Review by Sparrowlina -- Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole
Posted: 18 Apr 2017, 15:08
[Following is a volunteer review of "Raven's Peak" by Lincoln Cole.]
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Raven’s Peak by Lincoln Cole is a paranormal thriller sure to appeal to fans of Supernatural and readers of urban fantasy. Just on that note, I had a feeling I was in for a fun read. This book has all the elements that make for great thrillers and fantasies: good backstory, fast pace, developed fantasy world, and intriguing characters. On top of that, it has deep themes on personal redemption and both the loss and restoration of faith, whether that is faith in God, humanity, or oneself. I give this book a solid 3 out of 4 stars. While it isn’t perfect, forcing me to give it a lower score, the story itself is so well done that it deserves to have a high rating.
Raven’s Peak is a story about two very different people: one a Hunter, Abigail, intent on rescuing her father figure from literal hell and one a recent theology graduate, Haatim, who lost his faith in a good god after the death of his teenage sister. After a seemingly paranoid man hires Haatim to follow Abigail, who just happens to be following this man, Haatim finds himself drawn into a world of demons and demon hunters. As the demons’ chosen vessel for one of the biggest demons and having a connection much closer to this hidden world than he ever knew, Haatim needs Abigail’s protection. Abigail in turn needs to stop the demons from wreaking havoc on their world while striving to win back her reputation among the Council after she was possessed by a demon six months ago. They are both in a mess a lot bigger than they realize, and it’s just a matter of time until they understand just how far in the thick of it they are. The only way they will get through it alive and whole is to help each other.
Like all stories, Raven’s Peak has elements I loved and elements I didn’t much care for. The biggest thing I didn’t like was the prologue. First, I did not feel that it was necessary and that it could have been worked into the story in a more elegant way. That in itself made it difficult to get through. Beyond that, I felt like it took away from the suspense that could have been in the body of the story (also it was 10% of the entire book with a character that isn’t one of our protagonists). Besides the unnecessary feeling of the prologue, I did not care for the portrayal of “the Reverend.” I’ll admit that he grew on me a bit as I read, but the prologue started him with negative points and it was only by seeing him through Abigail’s eyes that I had any care for the character at all. Personally, I am not a fan of this kind of trope where the once faithful religious leader is corrupted and becomes demonic. I don’t care for it, and I feel like it is overused at this point. However, this is a very small portion of the book itself, so it did not majorly influence my enjoyment of the story.
My favorite part of the story was the relationship between Abigail and Haatim. She is entertaining while still being serious and intense, particularly in her interactions with him. She kept the pace moving, and she kept me interested in the story. On top of that, she has a pretty incredible backstory that I found captivating and mysterious, a backstory I wish had been woven together a bit more to give me more information. And, another bonus for readers looking for diverse main characters, Abigail is a woman of color. Haatim’s interactions with her are just as entertaining, and the two have a great chemistry together that grows stronger with each page. The development is phenomenal, and if I continue the series, I will be really interested in seeing how their relationship continues to build.
This book unfortunately had numerous grammatical and spelling errors (such as spelling the Smoky Mountains as “Smokey Mountains” and inconsistently following the rule of when to capitalize the word “mom”) scattered throughout and several other pieces of writing that did not appeal to me. There are a few areas where I believe the pacing could have been better, including a chase scene toward the middle of the book. There are also a number of page breaks that seem unnecessary; I assume they are to add drama, but if that is the case, then a chapter break would have served the purpose just as well, if not better. Additionally, at some times it was difficult to determine the tone of the story; it seemed to fluctuate between serious and comedic within a single page. Some of the sentence structure was a bit awkward, and there was a lot of telling the readers what the characters were feeling and thinking instead of showing us. In my opinion, that’s pretty boring writing, and I found myself pulled out of the story several times just due to the writing style.
Luckily, these points did not much detract from the story itself, and continuing to read was easy. The plot was engaging and the story was entertaining. There are also plenty of surprises along the way that I didn’t anticipate, and that’s always thrilling in a world inundated with predictable fiction. I love it when things start to come together and make sense, and Raven’s Peak certainly didn’t disappoint. I actually wanted to keep reading and didn’t want to take a break. Especially since this type of story does not usually appeal to me, I think that speaks volumes for the quality of the story.
I also greatly enjoyed seeing how the author addressed the themes of the story and how the main characters responded within the scope of those themes. We see a dramatic development in Haatim’s opinions, a huge growth in how he sees the good and bad in the world, which I think was handled incredibly well and had a large impact on the development of his character. Abigail also developed throughout the story as she tried to redeem herself and prove her ability as a Hunter. She is faced with a number of sketchy choices and tempting propositions that trip her up early in the story, but as she grows, she sticks to her values and beliefs, despite the consequences.
Overall, this is an engaging story with mysterious ties, surprises for the reader, and fantastic character development. While it does have its issues with editing throughout the book, the story itself more than makes up for these problems. Any reader with interest in urban fantasy, demon stories, or stories about faith and redemption should pick this one up without hesitation.
******
Raven's Peak
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Sparrowlina's review? Post a comment saying so!
3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Raven’s Peak by Lincoln Cole is a paranormal thriller sure to appeal to fans of Supernatural and readers of urban fantasy. Just on that note, I had a feeling I was in for a fun read. This book has all the elements that make for great thrillers and fantasies: good backstory, fast pace, developed fantasy world, and intriguing characters. On top of that, it has deep themes on personal redemption and both the loss and restoration of faith, whether that is faith in God, humanity, or oneself. I give this book a solid 3 out of 4 stars. While it isn’t perfect, forcing me to give it a lower score, the story itself is so well done that it deserves to have a high rating.
Raven’s Peak is a story about two very different people: one a Hunter, Abigail, intent on rescuing her father figure from literal hell and one a recent theology graduate, Haatim, who lost his faith in a good god after the death of his teenage sister. After a seemingly paranoid man hires Haatim to follow Abigail, who just happens to be following this man, Haatim finds himself drawn into a world of demons and demon hunters. As the demons’ chosen vessel for one of the biggest demons and having a connection much closer to this hidden world than he ever knew, Haatim needs Abigail’s protection. Abigail in turn needs to stop the demons from wreaking havoc on their world while striving to win back her reputation among the Council after she was possessed by a demon six months ago. They are both in a mess a lot bigger than they realize, and it’s just a matter of time until they understand just how far in the thick of it they are. The only way they will get through it alive and whole is to help each other.
Like all stories, Raven’s Peak has elements I loved and elements I didn’t much care for. The biggest thing I didn’t like was the prologue. First, I did not feel that it was necessary and that it could have been worked into the story in a more elegant way. That in itself made it difficult to get through. Beyond that, I felt like it took away from the suspense that could have been in the body of the story (also it was 10% of the entire book with a character that isn’t one of our protagonists). Besides the unnecessary feeling of the prologue, I did not care for the portrayal of “the Reverend.” I’ll admit that he grew on me a bit as I read, but the prologue started him with negative points and it was only by seeing him through Abigail’s eyes that I had any care for the character at all. Personally, I am not a fan of this kind of trope where the once faithful religious leader is corrupted and becomes demonic. I don’t care for it, and I feel like it is overused at this point. However, this is a very small portion of the book itself, so it did not majorly influence my enjoyment of the story.
My favorite part of the story was the relationship between Abigail and Haatim. She is entertaining while still being serious and intense, particularly in her interactions with him. She kept the pace moving, and she kept me interested in the story. On top of that, she has a pretty incredible backstory that I found captivating and mysterious, a backstory I wish had been woven together a bit more to give me more information. And, another bonus for readers looking for diverse main characters, Abigail is a woman of color. Haatim’s interactions with her are just as entertaining, and the two have a great chemistry together that grows stronger with each page. The development is phenomenal, and if I continue the series, I will be really interested in seeing how their relationship continues to build.
This book unfortunately had numerous grammatical and spelling errors (such as spelling the Smoky Mountains as “Smokey Mountains” and inconsistently following the rule of when to capitalize the word “mom”) scattered throughout and several other pieces of writing that did not appeal to me. There are a few areas where I believe the pacing could have been better, including a chase scene toward the middle of the book. There are also a number of page breaks that seem unnecessary; I assume they are to add drama, but if that is the case, then a chapter break would have served the purpose just as well, if not better. Additionally, at some times it was difficult to determine the tone of the story; it seemed to fluctuate between serious and comedic within a single page. Some of the sentence structure was a bit awkward, and there was a lot of telling the readers what the characters were feeling and thinking instead of showing us. In my opinion, that’s pretty boring writing, and I found myself pulled out of the story several times just due to the writing style.
Luckily, these points did not much detract from the story itself, and continuing to read was easy. The plot was engaging and the story was entertaining. There are also plenty of surprises along the way that I didn’t anticipate, and that’s always thrilling in a world inundated with predictable fiction. I love it when things start to come together and make sense, and Raven’s Peak certainly didn’t disappoint. I actually wanted to keep reading and didn’t want to take a break. Especially since this type of story does not usually appeal to me, I think that speaks volumes for the quality of the story.
I also greatly enjoyed seeing how the author addressed the themes of the story and how the main characters responded within the scope of those themes. We see a dramatic development in Haatim’s opinions, a huge growth in how he sees the good and bad in the world, which I think was handled incredibly well and had a large impact on the development of his character. Abigail also developed throughout the story as she tried to redeem herself and prove her ability as a Hunter. She is faced with a number of sketchy choices and tempting propositions that trip her up early in the story, but as she grows, she sticks to her values and beliefs, despite the consequences.
Overall, this is an engaging story with mysterious ties, surprises for the reader, and fantastic character development. While it does have its issues with editing throughout the book, the story itself more than makes up for these problems. Any reader with interest in urban fantasy, demon stories, or stories about faith and redemption should pick this one up without hesitation.
******
Raven's Peak
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Sparrowlina's review? Post a comment saying so!