Review by hebcandle -- Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole
Posted: 10 Aug 2017, 19:08
[Following is a volunteer review of "Raven's Peak" by Lincoln Cole.]
3 out of 4 stars
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Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole is a supernatural fiction that focuses on the small community of Raven's peak in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Abigail Dressler is a young woman, a hunter, used to keeping people safe from the unseen, unnatural evils that exists in the world. Haatim Arison is a young theologian blogger who knows many things about the spiritual realm, but gave up his faith after experiencing terrible lost several months ago. But now things that Haatim knows doesn't exists are after him and it is only with Abigail's help that they might figure out what they can do to keep Haatim safe and to solve the issues happening to the innocent people of the Smoky Mountains. In the process, Abigail and Haatim learn about their own strengths and weaknesses and they they have more in common than they thought.
This book hooked me from the beginning with an intense prologue involving Arthur, a man who is very important to Abigail. The first chapter sends us ahead a couple of months to Phoenix, AZ where Haatim is staying while trying to deal with his grief. Abigail and Haatim's paths cross due to what seems like an accidental meeting during this rough patch of Haatim's life. It's seems like an easy gig that's come at just the right time, but Haatim quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Abigail is the tough girl done right. She's well-trained, athletic and graceful. She knows how to handle herself and weapons, which she keeps close at hand. She also knows when to avoid a fight and has both street smarts and common sense. Haatim seems more than a little hapless and helpless much of the time. We see him get overwhelmed fairly easily and react strongly to pressing situations. He also is kind of a "Captain Obvious" but he has his own shining moments.
I was excited to read this book when I realized that it dealt with the supernatural and it was set in my home turf of the Smoky Mountains. But I also take small issue with the author misspelling it as "Smokey Mountains" instead of Smoky. I'm a quick reader and made myself slow down to read and fully enjoy this book. The plot moved pretty quickly and I enjoyed the characters. I found Abigail easy to identify with during both her strong and weak moments, I was able to emotionally connect to her character. I like Haatim's character as well, but he didn't come off as a 20-something adult to me, he's kind of clumsy and reminds me of a teenage boy. There are certain verbs I kept noticing being associated with his actions: "staggered", "tripping", "stumbling", and "shuddering"; all on just page 84! Abigail though, is regularly associated with action and movement like, "exploded into motion" (pg. 82).
The book was very entertaining and I stayed absorbed into the story. It was very difficult for me to not consume the book in one day. So I would rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. I deducted a star due to the misspelling of the word Smoky and because the story was a little confusing the first couple of chapters. There are several allusions to a large backstory/history of what is happening in the book, but not much is explained in the story. I did my best to fill in the gaps with what hints were dropped throughout, but it did make some things a little hard to follow in the beginning. There was also a sentence or portions of sentences that seemed odd "...he saw the squat roof of a building in the distance front of him" (pg. 120). I could tell if that was intentional or not and my mind kept inserting "in".
Another thing that stands out to me is there is an air of...prejudice? Abigail and Haatim go the Smoky Mountains and make a lot of assumptions about the people based upon a quick judgement made of the town and some bits of conversation they hear. I understand certain observations about small, out-of-the-way towns with conversation like the following:
"It feels disconnected," Haatim said, "Like we aren't in America anymore."
"I know," Abigail said, "Like you left the twenty-first century and traveled back to the fifties."
"Yeah," he said with a chuckle. "Like that." (pg. 136)
I'm not sure if it is just part of the personalities of the characters or if it's the author's opinion that leads to some of the things Abigail and Haatim say about the people of the area on like on page 140: "She [Abigail] doubted any of the men had ever been to college, and they had a sort of tribal aversion to people who did." I know it's a common sentiment since I hear it from people who aren't from around here fairly often, but even people who work jobs like lower management/shift leaders at our local fast food joints are required to have at least a Bachelor's degree in my little town. I laughed at many of the stereotypes since, yes, there are people who are like that but I think they are the exception. But I think these issues are pretty minor, I was more upset by the spelling!
Overall I would recommend this book to people who enjoy quick reads, fiction or fantasy that focuses on the supernatural. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm ready to read more of the World on Fire series.
******
Raven's Peak
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
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Raven's Peak by Lincoln Cole is a supernatural fiction that focuses on the small community of Raven's peak in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Abigail Dressler is a young woman, a hunter, used to keeping people safe from the unseen, unnatural evils that exists in the world. Haatim Arison is a young theologian blogger who knows many things about the spiritual realm, but gave up his faith after experiencing terrible lost several months ago. But now things that Haatim knows doesn't exists are after him and it is only with Abigail's help that they might figure out what they can do to keep Haatim safe and to solve the issues happening to the innocent people of the Smoky Mountains. In the process, Abigail and Haatim learn about their own strengths and weaknesses and they they have more in common than they thought.
This book hooked me from the beginning with an intense prologue involving Arthur, a man who is very important to Abigail. The first chapter sends us ahead a couple of months to Phoenix, AZ where Haatim is staying while trying to deal with his grief. Abigail and Haatim's paths cross due to what seems like an accidental meeting during this rough patch of Haatim's life. It's seems like an easy gig that's come at just the right time, but Haatim quickly discovers that he is in over his head.
Abigail is the tough girl done right. She's well-trained, athletic and graceful. She knows how to handle herself and weapons, which she keeps close at hand. She also knows when to avoid a fight and has both street smarts and common sense. Haatim seems more than a little hapless and helpless much of the time. We see him get overwhelmed fairly easily and react strongly to pressing situations. He also is kind of a "Captain Obvious" but he has his own shining moments.
I was excited to read this book when I realized that it dealt with the supernatural and it was set in my home turf of the Smoky Mountains. But I also take small issue with the author misspelling it as "Smokey Mountains" instead of Smoky. I'm a quick reader and made myself slow down to read and fully enjoy this book. The plot moved pretty quickly and I enjoyed the characters. I found Abigail easy to identify with during both her strong and weak moments, I was able to emotionally connect to her character. I like Haatim's character as well, but he didn't come off as a 20-something adult to me, he's kind of clumsy and reminds me of a teenage boy. There are certain verbs I kept noticing being associated with his actions: "staggered", "tripping", "stumbling", and "shuddering"; all on just page 84! Abigail though, is regularly associated with action and movement like, "exploded into motion" (pg. 82).
The book was very entertaining and I stayed absorbed into the story. It was very difficult for me to not consume the book in one day. So I would rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. I deducted a star due to the misspelling of the word Smoky and because the story was a little confusing the first couple of chapters. There are several allusions to a large backstory/history of what is happening in the book, but not much is explained in the story. I did my best to fill in the gaps with what hints were dropped throughout, but it did make some things a little hard to follow in the beginning. There was also a sentence or portions of sentences that seemed odd "...he saw the squat roof of a building in the distance front of him" (pg. 120). I could tell if that was intentional or not and my mind kept inserting "in".
Another thing that stands out to me is there is an air of...prejudice? Abigail and Haatim go the Smoky Mountains and make a lot of assumptions about the people based upon a quick judgement made of the town and some bits of conversation they hear. I understand certain observations about small, out-of-the-way towns with conversation like the following:
"It feels disconnected," Haatim said, "Like we aren't in America anymore."
"I know," Abigail said, "Like you left the twenty-first century and traveled back to the fifties."
"Yeah," he said with a chuckle. "Like that." (pg. 136)
I'm not sure if it is just part of the personalities of the characters or if it's the author's opinion that leads to some of the things Abigail and Haatim say about the people of the area on like on page 140: "She [Abigail] doubted any of the men had ever been to college, and they had a sort of tribal aversion to people who did." I know it's a common sentiment since I hear it from people who aren't from around here fairly often, but even people who work jobs like lower management/shift leaders at our local fast food joints are required to have at least a Bachelor's degree in my little town. I laughed at many of the stereotypes since, yes, there are people who are like that but I think they are the exception. But I think these issues are pretty minor, I was more upset by the spelling!
Overall I would recommend this book to people who enjoy quick reads, fiction or fantasy that focuses on the supernatural. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm ready to read more of the World on Fire series.
******
Raven's Peak
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like hebcandle's review? Post a comment saying so!