4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Raven’s Peak is a horror fiction book written by Lincoln Cole.
Abigail, a demon hunter, is sent on a mission to a secluded village called Raven’s Peak on behalf of the Council —an association responsible of fighting the disasters caused by the Ninth Circle. Six months earlier, Abigail was possessed by a demon and rescued by her mentor, an influential priest named Arthur. In order to save her, Arthur sacrificed his soul to the demon, who is what Abigail wants to take revenge on in order to claim Arthur back. On her way to her mission in Raven’s Peak, Abigail encounters Haatim, the son of a powerful member of the Council, although he has been kept uninformed of this his whole life. When Abigail saves him from becoming the next victim of a demon, Haatim is initially reluctant to accept the reality of the supernatural events happening around him. Gradually, however, he becomes an ally of Abigail and decides to join her in the fight against evil.
The story abruptly ends at a turning point, which is marked as the end of ‘Book One’ and suggests further development. I would love to be able to read how it continues.
I really enjoyed this book for both its content and style. First of all, the story touches upon some universal themes, such as the influence a father can have in one’s life, the eternal struggle between good and evil, and the faith in God. I think the author does a great job exploring the extent to which each one of these themes can have a positive or negative influence on people. For instance, the Council’s hunt for demons is officially regarded as “a good cause”, even though its members end up punishing sinners in inhuman ways. Likewise, the relationship with God is not always an idyllic one, as it is questioned by the same believers, such as Arthur and Haatim, throughout the story.
I think the most successful aspect of the book consists in its well-rounded characters, who come to life thanks to the indirect free speech and realistic dialogues they adopt. The latter, in particular, is a great technique which is useful to present background facts directly through the characters —instead of having the reader rely on an external narrator. A major advantage having such strong characters is enabling the reader to empathise with them, thus creating an emotional bond between her and the plot.
The descriptions of both characters and places are synthetic but spot-on, although scene setting feels rushed at times. This happens, for instance, when characters are moving quickly, which might make the reader lose her sense of topography and make her go back a paragraph or two. Yet, this is never a real obstacle to the understanding of the action. The style is smooth, informal and subtly witty, thus making Raven’s Peak a quick and engaging read.
My opinion of the book is strongly positive, although I wouldn’t recommend it to those who don’t like horror, as it does often get quite gory and scary. Apart from a couple of typos, Raven’s Peak seems to have been professionally edited and therefore deserves 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Raven's Peak
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Rettiaj's review? Post a comment saying so!
