Crucifix.
Damian’s Chronicles, #1.
By Michael Todd.
My rating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of five stars.
After a long time with mercenaries, his church has called their demon-possessed priest home . A London flat nestled in a small cul-de-sac, a beautiful courtyard with bright shining sun, and as many books as he could read.
It was going to be quiet, calm, and… Oh wait, it’s actually the demon apocalypse.
With incursions, hauntings, and poltergeists to take care of, Damian is one of the only priests his church can call on.
At least for now.
They did send a welcoming gift in the shape of a young trainee, Max, who may or may not know his head from his… Well, you get the point. Will Damian, with the help of some friends along the way, be able to kick the slaying and start to save the souls of his attackers? Or will his red-eyed granny of a neighbor poison him with a pie first?
If his demon has anything to do with it, exorcisms will only be done in the most fashionable style.
This is the first book in a spin-off series from Michael Todd’s War of the Damned series and I guess one could say War of the Angels series as well.
However, unlike where the last of those series, the War of the Angels series, has gone this series kind of goes back to the roots of the various series in this universe. No, it is not a prequel or something. When I say root I mean that this book is properly centered around a main character fighting evil instead of the character and sub thread bloat that has happened in War of the Angels.
I like the main protagonist, Damian. He is a priest but doesn’t shy away from a bit of drinking in bars of dubious reputation nor the use of adult language. He is of high moral standards but he doesn’t go off on some silly preaching spray every so often. Well there was some rubbish about celibacy wows but that was it.
And he kicks ass!
He also got himself assigned a sidekick or rather a trainee which seems to be a likable fella.
The story is not bad. It’s Max’s first mission together with Damien. Just a little exorcism…in a church…where the entire church has been taken over by demons. So much for little…or simple.
Of course the church leadership, not of the church being exorcised but the big bosses giving Damian his missions, are kind of assholes and the author sows a few seeds of doubt as to whether there isn’t some foul play going on in the upper echelons. I guess we’ll see where he goes with that.
Then of course we have his red-eyed neighbor which provides some mild comic relief with her dropped flower pots and poisoned pies and cookes.
Overall this was a rather enjoyable read. Solid urban fantasy with a nice mixture of story progression, decent and often fun dialogue and of course plenty of demon ass kicking. I hope this series stays on track and doesn’t go the way of War of the Angels.
PG's Ramblings 