Review by J Gordon -- Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole

[J Gordon]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Raven's Peak" by Lincoln Cole.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Raven's Peak made a believer out of me. In the first place, I don't trust trilogies; in the second, few writers can convince me that their characters in horror novels exist on the ground, like you and I do. Lincoln Cole removed my doubt on both counts. I give it 3 out of 4 for creating a believable conflict, quick pacing and striking a balance between suspense and horror.

I forgot this was a trilogy until the last page - this was because the writing was effective, including the right blend of humor to keep the tone from becoming dark. And I became genuinely interested in the two main characters, Haatim and Amanda, whose journey together made this feel like a "buddy film" - where two distinct people go on a journey, figuratively or literally handcuffed, and need to cooperate in order to save each other and themselves despite their differences. And their differences are substantial.

Amanda is the survivor of a cult and a demon possession who, while investigating unusual activity for a secret society, goes rogue to track her missing mentor Arthur. Haatim is a journalist and blogger who, while following someone who hires him to take photographs, becomes unwittingly involved in spiritual warfare when Amanda crosses his path. The two must form a temporary trust in order to remain safe from physical and spiritual attack, and as they travel cross-country their trust becomes solid while they encounter human and demonic opposition.

At first I was skeptical, but after wading waist-deep into the mayhem of Raven's Peak I began to enjoy swimming in it, taking measured strokes by the time Haatim meets Abigail. He is wary of her at first:

Not looking up, she pushed another plate of food toward him. It had bacon, eggs, and a piece of toast on it.

“Eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

 “Wasn’t an offer,” she said, taking another bite of her toast.

Cole employs a readable style that drew me forward, as in this sentence when the mysterious "Reverend" is transported from a dungeon: "A solitary elevator bridged the prison to the world above, guarded by six men, but that wasn’t where they took him."

The story really takes off as Haatim, a three-dimensional character, is added: a man concerned with violent crime - a blogger, with his own internal conflict. His own family demons are exposed in a Skype call from his mother. She tells him his father misses him, but has a hard time expressing his emotions.

"You use that excuse for him far too often,” Haatim said. “It would be
different if he showed me or Nida any affection. Instead, he was always away."

We learn that like Arthur, the mentor whom Abigail is tracking, he has recently grieved the loss of a family member, and has a conflicted view of the God who allowed such death at an early age.

"I know,” she said. “You should stick with that blog, just not as a crime journalist. You have some real talent, and that other stuff you write about God and forgiveness is really interesting.”

I became interested in the parallel journeys Abigail and Haatim were on, both having to wrestle with memories of powerful mentors, deep loss, and spiritual uncertainties.

Lincoln Cole has the ability to make ordinarily incredible events and processes seem believable. For instance, in Colorado Abigail is able connect mentally with a child through a "link" - an open sore on her forehead. The link is a channel to one of her own memories and triggers a physically painful reaction, but the child remains safe.

The humor appears regularly in dialogue and details to keep the gruesome action and demonic possessions from overpowering the partner story at the heart of this novel. I laughed when they accidentally purchased expired food on shelves in a small town general store.

Cole uses the detective-buddy genre framework to move this pair of seekers across state lines, as they learn a little more from every encounter. Both members of the team lend something to the partnership, which could not succeed otherwise.

But she had to try. She might only have an hour, and this might be an insane plan, but she couldn’t just stand by and let these people be burned alive. Arthur had taught her that when good people stood by and watched others die, then they died with them.

The trail leads them to Raven's Peak, a ghost town, for a sort of showdown. During a brief lull in the action, Haatim has time for reflection which I read as an earnest, credible faith statement: he believes in Abigail: "She might be arrogant and off-putting at times, but she was the bravest and most selfless human being he’d ever met." For me, this was the crux of the novel. Demons or no demons, angels or ghosts, when we see a living embodiment of sacrifice, trust, or love, we are bound to obey or take notice.

Although this edition has at least 4 minor proofing errors, they don't interfere; I was confused by an epilogue that was placed after the author's bio, a place usually reserved for a sample of forthcoming releases: yet this one ends "End of Part I"

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Raven's Peak
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