Review by fayetino -- Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole
Posted: 01 Aug 2017, 12:01
[Following is a volunteer review of "Raven's Peak" by Lincoln Cole.]
3 out of 4 stars
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This book was scary as much as it was exciting. As much as it managed to make my skin crawl it is that type of book that keeps you captivated from start to finish.
Abigail, a demon hunter is on a mission searching for her mentor who sacrificed his life for hers. Haatim is a normal college graduate who loses his faith after the death of his little sister. Their paths collide when Haatim is drawn into a world of demons he always thought never existed and together they go on a mission to save Raven’s Peak, a small town where strange things have been taking place.
There are a lot of things to like about this book. The writing itself was well done from start to finish. The very first page just grabs your attention to the point where you just can’t put it down. It is all in the way the author chooses his words. The sentence “He couldn’t remember when he fell in love with the pain.” Is what got my attention. It’s what made want to know more. There is a lot of mystery from the very beginning and in the end everything came together perfectly. All the pieces from the prologue and the interlude aligned perfectly with the rest of the story which helped in understanding the story better.
I also loved that the author didn’t spare us the gory details. When reading, imagination is a very important tool and these details made everything feel complete and authentic. There was also the perfect balance of humour and seriousness. Despite Abigail taking most things seriously, her teasing managed to lessen some of the horrors taking place. As much as her jokes were ill timed they provided a much needed balance. There was constant action throughout which is to be expected when people are hunting demons. This made the story way better and there was rarely a dull moment. I really liked this because this is what you expect when reading a fantasy novel and the author definitely delivered. In fact most scenes in this book will get your blood pumping and that is an amazing feeling, it just makes the experience more memorable.
There are many things to like here but there are also a few negatives. This is the first book in a series and I was expecting a proper introduction to the main characters. Apart from Haatim, there isn’t a lot I can say about Abigail and Authur. Abigail is very secretive about her life and the one time she opened up she left me with more questions than she answered. From the current events you can tell she is brave, selfless but also arrogant - something Haatim also points out. The same goes for Authur. He is a very important part of the story but there isn’t much about him. From their behaviour, Authur and Abigail could easily be the same person. There might be more revelations in the following books but for a first book, this book was lacking important information.
Religion is clearly a big part of this story. Sadly the religious aspect of it all is just confusing. I still don’t understand if the author was making up a religion of his own or if he was using one of the popular religions and if so which one. This ruined the world building for this story. The religion is what made the demons real, what made this story different and not being able to fully understand it was a bit of a letdown.
I give this book a 3 out of 4 stars because despite the negatives this book was still an awesome read. There is a lot of good in this book to keep you interested and by the end your hands will be itching for the sequel. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy books. This book might be scarier than most fantasy books but you won’t be able to put it down no matter how scary it gets. It’s just that good.
******
Raven's Peak
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
This book was scary as much as it was exciting. As much as it managed to make my skin crawl it is that type of book that keeps you captivated from start to finish.
Abigail, a demon hunter is on a mission searching for her mentor who sacrificed his life for hers. Haatim is a normal college graduate who loses his faith after the death of his little sister. Their paths collide when Haatim is drawn into a world of demons he always thought never existed and together they go on a mission to save Raven’s Peak, a small town where strange things have been taking place.
There are a lot of things to like about this book. The writing itself was well done from start to finish. The very first page just grabs your attention to the point where you just can’t put it down. It is all in the way the author chooses his words. The sentence “He couldn’t remember when he fell in love with the pain.” Is what got my attention. It’s what made want to know more. There is a lot of mystery from the very beginning and in the end everything came together perfectly. All the pieces from the prologue and the interlude aligned perfectly with the rest of the story which helped in understanding the story better.
I also loved that the author didn’t spare us the gory details. When reading, imagination is a very important tool and these details made everything feel complete and authentic. There was also the perfect balance of humour and seriousness. Despite Abigail taking most things seriously, her teasing managed to lessen some of the horrors taking place. As much as her jokes were ill timed they provided a much needed balance. There was constant action throughout which is to be expected when people are hunting demons. This made the story way better and there was rarely a dull moment. I really liked this because this is what you expect when reading a fantasy novel and the author definitely delivered. In fact most scenes in this book will get your blood pumping and that is an amazing feeling, it just makes the experience more memorable.
There are many things to like here but there are also a few negatives. This is the first book in a series and I was expecting a proper introduction to the main characters. Apart from Haatim, there isn’t a lot I can say about Abigail and Authur. Abigail is very secretive about her life and the one time she opened up she left me with more questions than she answered. From the current events you can tell she is brave, selfless but also arrogant - something Haatim also points out. The same goes for Authur. He is a very important part of the story but there isn’t much about him. From their behaviour, Authur and Abigail could easily be the same person. There might be more revelations in the following books but for a first book, this book was lacking important information.
Religion is clearly a big part of this story. Sadly the religious aspect of it all is just confusing. I still don’t understand if the author was making up a religion of his own or if he was using one of the popular religions and if so which one. This ruined the world building for this story. The religion is what made the demons real, what made this story different and not being able to fully understand it was a bit of a letdown.
I give this book a 3 out of 4 stars because despite the negatives this book was still an awesome read. There is a lot of good in this book to keep you interested and by the end your hands will be itching for the sequel. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy books. This book might be scarier than most fantasy books but you won’t be able to put it down no matter how scary it gets. It’s just that good.
******
Raven's Peak
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like fayetino's review? Post a comment saying so!