Customer Reviews

Dark Rain

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During the Salem Witch Trials, the real witches chose to escape to Raine's Landing where they settled in and interbred with the locals, giving their descendants magical powers--all except one who got herself burned to death for the trouble she stirred up. Her dying curse condemned the inhabitants to be imprisoned forever with the town--anyone born in Raine's Landing can never leave and those from outside who enter will forget it exists as soon as they exit its boundaries. Only two people have ever come to Raine's Landing from outside; one opened a dimension which took away both himself and Ross Devries' family, the other is a college professor who came to study magic and killed a dozen people with his megalomania. This year, a third entity has come to the town, Saruak, an evil spirit dwelling in the shell of a mortal, one the Native Americans in the area had long ago recognized and avoided. He intends to take over Raine's Landing, using the magic the inhabitants possess against them. Only one person in town has no magical ability and has never tried to gain any and that's Ross himself, and when all the magic in Raine's Landing fails, it appears that he is their last chance for survival, though he may have to die to save them. Dark Rain is a tense, thrilling story. The story of Ross' meeting with Saruak, his recognition that the man is a danger, though at first he isn't certain why he know this, interspersed with flashbacks explaining the loss of Ross' family leads inexorably to the conclusion that he, the one unmagical person in a town of adepts, has been chosen to save them. His interaction with the congenitally magical inhabitants, as well as the delineation of their characters, is well thought out. None of them is a villain, for all their pride or shallowness or power. The ending practically says, "Sequel on the way!" and I certainly hope that's true because there would seem to be much more to the story of Ross Devries and the others, and I know readers are going to want to see it.

There really were witches in Salem and they escaped the burning times by quietly moving into the village of Raine's Landing. They kept a low profile, but one of them Ragan Farrer was accused by the townsfolk of causing harm to others; she was burned at the stake. Before she died she cursed the town and its people; saying they and their descendents will never leave Raine's Landing.

In the present the town is hidden from view; anyone who enters leaves forgetting the place exists. Sarauk, a tree spirit inhabits a human body and comes to town and he intends to become ruler of Raine's Landing. He is not strong enough to take over the entire town yet but as he makes the inhabitants afraid of what he will do, he grows more powerful in a vicious circle. If the trend continues he will soon overpower the townsfolk making them bow to his wishes. Only Ross Devries might be able to neutralize Sarauk, but though he has received information to succeed from allies, his chances remain grim.

This is a modern day gothic urban fantasy that mesmerizes the audience into a one sitting read. The characters make the tale as the reluctant hero must battle overwhelming odds to defeat a 200 proof evil villain. With a strong alternate earth world-building (or at least village building) setting, Tony Roberts provides an exhilarating dark horror thriller.

Harriet Klausner

I really enjoyed this book mostly because of the multi-dimensional characters. the story itself is action packed and is constantly keeping the reader on the edge of their seat. It is completely unpredictable and that makes the story even more enjoyable. I am now reading the second book tothis series and i sure hope there are more to come. the only thing i did not like was the lenghty ending... it just took to long to get there. but the story and characters made up for that flaw!