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

[jenjayfromSA]

[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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These days the trend seems to be for kick-ass heroines, and that’s certainly true of Raven’s Peak by Lincoln Cole, an SF/Fantasy thriller that will appeal to those who like fast-paced action, blood and gore.

Lithe, beautiful, competent and generally fearless, Abigail is a Hunter trained to fight demons. To be sure, when we first meet her she’s possessed, but nobody’s perfect. Her reluctant sidekick, Haatim, is, to put it politely, a “whuz” – weak, fearful and helpless – she always has to save his butt.

He can be excused as he wasn’t brought up in the world of the Ninth Circle, those deeply religious leaders who devote themselves to protecting the world from the fiends of hell – and I do mean hell.

To my mind Haatim is the more interesting character. He learns as we learn and although he does a fair amount of throwing up, he sticks to the mission, learns to know himself and even develops some backbone.

Abigail is so terrifyingly competent I find her difficult to like, although she too has her moments of weakness and fear. The demon she faces is strong, and at stake is the soul (I think) of her foster father. Death, it seems, is not the end for a Hunter.

This is the first book in a series, so there is a fair amount of exposition to set the scene. It doesn’t affect the pace, though. The first chapter is gripping enough and from there it gets faster and drips more blood. Add in a mass murder, insanity, a demon boy and plenty of explosions, and you can only reach one conclusion - there is definitely something amiss in the little town of Raven’s Peak.

I liked the emphasis on faith as a protection and a weapon. Holy water, it seems, is good to keep around, along with verbena and plenty of salt. Don’t forget the firearms, although it’s better to target the demon and save the vessel. Ugh. Who wants to be a vessel!

The scene is set for a gripping sequel. Abigail and Haatim will be back and so will the demons. I don’t mind the first two, but I’m not so sure about the rest. Thank goodness this is SF/Fantasy.

I give this 3 out of 4 stars. My reason is that it skates along the surface, making up in action for what it lacks in depth and originality. I would like to see a bit more world-building. Perhaps I’m jaded, but demons are becoming something of a codeword.

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Raven's Peak
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