Review by Barbilo -- Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole
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Barbilo
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- Latest Review: "Raven's Peak" by Lincoln Cole
Review by Barbilo -- Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole
[Following is a volunteer review of "Raven's Peak" by Lincoln Cole.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Raven’s Peak is the first book in a paranormal trilogy authored by Lincoln Cole, a world traveler based in Columbus. In Raven’s peak, Lincoln introduces us to a world of demons and those that hunt them, dubbed Hunters. The title Raven’s Peak is derived from a town within the fiction book of the same name. This book is the first part in a series entitled World on Fire by Lincoln Cole.
The story begins with a key character called Arthur; a Reverend harboring regret from a troubled past. His guilt compels him to take on a shadow mission which consequently drags him into the bowels of hell. His surviving adopted daughter, Abigail Dressler, makes it her life mission to rescue her father without tarnishing his legacy. The main character is at great odds because the organization she works for, the Ninth Circle, consider her weak and a liability. When Abigail goes below the radar and coincidentally gets acquainted with Haatim Arison, a grieving university graduate, they become a target for dark forces. Together, they make it to Raven’s Peak town where they find a fresh madness has bound the locals. Abigail and Haatim must fight the demon causing madness before the town is completely destroyed.
My favorite part of the book is the author’s representation of People of Color and Young Adults. Lincoln focuses on character development to advance the plot. This shows in the way the Characters act naturally even though they do not conform to the cliché of young adults in novels being predominantly white, naïve and accidental heroes. The former qualities are not bad for any given story per se, yet Lincoln builds a new standard in describing the emotional persona of Characters over physical appearance with great tact. The story portrays human traits such as tiredness, lack of trust, and failure. This is refreshing in a readership world bogged down with YA Characters who forget to react in a human way.
A quality that could be improved in the book is the overuse of colons as stressors. This happens throughout the book. The dynamic of the story is also one sided as the reader only gets to read the angle of the main characters. The majority of supporting characters are villain-ified.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I found this book to be an easy read and entertaining regardless of one’s stance on religion or demons. The writing style captures the five senses because the scenes are descriptive and attention is paid to detail. I rate this book 3 instead of 4 stars because there are too many loose ends in the story; a pit fall for many trilogies. The readers are left on a cliffhanger intentionally; therefore we don’t witness the main characters growth which will presumably happen in the second book. Another factor is we do not see the Point of View of the supporting characters who are also drivers in the story. This avoids beautiful complexities that this story has potential for if readers were given opportunity to make their own judgment on whether the main character is a rebel or truly a hero in the making, without being led to the conclusion.
This novel will strike a chord with YA fantasy readers. A quality I appreciated in the book that other readers may not is the lack of soppy romance. The two young main characters are not forced to kiss, thank goodness. The author allowed emotions of trust and confidence to build in normal characters, and did not go the Twilight way by having the female character be too weak and focused on romance. The main leads did have chemistry and perhaps the second book will make the kiss happen.
Lincoln Cole wrote Raven’s Peak paranormal fiction in an artistic way. The Characters are relatable, and we are introduced to a world of demons and demon Hunters without leaving the scope of the world as we know it. There are many loose ends in the story because it ends abruptly. Still, there is much to enjoy in the first book of the World on Fire series.
******
Raven's Peak
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3 out of 4 stars
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Raven’s Peak is the first book in a paranormal trilogy authored by Lincoln Cole, a world traveler based in Columbus. In Raven’s peak, Lincoln introduces us to a world of demons and those that hunt them, dubbed Hunters. The title Raven’s Peak is derived from a town within the fiction book of the same name. This book is the first part in a series entitled World on Fire by Lincoln Cole.
The story begins with a key character called Arthur; a Reverend harboring regret from a troubled past. His guilt compels him to take on a shadow mission which consequently drags him into the bowels of hell. His surviving adopted daughter, Abigail Dressler, makes it her life mission to rescue her father without tarnishing his legacy. The main character is at great odds because the organization she works for, the Ninth Circle, consider her weak and a liability. When Abigail goes below the radar and coincidentally gets acquainted with Haatim Arison, a grieving university graduate, they become a target for dark forces. Together, they make it to Raven’s Peak town where they find a fresh madness has bound the locals. Abigail and Haatim must fight the demon causing madness before the town is completely destroyed.
My favorite part of the book is the author’s representation of People of Color and Young Adults. Lincoln focuses on character development to advance the plot. This shows in the way the Characters act naturally even though they do not conform to the cliché of young adults in novels being predominantly white, naïve and accidental heroes. The former qualities are not bad for any given story per se, yet Lincoln builds a new standard in describing the emotional persona of Characters over physical appearance with great tact. The story portrays human traits such as tiredness, lack of trust, and failure. This is refreshing in a readership world bogged down with YA Characters who forget to react in a human way.
A quality that could be improved in the book is the overuse of colons as stressors. This happens throughout the book. The dynamic of the story is also one sided as the reader only gets to read the angle of the main characters. The majority of supporting characters are villain-ified.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I found this book to be an easy read and entertaining regardless of one’s stance on religion or demons. The writing style captures the five senses because the scenes are descriptive and attention is paid to detail. I rate this book 3 instead of 4 stars because there are too many loose ends in the story; a pit fall for many trilogies. The readers are left on a cliffhanger intentionally; therefore we don’t witness the main characters growth which will presumably happen in the second book. Another factor is we do not see the Point of View of the supporting characters who are also drivers in the story. This avoids beautiful complexities that this story has potential for if readers were given opportunity to make their own judgment on whether the main character is a rebel or truly a hero in the making, without being led to the conclusion.
This novel will strike a chord with YA fantasy readers. A quality I appreciated in the book that other readers may not is the lack of soppy romance. The two young main characters are not forced to kiss, thank goodness. The author allowed emotions of trust and confidence to build in normal characters, and did not go the Twilight way by having the female character be too weak and focused on romance. The main leads did have chemistry and perhaps the second book will make the kiss happen.
Lincoln Cole wrote Raven’s Peak paranormal fiction in an artistic way. The Characters are relatable, and we are introduced to a world of demons and demon Hunters without leaving the scope of the world as we know it. There are many loose ends in the story because it ends abruptly. Still, there is much to enjoy in the first book of the World on Fire series.
******
Raven's Peak
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Barbilo's review? Post a comment saying so!
Latest Review: "Raven's Peak" by Lincoln Cole
