Kindle Edition Amazon Booktopia Google Books Category:  Fantasy Publisher: Amazon Create Space ISBN-10:  1974565025 Type: Fiction Pages: 376 Copyright: September 1, 2011 ISBN-13: 9781974565023 Mammon: Dark Rift Rising is the first book in the Ferryman Chronicles series of urban fantasy stories for your adults. When Joe and Grace Callahan discover they belong to a secret order of mercenaries, they join an ancient struggle between their own kind and the once-human Earthborns, seduced into evil by their leader, the demon Mammon. Joe is a Ferryman, with the rare power to open rifts into other dimensions. His sister, Grace, has rapidly growing telepathic powers. Their gifts fascinate and terrify those around them, and the siblings are set to become the most influential players in the war. But Mammon grows stronger every day, powered by the will of his Earthborn followers. And now he wants Joe to open a dark rift to the demon world, where a Hellborn army is waiting.

Mammon by JB Thomas (Readings.com.au)
On the day that Grace Callahan sees a boy with a strange shadow clinging to him, everything changes. At first the changes seem unusual, but not dangerous – she can project her thoughts into her brother Joe’s mind. Joe also discovers gifts he never knew he had, like the ability to create strange rifts into other worlds.

But the novelty of their powers soon wears off when they and their parents are attacked by dark forces – a team of demons headed by the powerful and merciless Mammon, who has learned of Joe’s rare ability to create rifts and decides he must have him. In the ensuing fight with Mammon, their parents are killed, and Joe and Grace’s lives are changed forever.

They are sent to stay with their aunt at the Renfield Academy where they must train to become demon hunters known as sarsareh and develop their powers to fight evil. While Joe is accepted straight away because of his rare talents, Grace finds it harder to fit in and immediately draws the unwanted attentions of the mercenaries who train there – though there is one soldier in particular she wouldn’t mind catching the eye of.

Mammon is a fantastic dark fantasy debut from Australian author J.B. Thomas. I was fascinated by the mythology in Mammon – the fact that demons aren’t summoned, but merely come to be when a regular person is evil enough. The Renfield Academy, with its prison of psychopathic demons and its core staff of psychics and mercenaries is the perfect backdrop for this exciting demon tale. It’s also a real thrill to see a great core of villains, and the demon Mammon and his assistants are some exquisitely evil characters – in one memorable scene onboard a ship he throws a servant into the ocean for ruining his favourite shirt.

For horror fans, this first book in the new Ferryman Chronicles is a must – great world-building, high-stakes action, and some wonderfully wicked villains!

holly-pic Holly Harper is a children’s bookseller at Readings Carlton, where she organises the kids and YA e-newsletters. She also writes for younger readers under the name H.J. Harper. Find out more about her Star League series and more here and follow her on twitter - @hj_harper.

Cel's Reviews - Mammon by JB Thomas (BurnBright.com.au)
Take everything you have ever learnt or think you know about demons and throw it out the window. Mammon is going to introduce you to a whole new world and give you plenty of new intriguing theories to keep you guessing.

“Forget anything you have ever heard about exorcisms and pentagrams. The modern demon is far more difficult to catch and even harder to destroy……”

Just before the death of their parents, Joe and Grace Callahan learn that they are far from normal. They are in fact descendants of the Sarareh—mercenaries tasked with sending the big bad boys packing and bearing the most extraordinary gifts seen in generations. Joe is a Ferryman, the first seen in generations and capable of opening dimensional rifts and controlling the nasties that reside inside. Grace’s telepathic powers are off the scale and surpass anything the Sarareh have ever seen. The siblings find themselves smack bang in the middle of a war they never knew existed and, to top it all off, the biggest bad of all has his eyes set on Joe.

Mammon is not only an action-packed adventure ride, it is also a poignant tale of love, loss and finding your true self. For most of the book, Joe comes across as arrogant, conceited and just a little too sure of himself. Remarkably though, this doesn’t make you dislike him in any way. His character is just as compelling as the others and the experience of waiting for his armour to crack adds a whole new dimension to the story. Grace on the other hand is a sweet, soft seeming soul who spends a lot of time trying to placate Joe’s tumultuous temper. Grace also goes through her own “awakening” and proves not only to the reader but to herself that she’s more than capable of kicking some demon butt.

Mammon will get under your skin right from the start and the outside world will seem to grind to a stop as you become fully immersed in the plot. Like all good starts to a series we are left hanging on a cliff edge, but half the fun can be coming up with your own theories as to what will happen next. A fast paced read, which is quite frankly a whole lot of fun.

New author delves into demon life (The West Australian newspaper, November 15, 2011)
There are some very lucky students in Ballajura Community College. Not only do they have an English teacher passionate about turning children on to reading but she also writes about the world of demons.

In her debut novel Mammon (Random House, $18.95), JB Thomas tells the story of brother and sister Joe and Grace discovering they have certain powers needed to hunt and destroy very special prey, demons.

In this fantasy world, there are demons that walk among us. One of them, Mammon, is determined to overrun Earth by opening a gateway from his demon world.

"I certainly had the kids in mind when I wrote the story," says Thomas.

"I know they prefer fast-paced stories and I tried to incorporate technology and also a sense of depth. That's why I brought in the mythology with demons and the concept of choice and consequence. I believe in the fight between good and evil and the fact there are good guys and bad guys, but the lines always aren't that clear."

The first time-author wanted to bring discussion and debate into her readers' world.

"There's no absolute truth," she adds. "I just wanted to throw ideas out there."

The English teacher had always dabbled in writing but never saw herself as a novelist.

"The idea of Mammon just sparked one day and I started writing. I knew that Random House was looking for more fantasy manuscripts so I thought I would try them, not thinking I would hear anything from them."

She did. Now Mammon is on the shelves and receiving great reviews.

Currently Thomas is busy working on the second in the series she is calling The Ferryman Chronicles.
"I know kids prefer fast-paced stories and I tried to incorporate technology and also a sense of depth."