be said for the underlying plot. Essential characters fade into the background and a good portion of the book is spent establishing the setting. This is not necessarily a bad thing but it is also not good. This tactic makes some of the plot decisions later on in the book feel somewhat forced and to frankly, come out of nowhere.
Despite all of its downsides, I still found Lilith to be truly entertaining. Like a great B movie, the writing was lacking at times and characters somewhat bland but I continued on experiencing and enjoying it. I am eager to see what else Tate writes and in fact, he writes a beautifully open ending. For an entertaining easy read, you need look no further.
