BOOK REVIEW - THE DARKENING DREAM by ANDY GAVIN

By : Andy Gavin
Published By : Mascherato Publishing
Released : 25th December 2011
Details : Paperback, 382 Pages

RATING : 4.75 Dark, Engaging Stars!!

Thankyou to Andy Gavin for his book to review.

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

The Darkening Dream is the chilling new dark fantasy novel by Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter.

Even as the modern world pushes the supernatural aside in favor of science and steel, the old ways remain. God, demon, monster, and sorcerer alike plot to regain what was theirs.

1913, Salem, Massachusetts – Sarah Engelmann’s life is full of friends, books, and avoiding the pressure to choose a husband, until an ominous vision and the haunting call of an otherworldly trumpet shake her. When she stumbles across a gruesome corpse, she fears that her vision was more of a premonition. And when she sees the murdered boy moving through the crowd at an amusement park, Sarah is thrust into a dark battle she does not understand.

With the help of Alex, an attractive Greek immigrant who knows a startling amount about the undead, Sarah sets out to uncover the truth. Their quest takes them to the factory mills of Salem, on a midnight boat ride to spy on an eerie coastal lair, and back, unexpectedly, to their own homes. What can Alex’s elderly, vampire-hunting grandfather and Sarah’s own rabbi father tell them? And what do Sarah’s continuing visions reveal?

No less than Gabriel’s Trumpet, the tool that will announce the End of Days, is at stake, and the forces that have banded to recover it include a 900 year-old vampire, a trio of disgruntled Egyptian gods, and a demon-loving Puritan minister. At the center of this swirling cast is Sarah, who must fight a millennia-old battle against unspeakable forces, knowing the ultimate prize might be herself.

BOOK REVIEW:

The Darkening Dream takes place mainly in Salem, Massachusetts 1913 over a five week period. This book has its dark, sinister, bone crunching, creepy moments and it has its lighter kiss stealing moments.

Andy uses religion, as a force to be reckoned with. There is a horn and it is a very important horn, it could bring the world to its knees in the wrong hands. It needs to stay hidden and under the protection that only few know of its where-abouts.

The demon loving warlock, Pastor Parris and his side kick, Betty and Al Nasir the bone snapping ( I actually felt some of those), flesh tearing, frightening vampire, are working in cahoots, along with Al’s henchmen, to locate the horn, by whatever means necessary.

Sarah Engelmann has dreams or visions. I like Sarah she is an enormously intelligent girl who has lessons with her Rabbi father, Joseph. She reads and speaks languages that are old. You feel early in the book that she is special.

The twins Sam and Anne are Sarah’s life time friends. Sam is just waking up to Sarah no longer being the little girl he played with, he is seeing more. He also now has competition.

Enter Alex Palaogos, the handsome Greek immigrant who along with the mysterious Dmitri and his grandfather, Constantine, have arrived in Salem to settle down.

The four teenagers, Sarah, Alex, Sam and Anne are drawn into dangerous situations as they try to save Emily, Sam and Anne’s little sister and learn more about the evil that is surrounding them.

We as the reader are seeing the story through the eyes of several characters. Andy moves us in and out of their head with the use of short chapters. Pastor Parris is one of the creepier characters. He really enjoys the wrong side of the track.

I enjoyed Andy’s tale filled with various religions, magic, darkness, death, gruesome murders and vampires you should be afraid of, the non sparkling variety.

Andy is light on the romance, not for Alex trying, and packs a punch with the ending. I can only assume there will be a book 2.

If you are after a dark ( there will be blood), intelligent, paranormal read that does not play nice with its characters, who are weaving their way, by whatever means, to get to the horn to covet it for its power or to keep it safe, then this is the book for you.

Who can you really trust?

Good will take on evil and it will come at a price, it always does.

Michelle