Review: The Darkening Dream by Andy Gavin

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Title: The Darkening Dream
Author: Andy Gavin
Publisher: Mascherato Publishing
Genre: Paranormal, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Format: eBook
Buy: Amazon




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.

An overwhelming dark tale of mixed-mythology, religion and a hell lot of vampire hunting.

The moment I started reading The Darkening Dream, I noticed how complex, sophisticated and incredible unique the writing was, even the dialogue was different. You can tell how intelligent and talented Andy Gavin is just by the way he writes. And the information he put in one book was overwhelming. There was vampires, werewolves, demons, witches, greek mythology, talks about religion and a hell lot of other stuff that I can't begin to comprehend. This book is definitely not for younger readers.

Sarah, our protagonist, reminded me a lot of Hermoine from the Harry Potter books. I think its just the fact that she's a know-it-all. Then that image of Sarah and Hermoine shattered when I realized that she was a little naive and annoying at times. Not as annoying as Emily (a secondary character), but still annoying. Now, our male lead, Alex is dark-haired and Greek. I found him great at the beginning until I began reading his very male and very teenage side, and all I have to say about that part is that it's very realistic. My favorite character is definitely Sam, one of Sarah's childhood friends. He was sweet and one of those characters that was always there when a friend nearly gets himself killed.

The whole plot of the story was so deep, unique and incredibly dark that I couldn't grasp what I was reading sometimes. Its like reading something from an entirely different new genre. Everything Andy wrote here was different from anything I've ever read before and its safe to say that it was overwhelming. I loved how it began and ended but everything in between was not as fluid as I thought.

The Darkening Dream is pure fantasy, fantasy that is dark, historical and extremely twisted. Its versions of the usual vampires, werewolves and witches are classic and brutal. This book is not any readers usual read. Its different, its unique and readers who aren't used to the genre should be careful. The book can be overwhelming and very descriptive. This is a perfect read for those who love dark, and haunting fantasy books that are mixed with mythology and religion. But its not the read for me. If I enjoyed the genre, I would have given the book 5 stars but though the book had elements that I usually read about, the style, and how everything was, isn't my cup of tea. And for that, I'll give it a firm 3/5 stars.