Original reviews:
Review 1 ~ Rated 4 out of 4 ~ View the review
Review 2 ~ Rated 3 out of 4 ~ View the review
[Following is a volunteer review of "Raven's Peak" by Lincoln Cole.]
📷2 out of 4 starsShare This Review
I was thrilled when finding out that Lincoln Cole had an interest in authors like Stephen King and Isaac Asimov. I am a huge Stephen King fan, so when reading I had to keep into account fairness, to the author, because horror in itself is a tough genre. The novel was different from the start in that the main character Haatim, had an Indian influence and Abigail a chocolate skinned female helps him in his journey. When reading the title one would expect the novel to play off Ravens Peak the entire time. Only to find that before discovering what lies in the town a series of stories open up to the reader.
Like that of Haatim, a blogger who is trying to find new material to write about, stumbles upon the paranormal. The town Ravens Peak really brings the story together, in that it is what haunts the town not that the town was a paranormal playground. Ranging on the fear factor the town does not come even close to Haunted by James Patterson, it is scary in its own way.
The novel was interesting in that Abigail was part of a multi-religious and multi-national organization dedicated to protecting the world from evil. Both characters backgrounds help the reader delve into the world of demonology and hierarchy. The writing style is very straight to the point, like that of Jonathan Moore. Its descriptions are very simple, not like that of Dean Koontz, it still gives you an overall idea of the settings.
The horror genre, I feel is the most difficult to set your mark. Only that instilling fear through words is a task, that goes for thriller too. Lincoln Cole had that same story telling mentality as Dean Koontz, who set a conflict for the protagonist at the start of the novel, with a hero quality to the character. The novel was professionally edited so I could enjoy the story. The theme behind the story is unique, not in the haunted town but in the characters backgrounds. There have been plenty books about haunted towns, childish demons and those who hunt demons.
The novel is not really for thriller seekers, but for mild readers who enjoy writers like Julia Cameron. A story worth reading but nothing to gasp over. The use of cliff-hangers wasn’t used to its fullest, in that tension was brought as a cliche and not really for fright. The story laid itself out, clean and simple. I’d rate it 2 out of 4 because I read a lot of horrors I have certain expectations for them. With a fear factor of at least 6 out of 10 and nothing below a 5, this book was a close 5. I have become a bit desensitized by the gore of horrors, so the scenes in the novel did not really phase me but they aren’t exactly for the faint of heart.
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Raven's Peak
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