REALJimBob

This feels like a transition story to be honest. Nothing much happens. Well, that's kinda unfair, lots of stuff happens I suppose, but nothing comes to any conclusion. Even in a series of stories like these, there has to be some conclusions in each story to make it a progression. Kate and Daniel are running Heaven and Hell respectively now they are gods. Kate seems to be having an easier time of it – at least her minions are being helpful and not trying to overthrow her. Daniel is struggling more. A lot more. But it's OK because Kate is cutting him pretty much zero slack (what did she ever see in him?). I can see the characters that Lafferty is trying to portray here: Kate is doing things the proper way and Daniel is a shortcut seeking corner cutter. Apparently when you're gods there is no excuse for shortcuts – at least in the opinion of the one having the easier time of things. It doesn't help Daniel's case that his shortcuts go drastically wrong, but it's not like he planned it that way.

At the end of the previous story the Earth was destroyed, causing a massive influx of souls to the heavens and hells. The missing Earth though is causing an imbalance in the universe and Kate and Daniel are charged with recreating the Earth ASAP. Recreating the Earth seems to also create three continents and a whole new religion. And this is where things start to get confusing. There's a new religion on Earth, plus all the gods in Kate's head, plus everybody else that they keep running into. The various heavens and hells appear to be running into each other. I was never sure quite how deliberate this confusion was. If it was something that Lafferty was going for as part of a transition from the first half of the story to the second; or if this was just the middle-story-confusion that often seems to hit otherwise excellent series?