Obin, a Demon Hunter, works hard to keep on top of Maio’s Vampire population. However what should’ve been another routine job soon becomes anything but, thanks to the appearance of strange, feral Vampires. Meanwhile his step-father is busy training up Obin’s replacements, in preparation for them to be called on.
Things get only worse, when they’re told they’re needed urgently in Mary’s Vail. Still trying to wrap things up with their current assignment, the inexperienced Jade is sent out alongside Obin, against his wishes, to quickly handle the situation in Maio. However the appearance of the enigmatic Dixon has Obin struggling to control his own worst instincts. That’s fine though, since demon hunting is just a game...
Do you want to play?
Professional Reviews
Well written and engaging!
What I liked most about this story was the way it didn’t dumb anything down for the audience, jumping straight into an existing world and mythology and letting the reader catch up.
The story scratches the surface of realms within a multiverse, the manipulation of time and curses. There were many fantasy creatures including one very interesting combination. It deals with identity and the traits we inherit from our makers. It deals with our darker desires and what we might be capable of. It felt like we were given just a piece of the pie here in book 1, leaving the world open to be explored in the upcoming books. I like to imagine the name ‘Pike’ comes from Christopher Pike, whose vampire books I read in my youth. While I haven’t really kept up with novels about Vampires since then I have been rediscovering fantasy recently.
I like the way characters developed in unexpected ways. I really enjoyed the style of writing in this book and would recommend picking it up before book 2 comes out. It ended really well and I was impressed with the dialogue and writing style.
A Frightening and Fascinating Fantasy World of Dangerous Creatures
I loved this story, although not for the reason I thought I would. As I have come to expect, Ms. Golden has woven a compelling tale: a Doll Maker's son raised to find and kill demons, among them vampires and zombies--but they are not the scariest element of this story, not by a long-shot. Rather than say too much about this book, I will just say, read it! I look forward to finding out what awaits Obin in Mary's Vail!
In the end they'll all be dancin'--all them ones that didn't die.... Dance with me in the shadows amidst the lightning and the thunder, and all that nu-cu-lar debris. See the big bang from the other side, and then open that cellar door. Go down into
