A Satan Carol [Book Review]

Genre - Horror/"Speculative Fiction"
Year Published - 2011
Length - 228 [digital] pages *Read on my Nook
Written by Alan S. Kessler

Rating: 2 Skulls

Plot Summary:
What does the devil really want?
Nostalgic for the Inquisition and plague, Satan feels neglected by the modern world that no longer blames him for disease and death. He plans to create a new genesis, a place where people will love him. 
For that, his son needs just the right soul, and there is one - unique, powerful, able to heal.
To get it, Satan has a plan that begins in Ireland in the famine year, 1848, and 180 years later he traps a young girl and her family in demonic forces pushing them to kill.

Review:
Generally, I would not normally read a book about Satan attempting to establish himself a kingdom/world where it's people love/worship him, however I completely misunderstood the author's own description, in which he stated, "A Satan Carol is a horror story, with a message for those who want to understand God's apparent absence at the intersection of free will & choice. It is a story, with religious themes written for a secular reader. It is, in the end, a tale about family values - even if they originate in hell."

I completely missed everything in that description! 
I do not want to say that I was misled, I just think that upon reading that, I got excited to read a really good Christian-Fiction tale (along the lines of Frank Peretti) however that is not what I got at all. :(

Aside from the disappointment of not meeting my expectation, I've come to understand that I am just not a fan of "speculative fiction" (is this the same as "bizarro fiction"?!?)
If you are a fan, then by all means, check this book out, you may enjoy it far more than I did.

To me, the book just seemed to go all over the place - jumping back & forth in time, between realities/worlds, etc. - difficult to read, in my opinion.

This is not a knock on Kessler's writing, which is actually quite good. He created some interesting characters and storylines, it just seemed extremely disorganized, which, at times, made reading the book seem a chore (hence my rating)
I enjoy reading books that are hard to put down - this one is not one of those...

Jason