ARA Review by LibraryAmbler of Raven's Peak

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LibraryAmbler
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ARA Review by LibraryAmbler of Raven's Peak

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[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Raven's Peak.]
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4 out of 5 stars
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Struggling with his faith in the wake of his sister’s death, Haatim stumbles into a world of demons, secret societies, and cults.

Raven’s Peak opens with a short prologue that immediately hurls the reader into the action. Wasting little time, we go from a stuffy holding cell to a bloody crime scene and finally to an abandoned Church. The scenes clip along at a steady pace, never lingering too long on self-indulgent imagery or getting caught in circular dialogue, and this pretty much remains consistent through the entirety of the book.

Among the characters we meet are Haatim, a college kid struggling to find his way in a world that has just been turned upside down; Arthur, an old demon hunter plagued with a dark history of violence and bloodshed; and Abigail, a battle-hardened soldier and pariah to a Council bent on keeping her in the dark. (I think we can guess at how successful they’ll be.) These characters are well-fleshed out and aside from a few shadowy supporting characters, relatively 3-dimensional.

Author Lincoln Cole’s writing style exudes professionalism. His prose are tight and compact, his dialogue snappy, and his action set-pieces are always well-described and immediately comprehensible. And while this is certainly enough to earn it 4 stars, it’s also what keeps it from getting 5.

From creepy old ghost towns to ancient runes, the near-breakneck pacing of Raven’s Peak doesn’t allow for any real sense of atmosphere to develop. While the environments are appropriate and occasionally have a slightly creepy edge to them, I found it hard to submerge myself in them as I was reading. So while the writing is crisp and snappy, it’s hardly ever playful or risky. (There are a few parts that might qualify as bizarre but they’re few and far between.)

Granted, the tension between action and atmosphere is always a hard line to walk and there’s usually a trade-off. Thankfully, that trade-off seems purposeful here, and I have little doubt in my mind that Cole was aiming for this exact recipe of suspense.

As far as the world-building is concerned, the mechanics of the book’s specific brand of supernatural are never confusing or convoluted. The names are memorable and never clunky. And the demons are just menacing enough to instill a real sense of danger for the characters.

One of the highlights of the book for me was the interlude the author includes in the middle. Parts of it take place in a ghost town that we end up visiting later on, and the characters and events are just removed enough to make it its own little short story while also managing to add some much-needed context to the narrative as a whole. In fact, I would be very interested to see if the author has any short story collections along these lines.

All in all, I give Raven’s Peak 4 out of 5 stars for being a solid first-in-a-series. It functions well as an action-packed thriller with a supernatural twist. Its characters are relatable and compelling. The author delivers it all with slick prose, concise and natural dialogue, and an overall air of competency. If you’re looking for a slow-burn horror novel dense with atmosphere, then this doesn’t exactly hit the spot. But if you’re looking for a fun thriller with solid action set pieces and a dark bend into the world of demons and the supernatural, then look no further.

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