Review by Priya12345 -- Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole

[Priya12345]

[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 by Lincoln Cole is the first part of the 'World on Fire' series. This review considers this as a stand alone novel.

This is a supernatural thriller, based on the premise that there are demons trying to enter this world. A select group of individuals, the Council, protect the world from these attempts. We're introduced to the damage from demonic possession when the Reverend Arthur, a legendary hunter, frees his adopted daughter Abigail Dressler from demonic possession and then disappears.

The story then picks up a few months later when Haatim Arison, an unemployed religious studies student is tricked into following Abigail as part of a plot by the Ninth Circle, a demonic organisation. Abigail and Haatim work together to escape and follow some leads to find Arthur. They need to make a detour through the small town of Raven's Peak, where the Council has a recce assignment for Abigail.
The assignment changes completely as they battle a powerful demon, risking their lives to save the town from being completely destroyed.

I rated this book three out of four stars. I liked the structure of the story. The author introduces us to the world of demons through the dialogue when Abigail explains their existence to Haatim. This was a good way to answer all my questions about this world, as they were the same questions posed by Haatim. The plot used different points of view to take the story forward. It kept the narrative to a good pace, and helped to learn more about the individual characters.

There was a stark contrast to the main characters. Abigail had trained to fight demons, yet was possessed by a demon. Haatim had studied religion and demonology, yet lost his faith. It's an interesting equation where Abigail is physically more proficient and has to save Haatim, but also respects him and confides in him. There is also a contrast in the relationship with their parents. Abigail is looking for her adopted father, Haatim does not want to speak with his dad.

I did not give this four out of four stars because of gaps in editing and the uneven character development. There were a few common grammatical errors - an example is 'he could care less'. There were also many awkward phrases - 'but something he did for the fun of it', 'eight meters in diameter with a four-foot-high ceiling', 'considering how novice he was'. These might be grammatically correct, but I found them distracting. I would pause in the story because I'd trip over one of these lines. These phrases detracted from the clear prose style of the story.

I had thought this book was about the journey of Abigail and Haatim, but at times it seemed to be Abigail's story, with Haatim as her sidekick. There is a significant degree of background on Abigail and her connection with Arthur and the Council. There is not as much focus on Haatim. I found this gap caused a few sections to drag, mostly those told from Haatim's point of view.

I would recommend this novel to fans of supernatural thrillers. It is a believable story with engaging characters. I will be interested to read the next book of the series.

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Raven's Peak
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